# Octaves, Zouks, Citterns, Tenors and Electrics > CBOM >  Please talk about your experience with the Mandola.

## Caleb

Decent guitarist and mediocre mandolin player here.  For some reason the idea of the mandola has caught my attention for a while now.  (As if the mandolin wasn't already the road less taken! The mandola seems an almost non-existent journey.)  

I don't make hasty purchases, and I'm not ready to buy a mandola: I don't know nearly enough about them yet, though I do like what Big Muddy is making.   

Did you add one to your stable and find that you neglected it after a time? (I did this with the octave mandolin already.)  Did you get one and it ended up replacing your mandolin?  Did you have a hard time playing your favorite mandolin tunes on the mandola?  What did you end up mainly using it for?  Did you get one of the cheap flowery ones on eBay and regret it?  Did you spend a ton on one and regret that?  

I would just like to hear about your mandola journey and where it has taken you.

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## Simon DS

I have an Ashbury 32 E, and I love it still, had a cheap Stagg mando that I would often have to cajole and wrestle with -one of those instruments that bites back.  I love it too, but I completely dropped it when the Octave arrived.
Played the Octave for three months solid without ever putting on a capo. Everything was played open, and really hard work to force myself to use the pinky on the seventh. Tone improved after a while.

Then after the three months I felt that I was getting somewhere, I had a sort of easy flow that arrived in my left hand.
All that time and then so excited, I took my capo and gingerly placed it at the fifth fret, first time ever, and was blown away with how easy it was to play!
I think the mando is equivalent to the seventh fret on the Octave.
Then I took the capo off and continued...

(I’m now playing ukulele bass in fifths, which takes a 20 minute warm up each time I change instruments and it’s helped my playing on both, but that's another story)

-I should add that if I had the money, of course I’d buy a mandolin. A nice one.

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Caleb

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## Daniel Nestlerode

Slap a capo on the octave mandolin at the fifth fret and have a go!

The scale will be a bit shorter than the usual 16" or 17" but the fingering will be the same.

Daniel

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Caleb

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## tmsweeney

I 've always been drawn to the dark side of the mando universe, and actually focused on octave for along time, the first mandola I bought (off of Larry Sledge -who played mandocello on Norman Blake's "Original music from the mysterious south" Album),it was a Romanian made Celtic Cross model with a pick up installed, flat top with a first fret, a very long almost 18 inch scale. While somewhat primitive, that is a pretty good sounding box and I actually wrote music on it ( I find some instruments lead the way ?), but I eventually picked up a used Weber Gallatin oval hole mandola that I play regularly, I even bring it out to bluegrass jams on occasion, I do have my eye on the Yellowstone mandola at Elderly, but am trying to maintain self control.  I admit between the mandolin, mandola, octave mandolin and mandocello, I play the mandola the least. The one problem I found with a mandola in a band setting is it shares a  lot of sonic space with the guitar  so it can get muddy if you wind up playing the same notes as the guitar, for some reason this is less of a problem with the octave. So I do play my mandola enough to keep it around, I enjoy trying to play common fiddle tunes in different fingerings,  I admit there is not a lot of material or even performance examples out in internet land, and viola music is all alto clef so there's that to deal with as well. The Blakes and Ostrushko have some music featuring the mandola, I know Peter Rowan has a great mandola "Cold Rain and Snow " out there on You Tube. I was at a Frank Solivan show and he pulled the mandola out for a couple of tunes, so that was very cool and refreshing to see the alto box in action.

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Caleb, 

CHASAX, 

Holger, 

lenf12

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## tmsweeney

The mando is equivalent to the 12th fret on the octave

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Caleb

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## Daniel Nestlerode

tmsweeney is right about sharing a lot of sonic space with the guitar. 

I've been playing along to Eric Skye's "Kathryn by the Delaware" on the mandola. I can match the pitch of his guitar part on the mandola. How cool would this be as a guitar mandola duet?




This is why I play mandola. (OK well actually a 5 string emando -CDGAE.)

Daniel

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Caleb, 

GeoMandoAlex, 

lenf12, 

Simon DS

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## MikeEdgerton

I bought one a few years ago to mess around on. Honestly, it's a blast. The first thing that hits you is that there is actually sustain. Good luck on four fingered chords  :Smile: 

I started out simply playing songs with the mandolin fingering then started trying to do them on the mandola in the same key as they would be done on the mandolin. It's entertaining for me, how anyone else feels about it in the house I have no idea.  :Cool:

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Caleb, 

hank, 

lenf12

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## Simon DS

> tmsweeney is right about sharing a lot of sonic space with the guitar. 
> 
> I've been playing along to Eric Skye's "Kathryn by the Delaware" on the mandola. I can match the pitch of his guitar part on the mandola. How cool would this be as a guitar mandola duet?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is why I play mandola. (OK well actually a 5 string emando -CDGAE.)
> 
> Daniel


Many thanks Daniel, what a great tune that is!
-you don’t by any chance have the tab? 
Though I guess I could just keep playing the vid!  :Smile: 

I wasn’t sure at first (sonically speaking) about the two instruments together but the way they weave to and fro and hold back when the other comes forward, like dancing -really nice.


