Guitarist Guide to Mandolin

[HHP]

Recently got back into mandolin after a long absence. Seems there have been a number of posts of people thinking of adding mandolin to their arsenal so thought I might share some observations.

1. Get the best instrument you can possibly afford. Most people would logically get a good , low cost instrument to see how it goes. When I started back in, I got the best mandolin I ever owned and it makes a world of difference in terms of tone and playability. You can get a top notch A-style starting around $1500 used.

2. The pick is more important on mandolin than guitar. On a guitar, the pick determines a lot of the tonal properties of your sound. On a mandolin, it determines if you can play it at all. Start at 1mm and then move up till you find what you like. Good, inexpensive starting point is a 2.5mm Dunlop Primetone.

3.You can't "muscle" a mandolin. The double strings might lead you to try and clamp down with your left hand, but, in fact, you need a lighter touch. The hand position and neck geometry will greatly limit speed and fluidity if too much force is used.

4. Much harder to get good tone out of a mandolin. If your right and left hand technique is not clean, mandolins can make some ugly noises to let you know you're doing it wrong.Guitars just want to please you, mandolins don't give a rat's rear for your self-esteem.

5.The good news. It is ridiculously easy to find melodies on a mandolin due to its tuning in fifths. Learning tunes where you have the melody in your head come quite easily. You can learn a lot of tunes in a short time. More good news is that there are all sorts of chord voicings available to you all over the neck and they lay our conveniently. You could just about back most bands with a half dozen chords that only require use of two fingers.

6. Most techniques translate well from guitar to mandolin. One exception, and its a big one, is tremolo. It is difficult to achieve smoothness so plan on lots of practice of this one technique. Oddly, some related techniques such as picked triplets used so much in Irish tunes, come much more easily.

[AndrewG]

That's all good advice. I previously owned a 1917 Gibson F4 and a Capek F4 Standard, and despite my thinking it would be a simple transition from guitar to mandolin, it was anything but. Lots of different techniques to adapt to, but I found Simon Mayer's 'The Mandolin Tutor' a good introduction.

[Goat Mick]

I've started dabbling back into mandolin recently and I really do enjoy the instrument. I'd like to find a resource of easy movable chords to get me up and playing songs quicker. Melodies do come a lot easier. Also there are some really good less expensive mandolins out there if you look around. I bought this Washburn from Sweetwater for $500 with a hard shell case and it sounds fantastic. All solid wood too. My hardcore bluegrass mandolin buddies have all been very impressed with it.

[rokdog49]

I hope my playing partner and friend Lee sees your post and chimes in.
He took up the Mandolin about 1 1/2-2 years ago and he will likely re-inforce what you said. I know his first Mandolin was "OK" but he soon upgraded. I also know the "pick thing" is true.

[Silly Moustache]

I haven't played mando for ages although I have a lovely Lebeda that I used in bluegrass bands in the past, and backing other singer-songwriters.

I'd like to shared one aspect that helped me.

As you look down on the funny little instrument in your lap /on your chest, just imagine that the fretboard is a small upside down guitar fretboard - E-A-D-G.

Yes I know that is going from high to low but for chord shapes it emulates first position guitar chords.

I hope that notion helps someone.

[Silly Moustache]

I haven't played mando for ages although I have a lovely Lebeda that I used in bluegrass bands in the past, and backing other singer-songwriters.

I'd like to shared one aspect that helped me.

As you look down on the funny little instrument in your lap /on your chest, just imagine that the fretboard is a small upside down guitar fretboard - E-A-D-G.

Yes I know that is going from high to low but for chord shapes it emulates first position guitar chords.

I hope that notion helps someone.

[devellis]

Good tips. One I'd add is that it's really helpful to hold the pick loosely. You really can't push those double strings out of the way with the pick. The pick needs to ride over them rather than plowing through. Some players say that you're on the right track if the pick is just shy of falling out of your hand when you play.

Also, I find it helpful to hold the pick so that the contact point of your finger and thumb on the opposite sides of the pick are equidistant from the tip. That way, your grip acts as a hinge with equal resistance in both directions. If, say, your thumb is closer to the tip than your finger is, there will be more resistance in the "hinge" on the downstroke than the upstroke.

I also found that angling the pick so that the edge rather than the flat makes initial contact worked best. Also, having the point aimed slightly toward the tailpiece (as opposed to straight at the body) helped. Playing around with these angles will help a player find his or her sweet spot.

