How Long Did You Fight MAS Before Submitting?

[fatt-dad]

I could be very happy with just my '84 Flatiron 1N!

f-d

[Randi Gormley]

Does it count that the time span between my first and my second mandolin was more than 20 years? Of course, 18 of those years the mando spent in the case ... and the only reason i replaced it was because the neck was bowed. I bought three of my mandos on impulse, but I've never actually had that impulse to buy anything that costs more than $500 undiscounted. Some time around that amount, my frugality kicks in and I admire and walk away.

[John Flynn]

I still have MAS, but I truly have it under control. With the economic downturn from 2009 through now (Yes, I know we are "in recovery," but the recovery is only getting to me in bits and pieces!) I have taken a different view of MAS. I am absolutely NOT looking for sympathy here, but just to explain my perspective, in four years I've been laid off from three different jobs, my wife has been laid off from two and had to give up one to follow one of our moves. We've lost our house and our good credit rating and had to move twice to cities where we had no roots for me to get work. After a lot of hard work and tight budgeting, and without declaring bankruptcy, I now have a reasonably secure job, we don't owe anyone a cent and we have a sufficient emergency savings balance.

Over the years, I have accumulated two very nice mandolins and an equally nice OM, all made by small US builders for under $2,000 and two very decent under $400 "beaters." I had a good talk with myself about MAS and remembered a saying I learned somewhere, "If you choose what you have, you always have what you want. If you choose something you don't have, you never have what you want." (or something like that) I realized that if I really gave into MAS, the next step up that would be a significant change would cost more than it makes any sense for me to spend given the history of the last 4-5 years.

So the answer to the OP is: I am 4 years "sober" from MAS, but taking it one day at a time.

[lorrainehornig]

Just one question...does MAS mean Mandolin Acquisition Syndrome? I must admit, I've never known for certain what it means.

[9lbShellhamer]

Just one question...does MAS mean Mandolin Acquisition Syndrome? I must admit, I've never known for certain what it means.

Yep!

[JeffD]

My furnace and water heater saw how much I had saved in my MAS budget and they both promptly died this morning.

[dusty miller]

My furnace and water heater saw how much I had saved in my MAS budget and they both promptly died this morning.

Ouch! Sorry to hear that. Ahh, you don't need hot water and heat during a upstate New York winter.
(5 months of 15 degree nights)

[Wayne Stuvick]

I played my first mandolin, an Epiphone MM-50, for about 4 years and sold it to a friend who wanted it after I had purchased a used A-style Flatiron that was easier to play and sounded better. I still have the Flatiron, but it doesn’t get taken out of its case much since I bought the mandolin I now play. It was during the quest for the mandolin I now play that I think I experienced the somewhat mysterious (to me) syndrome of MAS. By this time I had been exposed to a lot of better sounding and playing mandolins. I spent several months checking out and listening to as many as I could. I ended up purchasing a Roberts signed Gibson MM six years ago and I don’t think I’ll ever be looking for another mandolin. I feel the same way about it as I do the 5-string banjo that I’ve had for 37 years, totally satisfied. My obsession isn’t with being satisfied with my mandolin, it lies with not being satisfied with how I can play it!

[dusty miller]

After my Jacobson arrives I'll never need another mandolin again. That will be what I have been searching for and the search will be over.

[OldSausage]

I played mandolin for about 7 or 8 years before I started reading this forum, and I never suffered from MAS at all for the entire time. It's been pretty much downhill since the day I registered.

[Markelberry]

I admire all the responsible answers here,but when mine set in ,it was money down and how In the heck am I gonna come up with that much by that time??I did and man am I happy lights are still on! though Im afraid I may not be home.

[bmac]

I think MAS is perfectly normal... One mandolin gives you one voice. Two gives you two and three gives you three voices. To me it is not a matter of cost. It is a matter of voices. You can get these various voices at most any level of mando cost. I think most mando players will eventually want another voice or two, or more.

[Mandosummers]

I bought my first mandolin in 1982. Within a few years I figured out it wasn't the best sounding mandolin. It was thin and harsh. For the next 29 years, yes, TWENTY NINE, it was a love hate relationship. I loved playing mandolin but I hated playing that one. Finally, I got my Northfield about two years ago. I've progressed more in the last two years than the 20 before. So for those who are suffering with MAS, I can tell you I wish I had made the plunge years and years ago. I would have likely been a much better player. I look back and I see years wasted. My fools advice: If you are struggling with an instrument that doesn't inspire you then figure out some way of moving up.

[roysboy]

I still have MAS, but I truly have it under control. With the economic downturn from 2009 through now (Yes, I know we are "in recovery," but the recovery is only getting to me in bits and pieces!) I have taken a different view of MAS. I am absolutely NOT looking for sympathy here, but just to explain my perspective, in four years I've been laid off from three different jobs, my wife has been laid off from two and had to give up one to follow one of our moves. We've lost our house and our good credit rating and had to move twice to cities where we had no roots for me to get work. After a lot of hard work and tight budgeting, and without declaring bankruptcy, I now have a reasonably secure job, we don't owe anyone a cent and we have a sufficient emergency savings balance.