Oh yes, sorry I should have made it clear that my 20.5 inch scale length Octave mandolin with capo at 7th fret (13.5 inches) has an equivalent scale length to mandolin, but if you want to play the exact same notes in the same positions as someone who’s playing a standard mandolin, then you have to put a capo at the twelfth fret, it being an Octave mandolin.

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J.C. Bryant

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## Chuck Leyda

I got this Davy Stuart mandola last year.  It's an 18 inch scale and has a bit bigger body.  I love it.  I use it on Celtic but also old time, Americana, and gospel.  

I've taken to tuning it CGDG and using a capo when I want.  Mandolas can be thought of as bigger mandolins but I tend to play mine more like a small bouzouki.  But it really is its own instrument.  It definitely gets a lot of use.

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Caleb

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## BoxCarJoe

Mandolin never happened for me even after years of trying.
Mandola is just perfect in every way.

A non musician woman a few weeks ago asked me why my mandolin had a deeper voice. 
It was nice to know someone was hearing it.

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Caleb, 

John Lloyd, 

Simon DS

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## Simon DS

One time, in desperation, I actually tuned my rough old Stagg mandolin down one, then two frets just to see the difference. 
It was actually really nice, I thought. 
Though the strings did feel a bit floppy, and if I’d slackened them off any more then I sure people would have looked around, wondering where the banjo was.

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Caleb

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## DougC

My favorite instrument, out of my personal collection of mandolins, fiddles, and a guitar is mandola. For me it is the right size and pitch range for accompanying my wife on violin and playing solo. And it sounds really cool with a cello...
 I notice that others here all mention the sonic range being a factor in fitting into a group situation, and that was my initial reason for getting a mandola. What I did not expect was the beautiful sound, rather than the punchy aspect of mandolin is a factor. The mandolin is much better at doing rhythm chords heard above the fray. 
It comes down to this however: you have to spend time with each instrument and juggle your time effectively. It's much more demanding than just playing guitar or fiddle.

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Caleb

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## foldedpath

I tried a mandola a few years ago, but for the music I play -- Irish/Scottish trad and related styles -- it just didn't work out. Or rather, there were better options. Here's the story:

I bought a Breedlove 4-string "Radim Zenkl model," a custom instrument Breedlove offered for a brief period. It was an F-hole acoustic mandola with just 4 strings and a humbucker pickup attached to the end of the fretboard. Designed for fingerstyle playing, basically. I had played fingerstyle guitar for years, and was curious to see how that would work on a 5ths-tuned instrument. It was a great mandola for that approach, but the CGDA tuning was a problem for playing trad tunes in the common keys. That wouldn't matter if I always played alone, but I enjoy playing with others in sessions and with my fiddler S.O. at home.

So I started capo'ing the mandola at the 2nd fret, resulting in a DAEB tuning. The lower three strings are the same notes as the upper three strings on a mandolin or fiddle, and the B on top is usually the highest note in a fiddle tune. Very convenient because your pinky doesn't have to stretch to reach that B note. You lose the bottom G string notes, but the majority of Irish/Scottish trad tunes use only the upper three strings D,A,E on a mandolin. So what you have here with the capo 2 trick, is basically an octave mandolin without the bottom G string. And a bit less sustain than a true OM due to scale length. I eventually just ditched the capo and used custom string gauges to keep it in DAEB tuning full time.

So that idea worked to get me into the repertoire I wanted to play, trying out a fingerstyle approach. It only lasted for around a year and a half though, and I decided to sell it for a couple of reasons. The fingerstyle approach with 5ths tuning was interesting, but with only 4 strings I couldn't use my thumb often enough. I'm used to doing independent bass lines with my thumb on fingerstyle guitar, and I missed that.

The other reason I sold it was because by that time, I had acquired a very nice octave mandolin. Every time I picked up that mandola in DAEB tuning, I would look over at my OM and wonder why I wasn't playing that instead, where I would have longer sustain and the use of the G string on the bottom. Some fiddle tunes do have notes on the G string I missed playing them.

So that's my mandola story. I think I would own one again (a standard double course) if for some reason I reverted to only playing alone at home, or started getting interested in playing Blues or Jazz, where I think mandola CGDA tuning is a more natural fit to the repertoire. I know some folks do use mandola for playing trad, and more power to 'em. It just didn't work for me.

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Caleb, 

hank, 

Simon DS

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## Daniel Nestlerode

> Many thanks Daniel, what a great tune that is!
> -you don’t by any chance have the tab? 
> Though I guess I could just keep playing the vid! 
> 
> I wasn’t sure at first (sonically speaking) about the two instruments together but the way they weave to and fro and hold back when the other comes forward, like dancing -really nice.
> 
> 
> Oh yes, sorry I should have made it clear that my 20.5 inch scale length Octave mandolin with capo at 7th fret (13.5 inches) has an equivalent scale length to mandolin, but if you want to play the exact same notes in the same positions as someone who’s playing a standard mandolin, then you have to put a capo at the twelfth fret, it being an Octave mandolin.


I don't have the mandola tab, no.  I do have the guitar tab though.  I was thinking about putting it in TEF and then trying to convert it from guitar to mandola.
I caught the A part by repeated listening and then looked at the guitar tab for the B part.  Eric plays more decoratively in the B part which makes the tune a bit harder to catch.

Hint: Key of E major, capo 2nd fret.  The fingering is a LOT easier!

