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  #16  
Old 11-30-2012, 05:37 AM
HeimBrent HeimBrent is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GerryinAZ View Post
Actually, the standard mandolin tuning is in fifths: GDAE.

If you look at this you will notice it is the top 4 strings of the guitar, only upside down.
Ups... I had somehow managed to convince myself that fifths and sevenths were the number of semitones difference between one string and the next. Pardon my ignorance

But regardless of my complete lack of theoretical knowledge: It's a fun instrument to play, and the size of it also makes it perfect for weekends away from home if you just want something to play music on for an hour or two.
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  #17  
Old 11-30-2012, 08:01 AM
GerryinAZ GerryinAZ is offline
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Originally Posted by HeimBrent View Post
Ups... I had somehow managed to convince myself that fifths and sevenths were the number of semitones difference between one string and the next. Pardon my ignorance
No worries there. You definitely don't need to be a master of theory to have fun with the mandolin.

Another cool little tidbit on the mandolin, and it's family:

The mandolin has the same tuning and scale length as a violin. So, it is, basically, a violin with frets... and a few extra strings!

A mandola is a viola with frets

A mandocello is a cello with frets...

...and a mandobass (yes, they are out there) is the same as a bass fiddle with frets.

So, if you already know fiddle tunes on the violin you have a head start on the mandolin!
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  #18  
Old 12-01-2012, 06:10 AM
IndianaGeo IndianaGeo is offline
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Thanks folks. I see there are a few kindred spirits out there who love the mando sound. To me it's such a "rustic" instrument..transports me back to the early 20th century or maybe before that. Just has a folksy, country, poignant sound that touches my soul in some sort of way. And they're so beautiful looking. I've just got to get one.

IG
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  #19  
Old 12-01-2012, 07:33 AM
Anand00028 Anand00028 is offline
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You won't regret it.I ended up getting a Weber Gelatin A style and love the resonance and clarity.
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  #20  
Old 12-01-2012, 07:50 AM
FPicker FPicker is offline
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I got a mandolin some years ago, an old Martin "A". It sounds beautiful.

I can't play it for anything,

Aside from the strings turned upside down, the instruments are played differently. One is usually not "strumming" a mandolin, it is mostly individual notes, played with a pick. And the thing does not sustain like a guitar, so the notes do not carry you through from one to the other, fewer hammer-ons, etc, as on a guitar. Anything you are going to get out of it is going to be largely attributable to the dexterity of your right wrist. To a far greater extent than the guitar requires.

Me, I'm left-handed but play guitar righty. The coordination of my right wrist is horrible. I can't play the pieces where someone is doing really,really rapid strumming. But fortunately there aren't so many of them like that. I get by on guitar ok anyway with substantial reliance on sustain and hammers-on, etc. I could not survive if I literally had to pick every note I wanted to sound. And a lot of the time on guitar I am playing chords, or chordlets, backing vocals.

Not so mandolin.

In fact, the worst is when one is trying to simulate playing chords (or notes) with sustain on the mandolin. Because, since there is virtually no actual sustain, it is simulated by picking up and down across the strings really rapidly for long periods. I can't do that, it's exactly what I can't do on guitar. Only moreso.

The teeny frets are also a problem, but presumably I could learn to overcome that, since there is no physical limitation as in the other case. Coming from guitar, one's fingers are accustomed to having more room. I've actually read someplace that guitarists coming to mandolin tend to prefer somewhat wider fingerboards than "real" mandolinists do, and I can see why that would be.

Last edited by FPicker; 12-01-2012 at 08:03 AM.
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  #21  
Old 12-01-2012, 03:09 PM
GerryinAZ GerryinAZ is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FPicker View Post
I got a mandolin some years ago, an old Martin "A". It sounds beautiful.
Those old Martins are certainly sweet little players. In my book, ya' got a good'un.