Over the years, I have accumulated two very nice mandolins and an equally nice OM, all made by small US builders for under $2,000 and two very decent under $400 "beaters." I had a good talk with myself about MAS and remembered a saying I learned somewhere, "If you choose what you have, you always have what you want. If you choose something you don't have, you never have what you want." (or something like that) I realized that if I really gave into MAS, the next step up that would be a significant change would cost more than it makes any sense for me to spend given the history of the last 4-5 years.

So the answer to the OP is: I am 4 years "sober" from MAS, but taking it one day at a time.

Hi John . Man your experiences over the past few years REALLY puts thing in perspective . First off , your tenacity and focus are just downright inspiring and you and your wife/family deserve some sort of recognition for turning your situation right around the way you have . I often read posts here and just scratch my head at not only the unbelievable costs of mandolins but at number of folks who seem to be able to afford all of these expensive 'toys' we all drool over. Every player wants a better instrument ...no matter what they play . A carpenter wants a better tool when one becomes available ....most of us would probably like a nicer / newer /shinier car ...a bigger BIG screen TV . The reality for a lot of us in these past few years ( even up here in Canada ) is that that expensive toy has fallen just a little further down the list....somewhere far below housing , food , heat , light etc. Again ....congrats to you for hanging in and doing what you needed to just to survive . Hopefully things look better for you for a LONG time . All the best

[Lord of the Badgers]

This is a HORRIBLE thread. I've been thinking to get an F holed mando to replace the Breedlove OF - I really don't like the tone of that one since I got my Davidson but I love its radiused fretboard. Now I've seen a Collings MT for sale nearby.

No seriously. I hate you all. Honest. Really. No.

Ah dammit. LOL

Poor savings...

[fatt-dad]

Just a few additional thoughts. If you have a mandolin that works and you are learning on you are not immune from MAS. Sure, you want something nicer/different! Order a custom job from a builder with a 2 year waiting list! That way, you have 2 years to save and your imagination will be focused on the mandolin that's being built for you rather than all the pretty pictures you see on the forum.

If you want a $5,000.00 mandolin and have no idea how to get that much cash, start putting $100/mo into mutual funds. I used automatic payroll deposits and put $50/mo into each of two mutual funds. I call this my mandolin fund. Man did it tumble a few years back! But it recovered and I kept putting my money in there. I started my mandolin fund 10 years ago. I've bought and sold a few and took/put the proceeds back into the mutual funds. Occasionally, I'd get a wad of cash (i.e., holidays, expense checks, etc.) and I'd dump cash in there too. Heck, now I got a new car fund!

If you want it NOW and don't have the cash, that's a setup for some problem. If you incrementally invest toward getting the cash for an expensive mandolin, you'll get there. Then again you may decide to just get the new car and be perfectly happy with a less expensive instrument that meets your needs.

f-d

[Lord of the Badgers]

btw I submitted to MAS within months of getting my first. It was an Ashbury badged by Phil Davidson, made in Korea. Then it was the breedlove cause I like the neck on it, and wanted a non-flat top. Then I spotted my current Davidson carved top in the same shop about six months later. Phil told me I'd bought a mando he'd charge over 1k more if new, plus i got a calton case thrown in. Quite a deal.
And I'm still not that good. I need a boatload more lessons and practice... practice... practice.. but I've used them all on stage so they are as much tools for the job too. But MAS... nothing to be ashamed of. Oh no.

[lorrainehornig]

Am I wrong to want an electric mandolin. I heard one recently and it sounded pretty darn good!

[bratsche]

With the exception of a very cheap used guitar for OM conversion earlier in the year, I haven't bought an instrument in ages. I got all of my mando family within the first several years of playing, shortly before and after the turn of the century. The ones I play regularly are all flatbacks with soundholes, and I got multiple ones, all pre-owned, for their diversity of woods and voices, not as upgrades. As I don't feel limited in any way by any of them (indeed, I am still growing into them!), I've had no urge to acquire anything else since then. Which is just as well, since we've been hit very hard by the economy, too, and my main economic concern right now is wondering if and/or when I'll be able to afford to travel to see my folks again, not buying more "stuff".

bratsche

[Eddie Sheehy]

OMIGOSH... that's what happened to me...

I played mandolin for about 7 or 8 years before I started reading this forum, and I never suffered from MAS at all for the entire time. It's been pretty much downhill since the day I registered.

[northfolk]

About as long as it took me to read the question?

[Mike Snyder]

2015 will be 10 years playing one mandolin and two years with one tenor banjo. I feel it's relentless pull, but I do not submit. MAS, that is. The only things that really yank the rope are Mike Black and Old Wave ovals. Oh, the F4 Mass Street Music had at Winfield was sweet, too. Must resist, must!

[Bertram Henze]

You're supposed to fight?

[lorrainehornig]

Even though my newest mandolin is only 6 weeks old, I still find myself browsing the web and looking at other mandolins. I would say I suffer from MAS/WR (Mandolin Acquisition Syndrome / Without Resources). This is such a sad condition!

[JeffD]

I practice mandolandry. I love more than one mandolin.