Daniel

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Simon DS

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## Simon DS

Guitar tab would be great, if that’s ok. It’s those blues sounding scales that I would have difficulties to get down. 

I’ve found I can often  write it out as an .abc text file and then use mandolintab.net to covert it for mandola or Octave mandolin or even Irish whistle, or sometimes when I want to use a capo (the Octave is much warmer and richer around the fifth fret)  then I use a program to increase/decrease the whole tune by 5 or 7 semitones and when it’s converted it’s in a different tab pattern but still the right key.

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## Daniel Nestlerode

Ask and ye shall receive.  Got this from the man hisownself.   :Smile: 

Daniel

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OneChordTrick, 

Simon DS

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## Jonathan K

I love my Weber Rawhide mandola, although honestly, I don't play it that much. I would never part with it.

I can read and play classical and jazz on mandola and with some effort, I can work out chords but I get easily confused if I have to figure out a chord on the fly as I think in terms of mandolin chords. The fact that the mandola is in a lower range does it make it great for accompanying my wife singing.

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Caleb

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## lenf12

After several years of playing in the Providence Mandolin Orchestra as a 2nd or 1st section mandolin player, I switched to the mandola section due to a depletion of their ranks and an itch I wanted to scratch, so I acquired a Weber Yellowstone mandola and started in that direction. The alto tuning caused me a few embarrassing moments during rehearsals with the PMO, usually humorous comments by the conductor complimenting my "harmony" with the rest of the 'dola section. One of my main obstacles was the 17" scale length of the Weber being just too long to make some of the position changes. I have small hands. About the same time, I became familiar with Paul Duff mandolins and commissioned him to build me an H-5 w/Virzi with a 15 7/8" scale length. It is much easier on the hands for sure.

Since moving to Florida in 2002, I no longer play with the PMO (obviously) but I do keep the Duff out on a stand for whenever to mood strikes (not often enough). I've tried playing it with my Saturday afternoon jam buddies but the guitarist complained about me stepping all over the tonal ranges he plays in so I'm back on mandolin with that ensemble. The 'dola sits neglected for weeks at a time but it is a great instrument.



Len B.
Clearwater, FL

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Caleb, 

MikeEdgerton, 

Simon DS

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## Drew Egerton

I bought an Eastman mandola several years ago. It's a decent instrument but I really have not done very much with it at all. I learned a few tunes and I have played it on I think ONE gig, ONE song. (John and Mary by IIIrd Tyme Out)

I learned a couple other things like Opus 38 (which can also be played on a mandolin just as easily).

I also recently bought a Northfield Octave mandolin and who knows what I will do with that either....but they're both cool.
I would say the Northfield is a better quality instrument than the Eastman as far as tone and play-ability so I am more likely to enjoy picking it up for that alone anyway.

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Caleb

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## JeffD

After my first mandolin, a Tanada, was destroyed in my locked car one hot sunny day, I ordered a mandola from Elderly Instruments. I played it capo two down a string as an octave, or no capo as a mandola. 

As I played a lot with others at jams etc., I found the mandola was limiting me, and got myself my first really nice mandolin. I adored that thing and played the potatoes out of it. I would often bring the mandola for an alternate voice.

My gradually devoted myself to excelling as much as I could with the mandolin, and the mandola, a bouzouki, and even fiddle lessons, became musical distractions. Several years ago one person in a group I played with was going to buy a mandola and I sold him mine.

It has a good home and is played regularly.

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Caleb

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## MikeEdgerton

> After several years of playing in the Providence Mandolin Orchestra as a 2nd or 1st section mandolin player, I switched to the mandola section due to a depletion of their ranks and an itch I wanted to scratch, so I acquired a Weber Yellowstone mandola and started in that direction. The alto tuning caused me a few embarrassing moments during rehearsals with the PMO, usually humorous comments by the conductor complimenting my "harmony" with the rest of the 'dola section. One of my main obstacles was the 17" scale length of the Weber being just too long to make some of the position changes. I have small hands. About the same time, I became familiar with Paul Duff mandolins and commissioned him to build me an H-5 w/Virzi with a 15 7/8" scale length. It is much easier on the hands for sure.
> 
> Since moving to Florida in 2002, I no longer play with the PMO (obviously) but I do keep the Duff out on a stand for whenever to mood strikes (not often enough). I've tried playing it with my Saturday afternoon jam buddies but the guitarist complained about me stepping all over the tonal ranges he plays in so I'm back on mandolin with that ensemble. The 'dola sits neglected for weeks at a time but it is a great instrument.
> 
> 
> 
> Len B.
> Clearwater, FL


That Duff is beautiful.

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## DougC

What is your experience with an Octave Mandolin after having a Mandola?  I think I'd like one for many of the reasons mentioned, however scale length is a concern. (And I'm thinking of selling / trading my guitar because it is just 'too big'. Alas, I have small hands too.)

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## foldedpath

> What is your experience with an Octave Mandolin after having a Mandola?  I think I'd like one for many of the reasons mentioned, however scale length is a concern. (And I'm thinking of selling / trading my guitar because it is just 'too big'. Alas, I have small hands too.)


More OMs are being made now in 20" scale lengths as an option, instead of what used to be considered 22" as a standard (more or less). Personally, I wouldn't go shorter scale than 20", because one of the cool things about an OM is the sustain, and that's directly related to scale length. 

