How many of you play mandolin?

[Johnny M]

   

Since I've been moaning about a mandolin sub forum, I guess I have to write something now 

Well, we might as well take a roll call of who plays mandolin and what they have ... of course pictures are more than welcome. 

I picked up a lightly used Larrivee A-33 mandolin just over a year ago and since then my guitars have been collecting dust.  Coming from guitar, it felt very natural and logical the way the fretboard is set up ~ meaning it wasn't that difficult to get pleasing sounds out of it (without hitting wrong notes).  I picked a Larrivee mandolin because I came full circle with guitars after playing many "high end" and expensive guitars it between my first and now present Larrivee guitar.  The only mandolin I played before picking up the Larrivee was my son's Breedlove, which is a fine mandolin and he likes it a lot.  Over the past year I've played quite a few different mandolins, but nothing that made me want to trade my A-33.  One day I'd like to get an oval hole, but I'm happy with what I have right now.

So what do you have and/or want?

John

[SMan]

I have one but not really much of a player on it. Fun though.

[unclrob]

Right now I have a mando mad by a local madman that I'd post a pix but I can't shrink it but its on my website.I use to own a 1920 Gibson A1 that was the most wonderful mando I ever played but cost of living forced me to sell a few years ago.I find that I prefer oval hole A style's over the F style and if I come into more money one day I'll more then likely add a Larrivee mando with the oval soundhole.Or maybe another old Gibson.I have owned Kent A style.Tyler Mt F,A style's also octive mando which was amazing over the years.

[Digdog]

Yes sir  I love those mandolins. Presently I own a Weber Bighorn mando and a Eastman 615 mandola. Talk about the ultimate travel stringed instrument along side of an ukulele . I've yet to see any Larrivee mandolins in my area but i'm sure there NO KA OI, THE BEST. On my wish list is a oval hole mandola. Will try to get some pics up but always have a tuff time with posting them from my dial up netbook to my wireless netpad :?d

[BenF]

A friend found a mandolin in her fathers attic a couple of years back, and I cleaned it up and restrung it for her.  Never played one before then, and looked up some simple chord charts and tabs of songs I knew.  It was great fun, and a very simple instrument to learn with a bit of guitar playing knowledge.  I'd very much like to own one in the future.  The Larrivee A style ones are beautiful.

[willfo]

 I love to play the mandolin. I currently have a terrible F style Michael Kelly , but it is still playable enough for around the house and a few gigs here and there. I would love to get a new mando soon as possible , but the price point for a decent one would get an awful lot of things that I could really use like a new P.A. or studio time.
I've been waiting to play a new larrivee for awhile now , but larrivee's are prety scarce (surprisingly) around this area. I started playing about 5-6 yrs ago and it didn't take long to transfer all of the guitar knowledge over to the mandolin( i have no problems with leads , but know that i have short comings in the  rhythm dept.) 
  I was also wondering why the preference to the oval soundhole? I have always stuck to f hole styles , except when I played an octave for awhile( which I dread ever getting rid of!).

[ducktrapper]

I suddenly find myself with three mandolins. As for what I do with them? I guess you could call it playing. It sure isn't very serious.  

[Walkerman]

Define "play."

[stubby]

I've had an Eastman 515 for about a year and a half, and it gets more playing time than any of my guitars. Decent instrument, but it's given me dreams of a custom build. Since getting it, I've made a number of useless observations:

1) Mandolins are the crack cocaine of musical instruments.
2) It's impossible to be in a bad mood while playing a jig.
3) Dogs don't wince when you hit a "clam" note. Wives do.
4) The vast majority of non-musicians think a mandolin is a ukelele or a "little guitar".
5) Mandolin circle of fifths tuning is way more logical than standard guitar tuning.
6) "Blackberry Blossom" seems to always be the next song I'm going to learn. Five years hence, it will still be.
7) MAS is much worse than GAS.
8) Restringing a mandolin ranks slightly above root canal work in terms of preferred activities.

[mas music]

Never played a mandolin but I would love to. Still I am happy to see a new section on this forum. I hope Larrivee regains a more prominent role in the industry as the economy slowly recovers.

[GeeNorm]

Define "play."

I own a mandolin ... but I haven't inhaled. 

Norman

[unclrob]

I can't put into words what it is about an oval hole mando.......Wait its coming.....Much better tone.It would suprise some that many bluegrasser played A style's with oval hole's.But when Monroe came along and hit it big first so did the F style mando's.I find that for me all the F has going for it is volumn and not much tone.The A has tone beyond belief but its just isn't as load.An F can be a banjo killer.






Wait,I'm old and my knee hurts so give me an extra couple of seconds before the stone's fly.

[SMan]

My bowl back mando is at least 45 years old.  (Made in Mittenwald Germany) It was resurrected about 15 years ago from the scrap pile.  I use it more for wall art than playing.

[flatlander]

Me, Not great but decent.
1 oval hole custom build.
1 Micheal Kelly F-5 copy which is great. Especially for 400.00 as a manufacture second. Small finish error UNDER finger board extension. list about 1200.
Love mandolin and if someones around to play good rhythm, play it all I can.
Also have octave mandolin which I love and is rich enough to play even if rhythym is spotty as I play in in a open turning where things can ring out.

[ducktrapper]

Now we need a ukulele forum. I spend more time with my uke than my mandolins AND  it's a Larrivée!

[Danny]

   Does a Fylde Portuguese Mandola count? I played it yesterday after I put 10 new strings on it.
                         My wife said something about the awful noise.

[dave42]

I play a little mandolin. Not great, but it is fun! I had a used starter mando, but had funds at the time for a good sounding mandolin, so the search was on! I found a 2004 Weber Hyalite Custom that sounded great to my ears. Wow! Has it been 6 years?? Anyhoo, have fun!

[flatlander]

That's a great looking mandolin above!
I play a "little" mandolin too. And also a "big' one.

[acousticphd]

So what do you have and/or want?

I want yours! (The OP's).

I mostly set aside guitar in favor of mandolin ~8-9 yrs ago, although I have come back to my guitars more in the past few years.  I have too many mandolins to list, but I went through the common progression of decent import, better import, used Flatiron, several used nice handmade mandolins, a couple old Gibsons, and on and on.
I have and play several good handmade A5s (Old Wave, Ken Ratcliff, Jon Mann, Givens Legacy), but my main love is for A-style oval hole mandos (1915 Gibson, '90s Old Wave).

The A33 is an A5 I would consider if/when I could find one pre-owned (the most I have ever spent on any mandolin was ~$1400).  I had a chance to finally pick up and handle a couple of freshly finished A33s during an impromptu visit to the Larrivee plant in July, and was impressed.  They looked and felt very well made, with a punchy and lively tone.

I have been a bit confused about the new and used market prices on the these; I have seen new ones listed everywhere between ~$1400 and ~$2000.  I think it will be hard to judge what kind of money is needed to buy a preowned Larrivee until they have been around for a few more years.  I did not get the impression the plant is turning them out in great numbers; I saw only a very modest number in various steps of production, and 4-5 finished A- and F-style instruments on that day.

[Nort]

I would'nt say I play mandolin,  but I'm working on it.
got hooked with an old Ibanez A model that I received as part of a trade, passed it on to a friend who wants to learn mandolin.

Now this Ratliff R5 is my main mandolin squeeze.