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Old 09-26-2013, 07:33 AM
Jim_G Jim_G is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Central Massachusetts
Posts: 1,078
Default Upgrading my Mandolin

I've been playing mandolin for about a year now. My first is a Loar VS220 A Style. It's okay, but sometimes I hear shrill and a bit of tin in it.

I went over to the Music Emporium yesterday, hoping to play a few. The used Gibson F style I really wanted to see wasn't there anymore. (Somebody stole it last week! And I mean that literally, somebody walked out without paying for it.). And they didn't have any Colllings MT2's either, they haven't updated their website.

So I was left to play a Pava, several Collings MT's, and a couple of Eastmans. And I have to say, I cannot hear much difference in tone between any of these and the one I have now. Mine cost about $400, and the others were in the $2500 - $2800 range.

There must be something I'm missing. I'm still a little bashful letting it rip in a store, and I'm finding that right hand technique is alot more important when it comes to tone on a mandolin than on guitar. (Especially my tricone. I could cough in the direction of that thing and instant tone). Maybe that's part of the problem, I was holding back too much.

So I think I've decided to put off an upgrade for a while. I'm not ready. Either my ears are off, my right hand is, or I need to spend alot more than $2500 to get a significant upgrade. I'm still adjusting to how much more expensive a mandolin is, compared to a flattop guitar.
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