I think the key to avoiding frustration with the finger stretch on an OM compared to mandolin, is choice of repertoire. Especially if you're using it to play melody lines and not just chordal backup. I play mainly slower tempo tunes on my 22" scale OM like marches, "metered airs" and O'Carolan tunes. You can really milk the sustain of an OM with these tunes that leave some space between the notes. I save the fast stuff like dance speed jigs and reels for mandolin, which "speaks" more quickly than the OM with stiffer strings and faster note decay.

A mandola sits somewhere in the middle of those two approaches, a bit more nimble for the faster tunes, a little more sustain than mandolin but not as much as a good OM (talking in generalities here; there are differences in individual instruments).

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hank, 

Simon DS

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## Caleb

> After my first mandolin, a Tanada, was destroyed in my locked car one hot sunny day, I ordered a mandola from Elderly Instruments. I played it capo two down a string as an octave, or no capo as a mandola. 
> 
> As I played a lot with others at jams etc., I found the mandola was limiting me, and got myself my first really nice mandolin. I adored that thing and played the potatoes out of it. I would often bring the mandola for an alternate voice.
> 
> My gradually devoted myself to excelling as much as I could with the mandolin, and the mandola, a bouzouki, and even fiddle lessons, became musical distractions. Several years ago one person in a group I played with was going to buy a mandola and I sold him mine.
> 
> It has a good home and is played regularly.


I have considered that adding another instrument to the fold means less time for other things, and I already struggle to find time to play the instruments I have.  I play mandolin more than anything else.  But I also play acoustic guitar, mainly for singing, and I have a Les Paul/Marshall setup that I play rock and roll on (this one is possibly the most therapeutic because doing blues bends at full strength on an electric guitar is a good stress-reliever).   

Thanks, all, for the replies.  If I do end up adding a mandola, I want it to be something very primitive-looking.  Picture something a Hobbit of the Shire might play.

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## bigskygirl

I got one of the Eastman MDA315s last year and while I don’t really play it that much it is fun to have and mess around with.  I got it mostly because it wasn’t too spendy as I knew I wouldn’t spend a large amount of time with it but it is fun to have and bring to a jam now and again.

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## Simon DS

The sustain is great. 
I’m trying to learn how to hit a couple of strings as a double stop on all of the  third beats for example. Not easy. It gives a feeling of accompaniment. 
Another is to play, especially in the key of G, double stops on the first two strings around 12th, 15th fret, alternating with really bass notes on the third and fourth strings open G and D.
Sometimes it’s difficult because, during a fast tune the open strings will ring over a chord change, and clash, that’s where playing notes at the seventh fret helps but slows things down.
Another exercise that really helps me is using the first finger only to play a scale all the way up just one string. Practice sliding to each note too.

In terms of playing with others, I’ve found it really good to play the Octave in bass guitar style by  alternating notes eg. 1, 5  then 4, 1 then 5, 2 etc with some riffs while singing with others who sing and play ukulele. My bass ukulele tuned in fifths makes a good contrast instrument too.

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## kurth83

For me, mandola was a gateway to tenor guitar.

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DougC

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## Daniel Nestlerode

> What is your experience with an Octave Mandolin after having a Mandola?  I think I'd like one for many of the reasons mentioned, however scale length is a concern. (And I'm thinking of selling / trading my guitar because it is just 'too big'. Alas, I have small hands too.)


My usual 'mandola' is actually an Arrow G5 hollow body electric 5 string mandolin with a 15" scale length.  It solves a lot of stretching/fingering issues.

My 'real' mandola is a Weber Alder #2, made when Bruce was still running the company.  17" scale length.  I put octave mandolin strings on it, and the CGDA tuning works fine.  DAEB and EBF#C# work as well with those strings.  Fingering can be difficult if playing melodies.  I would not attempt Kathryn by the Delaware (above) on it without a capo in the second fret or tuning it up (as above).

I have an octave mandolin made by Paul Hathway (London, UK).  It has a 19" scale length.  If I work up to it, I can manage simple fiddle tunes with standard mandolin fingering.  (I used to play Temperance Reel on it.)  Then, of course, if I capo up to the 5th fret I have the CGDA tuning, and it's a shorter scale than either the Arrow or the Weber.

I record with all three, but leave the Weber at home when gigging.

The point of these instruments is not to play mandolin on them, but to play them for what they are. I use the octave and mandola mostly as a rhythm instruments to accompany my voice.  They get to play tunes when the tune calls for it, and if the fingering is possible.

Having said that, playing a fiddle tune on the mandola using the mandolin fingering (ie playing Salt Creek in D instead of A) will help with finger strength.  And if you play Salt Creek in A on the mandola, you'll have to work your brain by going up the neck.

So it's all good!   :Smile: 

Daniel

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DougC, 

Simon DS

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## DougC

I use my mandola mostly for melody lines and now I'm learning chords and bass lines. Although I have been doing bass lines on the mandolin for years in the range of violin which seems pretty silly because the pitch is so high. Ha, ha. Actually this brings me back to wanting a lower 'voice' which is why I got the darned mandola in the first place! 
ARGH! Maybe I should get an electric mandolin with huge Marshall Amps and do da Blues. 

