#16
|
|||
|
|||
Yes, If there was excessive amounts of cash lying around my house I'd probably have a Fletcher Brock guitar-bodied octave. I have about $100 in my Kay and do love it!
|
#17
|
|||
|
|||
Morrison and West I've seen locally, both together and with others. They live here. Nice playing in the clip.
|
#18
|
|||
|
|||
I have a Trinity College from before the turn of the century. When scratches started appearing I added a pickguard and I swapped out the tailpiece when one of the hooks gave out.
I keep it tuned GDAD and sometimes use a capo, although I don't on the mandolin. My friend Steafan Hannigan gave me a Quickdraw capo which now resides on my OM. I have recorded mandola parts by tuning the first string up a tone and putting the capo at the fifth fret.
__________________
Jim _____________________ -1962 Martin D-21 -1950 Gibson LG1 -1958 Goya M-26 -Various banjos, mandolins, dulcimers, ukuleles, Autoharps, mouth harps. . . |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|
#20
|
|||
|
|||
I don't know what your budget is (and this will be a bit "spendy" for a first instrument, though it's the path I took)
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=525502 Check out the 5-course mandocellos (essentially a mandocello and an octave mandolin combined) by Dammann in my thread above. Note that they also make them in a guitar-shape (see the Dream Guitars link in the second post on that thread). You can get the pairs of strings as either unison or octaves. |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
I went with a brand new Eastman MDO-305. I have owned/played many mandolins. I have no other experience with the octave; however. It's fun enough, but don't really know how it stands up against others? There are youtubes of it and you can see for your self.
It was under a grand brand new - maybe like $800 bucks? f-d
__________________
'30 L-1, '73 FG-180, '98 914-C, '06 000-15S, '08 000-28NB, '11 GA3-12, '14 OM28A |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
So, whaddya think? Are you learning anything?
|
#23
|
||||
|
||||
Learning anything?
Yes - but mostly how little I know. I'm still getting the Trinity College octave mandolin in playing condition. It arrived in need of new strings, but I did manage to tune the old strings to standard mandolin settings and try my hand at playing basic chords and scales. I'm experiencing interference with my guitar playing habits (and uke "habits") - if that is the right label. Mix in a little tenor guitar and I find myself spending a lot of time looking at chord charts - something I rarely do when playing guitar alone. Out of this confusion will come some kind of understanding - at least that is what I want to believe.
If anyone else has been down this road, I'd be interested in hearing your story.
__________________
Wechter/Scheerhorn square neck reso; Gibson TG-25, HP665; Rockbridge 000 Custom BZ; Guild DS-240, F112; Martin HD-28, J-40, D-15SS; Northwood L-00; Regal resonator; Furch Vintage 3 OM-SR; Larrivee L-03W; Gretsch resonator; Mackenzie/Marr Ian Tyson; Taylor 714ce; Alvarez APA 1965 |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
Well good!
Personally, it's something I find most evocative about strings/gtr: delving into new forms. Wrt new tunings/systems, it's been the most useful thing for me, as I get bored easily. |
#25
|
|||
|
|||
These folks were at the East Coast Guitar Expo in Chesapeake, VA last weekend. I was impressed with their instruments. Yes they make mandocellos, they also make guitars. All their instruments are made out of local woods, and they make double-top instruments.
https://www.mandocello.org |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
If none of this makes sense or if it seems too theory oriented, most of the pickers I know couldn't care less about any of this and they play just fine. It has worked well for me - I became an advanced mandolin-family instrument player in my 40's in less than 2 years. To reach the same level of proficiency on guitar took me over 5 years in my teens, when my mind, fingers and tendons were much more elastic and I didn't have to support a family. |
#27
|
||||
|
||||
Typical or Atypical?
Thanks for that brief musical bio Mandobart. Your early introduction into the world of stringed instruments has surely been significant for your growth over the years. I've noticed that many skilled performers often got an early start - sometimes in a musical family - learning at the knee of a parent or grandparent (think of Brad Paisley, for example). I'm envious of that. Many things are learned best when we are young. But I'm an old dog now so I wonder if my quest to learn new instruments with unfamiliar fretboards is a fantasy? Effort and commitment have a lot to do with success. I tend to ebb and flow in both arenas. I hope some other "old dogs" will share their stories here. How realistic is it for a yeoman guitar player to spread his/her wings and fly in a new domain such as the mandolin world? What did it take to succeed?
__________________
Wechter/Scheerhorn square neck reso; Gibson TG-25, HP665; Rockbridge 000 Custom BZ; Guild DS-240, F112; Martin HD-28, J-40, D-15SS; Northwood L-00; Regal resonator; Furch Vintage 3 OM-SR; Larrivee L-03W; Gretsch resonator; Mackenzie/Marr Ian Tyson; Taylor 714ce; Alvarez APA 1965 |
#28
|
|||
|
|||
Hi there,
I have played guitar for over fifty years and mandolin off and on for twenty. I love the sound of an octave mandolin and have owned two in the past. It largely depends on what you want to play. Tuned an octave below mandolin, the scale length is very difficult for playing melody and yet a bit short for strumming chords. My advice would be, get an Irish style bouzouki if you want to play chords, and stick to the mandolin for playing melody. Playing in a group situation it's good to swap between mandolin and octave mandolin, as some tunes sound great an octave lower, but the stretches are hard on the left hand. Hope this helps |
#29
|
|||
|
|||
When I was gassing for an octave I wanted an arch top f hole model.
Found they were too expensive a toy. Many folks convert arch top guitars Like Kay and Stella but the scale length really isn’t right. I found a Gibson TG-50. Tenor guitar which is basically a Gibbs L50 with a tenor guitar neck. I was going to drill 4 more holes but liked it so much I left it as is.tuned GDAE. Like a mandolin it’s sounds sweet. Scale length is just under 23 in. |
#30
|
|||
|
|||
Hey, this thread again...Cool.
I was down at Dusty Strings last week, and they had a used Northfield archtop octave mandolin. I don't really play mando, but I know a half dozen chords. So I too it into one of the quiet rooms and had a go. I needed a strap... Really a gas. Great tone. Great sound. Extremely responsive. I want one... Unfortunately not in the cards right now, or even on the card. I have an order to be delivered next month, so... I thought that I had filled all the niches that I would want to fill. I guess that I was wrong. Ah, GAS. It never ends... |