Quote:
Originally Posted by FPicker View Post
Aside from the strings turned upside down, the instruments are played differently. One is usually not "strumming" a mandolin, it is mostly individual notes, played with a pick. And the thing does not sustain like a guitar, so the notes do not carry you through from one to the other, fewer hammer-ons, etc, as on a guitar. Anything you are going to get out of it is going to be largely attributable to the dexterity of your right wrist. To a far greater extent than the guitar requires.

I must say I respectfully disagree with you here. I get quite a bit of sustain out of my oval sound holed mandolins. Not as much as a guitar, but the mandolin isn't a guitar. Still, chords sound wonderful and they are a great back up instrument for duets, and the smaller combo-type playing. The mandola is even better than the mandolin for this type of stuff as it is tuned a fifth lower than the mandolin and sounds wonderful backing a good vocalist.

The only time I play single notes is when I am playing melodies on traditional tunes, or solo'ing. All the other times I am comp'ing chords and it is quite fun. The mando adds not only tonal, but percussive attributes (chop) to just about any tune.



Quote:
Originally Posted by FPicker View Post
In fact, the worst is when one is trying to simulate playing chords (or notes) with sustain on the mandolin. Because, since there is virtually no actual sustain, it is simulated by picking up and down across the strings really rapidly for long periods. I can't do that, it's exactly what I can't do on guitar. Only moreso.
It looks as though you may be talking about 'Tremolo' here. Don't get discouraged. A good tremolo takes years to develop. I have been working at it for almost 30 years and still have my moments where I sound like I just started yesterday.
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  #22  
Old 12-01-2012, 03:44 PM
FPicker FPicker is offline
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I can well imagine a mandola would work better, it's voice would be more suited for that purpose. I find listening to chords on mandolins wearying after a while, too trebly, and their timbre to me does not blend as well with voices as a guitar, or a mandola undoubtedly. So yes we differ.

As for me, I am done with it. Having such a horribly uncoordinated right hand/wrist makes it too difficult, and it just isn't worth the substantial effort that would be required to make it close to adequate. To me. I was just sharing my experience, cause that's how it went down..
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  #23  
Old 12-02-2012, 08:51 PM
fatt-dad fatt-dad is offline
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Here's three mandolins:



they are Cohen, Gibson A2Z, and Muth A5. They are all great!

This is a flat "army-navy" mandolin. A Flatiron 1N. It's just great!



This is my other Flatiron. It's an A5-1.



I've kind of built up a little collection. . .

f-d
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  #24  
Old 12-02-2012, 09:03 PM
Zigeuner Zigeuner is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HeimBrent View Post
The similarities are the fact that it's a fretted string instrument played with a pick. But there it stops. It's tuned in sevenths instead of fifths, so you'll have to relearn all chords, and the shorter scale makes it a bit harder to place fingers.

The benefit for a guitar player is obviously that fretting a string has become second nature for most of us, so if you're wish is play some songs it's no harder than learning something with chords you don't know on a guitar.

Figuring out melodies etc. on the other hand takes some time getting used to though, due to the aforementioned difference in tuning.

But it's a fun little thing, and I love mine. It just sounds so cool, both in acoustic settings and even in harder rock. I've been writing on it both for my more private acoustic stuff and for the rock'n'roll-band I play with.
Agree with all you say here except, the Mandolin is tuned in fifths. (G-D-A E, same as the violin) I think that you must be referring to the fact that it can be tuned by matching tones at the seventh fret.
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  #25  
Old 12-05-2012, 11:37 PM
815C 815C is online now
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Here's a pic of me playing my Breedlove OF Quartz Custom at a recent gig.

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  #26  
Old 12-10-2012, 05:04 PM
cu4life7 cu4life7 is offline
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I think you will really enjoy mandolin, and try not to let the stereotypes of what you can and can't play discourage you. I strum and chord on mine all the time as a solo instrument and as backup to a guitar ensemble. If you are more drawn to that type of playing, there are plenty of Irish style tunes that have more strumming type of playing.