The guitar does a very good job on chords and bass lines. I don't play it much as I had quit for a number of years. And now I have to re-learn that stuff when there is _so much to do on the other instruments._ 

So the 'argument' goes on inside my head like this: A small OM may save time and frustration by being tuned in fifths as well as being tuned the same as a mandolin. This way I avoid EADGBE as well as CGDA. I don't do 'open tunings' on mandolin and I used to do DADGAD but my memory is pretty muddy. e.g. too much to learn again.

Choice of repertoire according to the instrument's 'sustain' makes sense. I'll play jigs and reels on the fiddle and save the O'Carolan tunes for the mandola, for example.

What to do? Sell the beautiful guitar? Sell everything and start over??







> More OMs are being made now in 20" scale lengths as an option, instead of what used to be considered 22" as a standard (more or less). Personally, I wouldn't go shorter scale than 20", because one of the cool things about an OM is the sustain, and that's directly related to scale length. 
> 
> I think the key to avoiding frustration with the finger stretch on an OM compared to mandolin, is choice of repertoire. Especially if you're using it to play melody lines and not just chordal backup. I play mainly slower tempo tunes on my 22" scale OM like marches, "metered airs" and O'Carolan tunes. You can really milk the sustain of an OM with these tunes that leave some space between the notes. I save the fast stuff like dance speed jigs and reels for mandolin, which "speaks" more quickly than the OM with stiffer strings and faster note decay.
> 
> A mandola sits somewhere in the middle of those two approaches, a bit more nimble for the faster tunes, a little more sustain than mandolin but not as much as a good OM (talking in generalities here; there are differences in individual instruments).

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## Caleb

Lots of good info here but I still have a lot to learn about the mandola.  Example: I keep seeing references to capoing the second fret which changes the pitch to this or that, or using an octave mandolin and capoing the fifth etc etc.  Does capoing the fifth on an ocatave mandolin basically give you a mandola then?  All new to me. 

I had a TC octave years ago and traded it off. It was pretty quiet and overall underwhelming, and the big stretches made tunes impossible for me.

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## Gunnar

If you capo an octave at the fifth fret it will play the same pitch as a mandola, but probably will be a shorter scale length.

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## DougC

I don't capo. (I don't tango either, ha ha).  But on an OM at 5th fret a GDAE becomes CGDA, so yea, it becomes a mandola. 
Capo on the 2nd fret becomes one step higher G=A, D=E, etc.

Roger Tallroth has big hands BUT he's doing melody and chords that ring. Just what I like to play.  What's the scale length of that Northfield he's playing?








> Lots of good info here but I still have a lot to learn about the mandola.  Example: I keep seeing references to capoing the second fret which changes the pitch to this or that, or using an octave mandolin and capoing the fifth etc etc.  Does capoing the fifth on an ocatave mandolin basically give you a mandola then?  All new to me. 
> 
> I had a TC octave years ago and traded it off. It was pretty quiet and overall underwhelming, and the big stretches made tunes impossible for me.

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Drew Egerton, 

Simon DS

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## Chuck Leyda

22 inch scale

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DougC

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## Jim Bevan

I have a 1921 Gibson H2, and love it.

_Did you add one to your stable and find that you neglected it after a time?_
I'm neglecting it at the moment only because I'm a touring musician, and I decided on having other mandolins (two electric 5-strings and a Collings MT2-O) with me.

_Did you get one and it ended up replacing your mandolin?_
It did, for a while – I toured with the Gibson exclusively (kinda – I had a Rigel 10-string for work), hitting Irish sessions as I went.

_Did you have a hard time playing your favorite mandolin tunes on the mandola?_
No – I moved the B part of most of the IT tunes down an octave. 

_What did you end up mainly using it for?_
Irish Trad.

_Did you get one of the cheap flowery ones on eBay and regret it? Did you spend a ton on one and regret that?_
The Gibson wasn't cheap, but wasn't all that expensive either, and no, no regrets.

The only difference from playing a regular mandolin is in my technique: I use my pinky for the sixth-fret notes (which has affected my mandolin playing – I find myself doing that on mandolin now a lot more than I used to). And I shift up to my first finger on the E-string for G-to-B passages (which I also find myself doing on mandolin these days).

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Caleb

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## Simon DS

Yes my Octave with a fifth fret capo would play CGDA at the ‘open’ position, and the scale length at the fifth fret is 15.35 inches.

It’s the versatility that prevents me from thinking about getting a good mando, if I want to play something a bit more challenging I just put the capo on. I guess if I played a lot with others then I’d have to buy a mandolin too.


I did play a mandola in England one time that was really big and heavily built, but had a short scale length, about 14 inches, not much more than a mandolin. In fact when I saw it I thought it was a mandolin. 
It was tuned CGDA I think, and really bass-like, with heavy strings and hard on the fingers but also very sort of reactive, I liked it, though not a lot of sustain.

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## allenhopkins

I've played mandola for about 35 years now (holy cow -- that long?!).  I own several: a Washburn bowl-back from the late 1890's that I use in historical programs (and as a phony "lute" at one Ren Faire), a Sobell that was designed, I think, as a short-scale OM, but that I have strung CGDA and use as a 'dola, and most recently a Stahl instrument made by the Larson brothers.

