Do you have a Mandolin?
 

Hi All,
Lately I've been getting this incredible desire to get a mandolin. Led Zep's Battle of Evermore is driving it I think. I just love that song and the haunting mandolin playing in that song. Do any of you out there have one? Do you find yourself playing it much? Is it difficult to learn if you already can play the guitar fairly well? What are some of the differences and/or similarities in playing a mandolin than the guitar? I think they're lovely instruments both from a sound perspective and a visual one. I know I could have posted this in another section of the forum, but I seem to *know* the people here more and value their opinions accordingly.

Regards,
IG

Hey IG, I bought my first one 3 months ago. A used Kentucky. I played it for a couple of week-ends but not since. I'll pick it up again.

I did find that I liked a thicker pick on it than I use on guitar. I found it difficult to get my fingers in those tiny frets but after some practice it became easier (as one would expect). I practiced flatpicking and was able to move around a bit on the fretboard.

Do you have your mind set on a specific model?

Jimmy Page wrote Evermore the first time he played a mandolin (borrowed). I got one about a year ago now and I love it. The hard part is getting used to very tiny frets and playing two frets per finger in position rather than one. Otherwise It wasn't bad.

Hey Dru! Thanks for the reply. Congrats on your purchase. I don't have my mind on a specific model per se, but generally, knowing me, I would tend to go towards something where I don't want any excuses if I'm not good at it. In other words, a fairly good quality one where I can only blame myself if I can't make it sound pretty. I have been gazing at a lot of Gibsons on their website lately. They are, to me, a very romantic looking instrument with those curved lines, and the colour on some of them is amazing. They are works of art unto themselves. I'm quite taken by the recorded sound of them and I understand they are louder than a guitar? Is that true?

IG

Hey IG,

Ha! You've got the mando bug! :) Good for you. It's a very fun instrument to play.

There are a few threads here, in this forum where folks talk about the various types of mandos that are out there.

My best advice is to get your hands on as many as possible and start developing your own taste for what you may like before you buy.

If you want a lifetime of information to read on the mando go on over to the forums on the Mandolin Cafe webpage.

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.

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.

A friend knew I liked Bluegrass Music way back in my youth. He brought out his F5 Gibson and taught me a few basic chords. That was it. I've got two mandolins and have owned more at one time.

Good luck.

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.

Once you start to get the hang of it you find it is much easier playing melodies on the mandolin than on the guitar. Of course, the shorter scale has a lot to do with that.

both of my step daughters play guitar, or have them anyway. wife got the idea to get one a uke and the other a mandolin for xmas. so i ebayed them both an instrument. in the process of mandoling searching, i found this thread and also read back 4 years of the other insatrements forum. i am now sold on getting a mandolin. i've got a cheap banjo coming on UPS truck tomorrow...

I built a cigar-box mandola; turned out pretty nice. Fueled my desire for a "real" mandolin..
Little cash so I bought one of those cheap Fender items. (Chinese, of course) It's not bad.
I fiddled with the action a bit and it sounds like a mandolin and plays nicely.

I find I can play single-note stuff quite easily on it, but the traditional bluegrass "chop" chords are a bit of a bear for my old fingers.

I have 3. I started in about 4-5 years ago. It is an insidious little instrument-ha ha. I find it easier to play than the guitar, but then again I finger pick the guitar and of course use a pick on the mando. Took a while to learn how to use the pick, but the tunes (at least the ones I play) seem less complex. It really (other than having strings and frets) is a lot different than the guitar. Get one and have fun with it. You may want to visit mandolincafe.com to get good recommendations as to what to get. Good luck.

i've tried to register on mandolin.cafe twice today. it thinks i'm a spammer.

Some sites don't like certain email domains, like hotmail.com. You may need to use a different email address ... or send them an email inquiring why. Good luck!

Realizing this lets you jump into some playing almost immediately and I'm glad someone brought it up, since I neglected to.