I got a Big Muddy as my first mando and have been enthralled by it thus far. It is a flattop round-hole mandolin made in Missouri and has a wonderful tone more sustain than your typical f-hole carved top. There are definitely a few things to get used to switching from guitar, but I must say that it is rewarding. I loving having a second instrument when I get a little burnt out or frustrated with guitar for whatever reason.
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  #27  
Old 12-10-2012, 05:29 PM
franchelB franchelB is offline
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Default Yep,

the bottom 4 strings of the guitar strung upside down is how I first understood on how to get a quick start on playing the mandolin. As much love playing guitar at church, I'm also one of 3 guitar players at our Mass...playing the same chords! I wanted to try the mandolin to give our music a different "flavor".

Anyway, I also have a low-end Kentucky A-style mandolin, although I'm hoping to save enough money to buy an acoustic/electric mandolin for church use. But some have suggested that micing the mandolin instead, sounds better than any A/E mandolin available in the market at the moment. I can get by with the basic chords, but I'd love to learn more chords or even inverted chords, and maybe some licks.
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  #28  
Old 12-10-2012, 05:59 PM
GerryinAZ GerryinAZ is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by franchelB View Post
the bottom 4 strings of the guitar strung upside down is how I first understood on how to get a quick start on playing the mandolin. As much love playing guitar at church, I'm also one of 3 guitar players at our Mass...playing the same chords! I wanted to try the mandolin to give our music a different "flavor".

Anyway, I also have a low-end Kentucky A-style mandolin, although I'm hoping to save enough money to buy an acoustic/electric mandolin for church use. But some have suggested that micing the mandolin instead, sounds better than any A/E mandolin available in the market at the moment. I can get by with the basic chords, but I'd love to learn more chords or even inverted chords, and maybe some licks.
Hi! I have been playing my mandolins at Mass for a few years now and they fit beautifully into the music we play. I HIGHLY recommend using a mic' instead of an A/E/Pick-up set up on your mando. Invest in a nice condensor mic and it will provide the best live sound you can hope to get from your mandolin...

I am sure your Kentucky will be work just fine. If it is hard to keep in tune, or is difficult to play it will probably just need a good basic set up by someone who has experience and knows how to work on mandolins.

Even the best of guitar technicians can miss the mark if they don't know the nuances for proper mandolin set up.
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  #29  
Old 12-10-2012, 11:16 PM
franchelB franchelB is offline
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Default Ah, tuning...

Quote:
Originally Posted by GerryinAZ View Post
Hi! I have been playing my mandolins at Mass for a few years now and they fit beautifully into the music we play. I HIGHLY recommend using a mic' instead of an A/E/Pick-up set up on your mando. Invest in a nice condensor mic and it will provide the best live sound you can hope to get from your mandolin...

I am sure your Kentucky will be work just fine. If it is hard to keep in tune, or is difficult to play it will probably just need a good basic set up by someone who has experience and knows how to work on mandolins.

Even the best of guitar technicians can miss the mark if they don't know the nuances for proper mandolin set up.

FUNNY you should mention that Gerry. I'm thinking about getting the tuners upgraded! Those Kentucky tuners are not stable, at least to my ears. And yes, I've had a couple of guitar techs do a set-up...and I'm still not completely satisfied.
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  #30  
Old 12-19-2012, 08:17 PM
rattman2 rattman2 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kydave View Post
LOTS of fun, not that hard to get some rudimentary nice sounds ASAP, and complicated enough to devote your life to if so inclined.

What you can buy sound & quality wise for a relatively low price now is amazingly good compared to even just a decade ago.

Loar LM-600-VS for $750 is something you couldn't have touched 10 years ago for that price, and the comparable A style is even less expensive.

I started off with the cheapest all solid wood Kentucky A style and kept going.
I own a Loar LM-600 and I'm very pleased with my purchase. I have to put in a good word for Robert Fear at www.folkmusician.com. Robert's set up was flawless and the price was the best I could find.
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