I've found mandola very useful as a harmony instrument in Celtic and klezmer tunes, working against a fiddle or a mandolin.  *Here's* an MP3 of my band _Innisfree_ with the Sobell playing against Mark Deprez's mandolin-banjo.  (Other musicians: Barbara Jablonski on hammered dulcimer, Kathleen Cappon on 12-string guitar.)  You can see how I try to work out harmonies, occasionally octave doubling Mark's lead.  Tunes are _Irish Washerwoman, Swallowtail Jig, Saddle the Pony._

Recently, I've been taking the Stahl to sing-arounds and jams, and have found that singers like the less "shrill" register of the mandola for song accompaniment.  The Stahl has an amazing bass down on the C string, and it's interesting to play mandolin-style accompaniments, but in a different register.  As someone who started on mandolin, I have to keep my head in the game as far as transposition is concerned -- the song's in D, but I'm playing "A positions" if it were a mandolin -- but after all this time, I can shift gears without too much effort.  Or so I think...

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Caleb, 

Simon DS

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## John Lloyd

I have an Eastman DGM3 (i.e. Lyon & Healey knockoff) mandola. It gets played less than my mandolins, but enough to keep it around even after I get an octave. To my ears, the mandola meshes better with the guitar while still having a different voice. If I were going to play a mandolin family instrument as accompaniment for solo or duo vocals, there's an excellent chance it would be the mandola as often as not.

----------

Caleb

----------


## Explorer

I taught myself guitar in high school, and then bought an old Harmony mandolin for $25 at a pawn shop. I eventually discovered a music store which had a new Flatiron mandola, and I've owned it ever since. 

At first I just went with chording, then got more confident with melody, and some mixing of the two. Eventually I discovered that mandola is tuned the same as tenor guitar and tenor mandola, and there are some pretty amazing players of both on YouTube. That inspired me to pursue chord melody on mandola, which led to my purchasing and using the Mel Bay Complete Tenor Banjo Method, and then the Mel Bay Tenor Banjo Melody Chord System. Working my way through both of those pushed my playing far ahead of what I accomplished just through experimentation. 

For what it's worth, I also wrote myself a chord book which followed certain rules, like always having either the root or the fifth as the lowest note. That made it a better accompaniment instrument. I also worked my way through Mick Goodrick's amazing _The Advancing Guitarist_ on mandola, as the book is about exploring a fretted instrument and isn't terribly guitar-specific. 

I do occasionally play mandolin, and have an octave mandolin set to arrive on Monday (the price was *very* right, and it even has a scroll!), but CGDA is where I've spent a lot of my time over the last few decades....




> Guitar tab would be great, if that’s ok. It’s those blues sounding scales that I would have difficulties to get down. 
> 
> I’ve found I can often  write it out as an .abc text file and then use mandolintab.net to covert it for mandola or Octave mandolin or even Irish whistle, or sometimes when I want to use a capo (the Octave is much warmer and richer around the fifth fret)  then I use a program to increase/decrease the whole tune by 5 or 7 semitones and when it’s converted it’s in a different tab pattern but still the right key.


There are many books out there for blues guitar, a few for blues mandolin, but only one I've seen for CGDA tuning: Blues for Tenor Guitar by Chip Jones. The print quality isn't great, and the CD is of MIDI playback instead of an actual fretted instrument, but the material is decent, and again I'll note, it's the only book of its kind I've seen. 




> For me, mandola was a gateway to tenor guitar.


I've considered getting one, but mandola's size, shorter scale length and portability keep me from straying.




> I've played mandola for about 35 years now (holy cow -- that long?!). 
> 
> Recently, I've been taking the Stahl to sing-arounds and jams, and have found that singers like the less "shrill" register of the mandola for song accompaniment.  The Stahl has an amazing bass down on the C string, and it's interesting to play mandolin-style accompaniments, but in a different register.  As someone who started on mandolin, I have to keep my head in the game as far as transposition is concerned -- the song's in D, but I'm playing "A positions" if it were a mandolin -- but after all this time, I can shift gears without too much effort.  Or so I think...


I sometimes still have to translate from mandolin, and it's been just as long for me.

----------

Caleb

----------


## Simon DS

And another thing, though it’s been said many many times before!  :Laughing: 

If you put the capo at the seventh fret of a GDAE Octave mandolin then you can play any mandolin tab AS LONG AS the tab doesn’t go onto the fourth string as written. That is you read, and just play everything one string down (towards the sky). 
So if it’s written 1st string second fret (F#), you play with capo at VII, second string second fret (F#) etc.

Of course if you have a mandola tuned in CGDA then you put the capo at the second fret, and as before,  just play everything one string down (towards the sky).

----------


## Mandobart

I don't get the comments of the mandola occupying the guitar's range but the mandolin doesn't.  A mandola shares 3/4ths of the mandolin's range.  I play violin and viola, as well as mandolin and mandola.  In each case the main sonic difference is due to the body size.  The longer, deeper body yields more sustain, presence and deeper timbre even when playing the exact same notes as you can play on the smaller bodied violin/mandolin.

If you read notation there's dealing with the alto clef as a new skill.

I've found I truly love 5 course C-G-D-A-E instruments - I now have three 5 string violas, a 10 string mandola and a 10 string mandocello.  I have fairly large hands so the longer viola/mandola scale is a plus for me.  My 10 string 'dola is a custom A4 built by TJ at Cricketfiddle.

----------


## RobP

I heard a mandola in a band at a recent concert.  I thought I wanted one, so I went and tried one out in a local store.   The feel and sustain was great, but it seems like the it is limited key-wise to get that effect.   I was  having a hard time imagining how to fit it in with my band where we play in Bflat etc.