I could never get the pick going fast enough to play Irish reels at a session-worthy speed and ended up pretty much giving up on mandolin. But I do still pick one of the several I still own up from time to time and play something a bit less brisk. They really are nice instruments and I think playing both mandolin and guitar does have bi-directional benefits as the techniques for each can benefit the other. It does take a bit of getting used to the skinny neck of a mandolin (or the gigantic body of a guitar, if you're going in the other direction). Mandolins with slightly wider necks and radiused fingerboards (if you can find them) may feel better to some guitarists.

[beerfreak]

Great tips! I started messing with a mandy about 6 years ago and though I'm not a 'player' I can get thru a few songs with our little group. Sometimes going from a song on guitar to mandolin requires me to concentrate more but it does do a number on my fingers.
I have an Ovation (electric) and it never played well out the box. Took it to a small guitar shop and they did some magic with a setup. Huge difference in play ability and sound.
And the advice on the pick is right on. Experiment and you'll see the difference.

[vindibona1]

While I'm sure it's good advice to go for the best instrument, what does someone who isn't quite sure about playing mando do for an initial buy-in? I'm intrigued by it, but I'm not sure if I'll become obsessed with learning it, or have it as a novelty for a month then put it aside.

$1500 for my first mando is definitely out. What's reasonable, and what can I buy for "reasonable" money that will suit my needs without knowing how I'll feel in two or three months?

Thoughts?

[HHP]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

While I'm sure it's good advice to go for the best instrument, what does someone who isn't quite sure about playing mando do for an initial buy-in? I'm intrigued by it, but I'm not sure if I'll become obsessed with learning it, or have it as a novelty for a month then put it aside.

$1500 for my first mando is definitely out. What's reasonable, and what can I buy for "reasonable" money that will suit my needs without knowing how I'll feel in two or three months?

Thoughts?

There are lot of good imports in the 300-500 range. Better that than nothing. Just be aware that the gap is much bigger with mandolins than guitars. Learning on a 300-500 guitar is not likely to retard your progress. To some degree, it will with mandolin

The difference between a sweet, pure tone and what sounds like someone dropping the silverware on a wood floor is very small.

[fatt-dad]

I spend a lot of time in mandolin-land.

I don't know if I have it figured out yet. . . So, I've adopted the mantra, "On the journey to excellence, enjoy mediocrity."

The melodies though! Yes, they just come to the fingers. The tone, dynamics, random sounds, etc. are a bit of a struggle!

I'm having a blast learning duets though and in about 10 days, we're performing a series of very difficult pieces.

f-d

[HHP]

Originally Posted by fatt-dad

I spend a lot of time in mandolin-land.

I don't know if I have it figured out yet. . . So, I've adopted the mantra, "On the journey to excellence, enjoy mediocrity."

The melodies though! Yes, they just come to the fingers. The tone, dynamics, random sounds, etc. are a bit of a struggle!

I'm having a blast learning duets though and in about 10 days, we're performing a series of very difficult pieces.

f-d

Where are you in Richmond? I grew up on Staples Mill Road.

[bobwl]

Originally Posted by Mick's Goat Whiskey Picks

I've started dabbling back into mandolin recently and I really do enjoy the instrument. I'd like to find a resource of easy movable chords to get me up and playing songs quicker. Melodies do come a lot easier. Also there are some really good less expensive mandolins out there if you look around. I bought this Washburn from Sweetwater for $500 with a hard shell case and it sounds fantastic. All solid wood too. My hardcore bluegrass mandolin buddies have all been very impressed with it.

I got this same Mandolin, like you all my hardcore mandolin friends were really impressed with it as well.

[BFD]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

...$1500 for my first mando is definitely out. What's reasonable, and what can I buy for "reasonable" money that will suit my needs without knowing how I'll feel in two or three months?

Thoughts?

The thing to realize about guitars is it's a pretty huge supply/demand market, so there's lots available at numerous price points including CHEAP.
Many folks agree you pay roughly 2X for the same quality in a mando as in a guitar. If you hang out at Mandolin Cafe, the mando equivalent to this forum, most experienced folks steer budget minded beginners toward imports from Eastman, Kentucky & The Loar, usually never to the brands/models available at GC, MF and other guitar-centric retailers. Check the sponsors at Mandolin Cafe for shops that people respect....similar to here.

[BoneDigger]

I also agree that it's a lot of fun and much of what you say holds true. I would argue though that there are some very nice mandolins on the market for less than $1500 used. My two Eastman mandolines sound and play great, and they were much less than that.