----------


## Simon DS

> ...The longer, deeper body yields more sustain, presence and deeper timbre even when playing the exact same notes as you can play on the smaller bodied violin/mandolin...


Yes, but if the mandola in question is residing with of a bunch of English hippies the sustain can suffer.
One lovely hippy in particular:
‘It’s so hot this summer, and now we are blessed with warm rain! Let’s go out into the forest and play beautiful music in the tempest. No, really it’s ok, you worry too much, mandolas are made of trees and trees love rain too...’

----------

CHASAX

----------


## Gunnar

> I heard a mandola in a band at a recent concert.  I thought I wanted one, so I went and tried one out in a local store.   The feel and sustain was great, but it seems like the it is limited key-wise to get that effect.   I was  having a hard time imagining how to fit it in with my band where we play in Bflat etc.


I would imagine Bb would be less miserable on 'dola than mandolin, and other keys like F or Eb

----------


## DougC

I think that people who play a mandolin or guitar, or fiddle (for that matter), arrive at a point where they understand music enough to 'take on' the challenge of going from GDAE or EADGBE to CGDA.  For me buying my"pre-owned" but _amazing_ Collings mandola opened up a whole world of possibilities. It is not only a delight to play it, it's challenged me to think of better ways to approach music. I'm sure my mandolin stuff has improved as a consequence.

----------

bbcee, 

Mandobart, 

tmsweeney

----------


## tmsweeney

> it's challenged me to think of better ways to approach music. I'm sure my mandolin stuff has improved as a consequence.


I agree, I had a musician doctor friend tell me that the process of transposing and interpreting for different fingerings was very healthy for an ageing brain, I'll admit I don't feel that much smarter after switching back and forth between Mandolins, Mandolas, Octave Mandolins and Mandocellos, but I do believe I have a better understanding  of the Key of C.

----------

J.C. Bryant

----------


## Mandobart

> I heard a mandola in a band at a recent concert.  I thought I wanted one, so I went and tried one out in a local store.   The feel and sustain was great, but it seems like the it is limited key-wise to get that effect.   I was  having a hard time imagining how to fit it in with my band where we play in Bflat etc.


Oh for crying out loud!  How do you suppose symphony orchestras, with violas and cellos all tuned C-G-D-A manage?  You think having an E string vs a low C makes a difference in the keys you can play?  Where does such fiction/fantasy/folklore come from?  Not actual playing experience!

----------

Explorer

----------


## DougC

> Oh for crying out loud!  How do you suppose symphony orchestras, with violas and cellos all tuned C-G-D-A manage?  You think having an E string vs a low C makes a difference in the keys you can play?  Where does such fiction/fantasy/folklore come from?  Not actual playing experience!


Well, I agree. But not as emphatically as Mandobart. I Rob's defense I'll say that players without much experience only see the basic 'open string' chords. Basic patterns don't get you very far in going from mandolin to mandola. I once knew an Irish band who called themselves the Hi B's because experienced players could use that fourth finger to play one on the e-string.  They thought that showed how cool they were. Sheesh, what a world of ignorance.

----------


## Caleb

I guess I'll go ahead and show a bit of my own ignorance when it comes to musical terminology, etc.  It's relevant to this discussion trying to figure out what makes a mandola a mandola, a mandocello a mandocello, etc, etc. 

My first instrument was guitar over 25 years ago.  I learned by having a friend show me where to place my fingers to make chords.  I eventually figured out what most of those chords were called (though some I still don't know), but even that took a long time of stumbling over information here and there, and to this day I have no idea why a G chord is called a G chord, etc.  

I figured out or was shown "patterns" and learned how to play guitar solos in certain keys (whatever that meant) by memorizing places on the fretboard.  I never learned to read music but figured out tab because I think anyone could do that.  When I came to the mandolin it was much the same.  I just figured stuff out by ear, or by watching someone else, or by tab where available.  

All that to say, when someone says an instrument is "tuned in fifths," I still have no idea what that means.  You might as well say firsts, seconds or thirds and it would all be the same thing in my mind.  Same goes for people talking about additional C strings or E strings.  It all sounds like talk of space travel or computer codes to me and means absolutely nothing.  

I bet there are a lot of other players like this out there.  And I'm sure that is VERY hard for people trained in music to relate to.  My own grandmother was a classically-trained pianist and it would absolutely blow her mind that I could play guitar and mandolin.  It especially blew her mind that I would make up tunes and things.  She never made up a tune in her life, or ever played anything not written on a page.  She would sit and listen to me and always say, "How in the world are you doing that?"

----------

CHASAX, 

J.C. Bryant

----------


## allenhopkins

Haven't _studied_ "music theory" since junior high, but have picked up enough through 50+ years of playing, to give me some insights that are useful to someone who's basically a by-ear musician.  Learning how chords are made, how a minor scale differs from a major scale, what chord patterns are common in the music we play -- things like that are helpful.  I learn, as you do, mostly by assimilating tunes and songs through watching and listening to others play them.  Nothing wrong with that.

A lot of "theory" is pretty simple. You say you don't understand what having an instrument tuned in fifths means.  Well, you tune your mandolin GDAE, right?  Start with the lowest note, the open 4th string G.  Count up: G=1, A=2, B=3, C=4, D=5.  The third string is tuned a fifth above the fourth string, D above G.  Similarly with the other strings.  Compare your guitar, starting again with the lowest note, the open 6th string E: E=1, F=2. G=3, A=4. The fifth string is tuned a fourth above the sixth string, A above E.

You already know, instinctively, the common 1-4-5 chord progression: you play in the key of C, no sharps or flats, and the chords are often C, F, and G (or G7).  So, C=1, D=2, E=3. F=4. G=5.  You have the "one chord," "four chord," and "five chord."

What I'm getting at, is that by playing music you've assimilated a fair amount of music theory, whether you recognize it as such.  And there's no truth, IMHO, to the contention that learning theory somehow keeps you from improvising or "making up tunes and things."  Classically trained players are used to working from printed standard musical notation, and many are more comfortable playing that way, but that has nothing to do with learning or not learning principles of music theory.  

Knowledge is almost never your enemy.  You may not need to organize your experience and acquired knowledge into formal "theory," but that doesn't mean you don't recognize the concepts, or apply them when you play.  There's sort of a "reverse snobbishness" that by-ear folkie musicians can have: "I don't know that stuff, and if I took the trouble to learn it -- which I won't -- it would interfere with my playing."  I've found the modest level of "theory" I've picked up over the years, has generally been useful rather than detrimental.  YMMV, of course.

----------

Caleb, 

CHASAX, 

Gunnar

----------


## Caleb

> Haven't _studied_ "music theory" since junior high, but have picked up enough through 50+ years of playing, to give me some insights that are useful to someone who's basically a by-ear musician.  Learning how chords are made, how a minor scale differs from a major scale, what chord patterns are common in the music we play -- things like that are helpful.  I learn, as you do, mostly by assimilating tunes and songs through watching and listening to others play them.  Nothing wrong with that.
> 
> A lot of "theory" is pretty simple. You say you don't understand what having an instrument tuned in fifths means.  Well, you tune your mandolin GDAE, right?  Start with the lowest note, the open 4th string G.  Count up: G=1, A=2, B=3, C=4, D=5.  The third string is tuned a fifth above the fourth string, D above G.  Similarly with the other strings.  Compare your guitar, starting again with the lowest note, the open 6th string E: E=1, F=2. G=3, A=4. The fifth string is tuned a fourth above the sixth string, A above E.
> 
> You already know, instinctively, the common 1-4-5 chord progression: you play in the key of C, no sharps or flats, and the chords are often C, F, and G (or G7).  So, C=1, D=2, E=3. F=4. G=5.  You have the "one chord," "four chord," and "five chord."
> 
> What I'm getting at, is that by playing music you've assimilated a fair amount of music theory, whether you recognize it as such.  And there's no truth, IMHO, to the contention that learning theory somehow keeps you from improvising or "making up tunes and things."  Classically trained players are used to working from printed standard musical notation, and many are more comfortable playing that way, but that has nothing to do with learning or not learning principles of music theory.  
> 
> Knowledge is almost never your enemy.  You may not need to organize your experience and acquired knowledge into formal "theory," but that doesn't mean you don't recognize the concepts, or apply them when you play.  There's sort of a "reverse snobbishness" that by-ear folkie musicians can have: "I don't know that stuff, and if I took the trouble to learn it -- which I won't -- it would interfere with my playing."  I've found the modest level of "theory" I've picked up over the years, has generally been useful rather than detrimental.  YMMV, of course.


Allen, great post, though the tuned in fifths things still makes no sense, and I'm ok with that.  Just wanted to say, I hope you didn't read the reverse snob thing into my post, because, believe me, none is there.  I admire the heck out of people who read music and understand theory, but I understand what you are saying and have ran into people like you describe.  They think they have more "soul" because they aren't a "slave to the page."  All nonsense in my experience.  My grandmother was taught by a harsh old lady who thought it pretentious to "make up tunes" when you could be playing the music of the Masters.  I think I'd be a better musician, or a musician at all (I've always considered myself just a player), if I'd learned all that stuff.

----------

allenhopkins, 

fox

----------


## DougC

I learned the same way as Caleb and I'm sure a ton of other players have gone the same route.  (O.K. I did have some choir experience in high school.) But my point is that inspiration and self exploration, with little help, went a long way. 

Now fast forward a few decades and one finds that their musical tastes have matured but the ability to 'stay with them' has dwindled considerably. 

My wife and I met over the issue of classical vs. folk music.  She was playing in an Irish trio and thought she "sounded like a classical stiff".  I was mentioned as the guy to learn Irish fiddle from. And even today she marvels at how I can memorize tunes and I marvel at how she can look at a bunch of dots on a page and play amazing stuff. 






> My first instrument was guitar over 25 years ago.  I learned by having a friend show me where to place my fingers to make chords.  I eventually figured out what most of those chords were called (though some I still don't know), but even that took a long time of stumbling over information here and there, and to this day I have no idea why a G chord is called a G chord, etc.  
> 
> I figured out or was shown "patterns" and learned how to play guitar solos in certain keys (whatever that meant) by memorizing places on the fretboard.  I never learned to read music but figured out tab because I think anyone could do that.  When I came to the mandolin it was much the same.  I just figured stuff out by ear, or by watching someone else, or by tab where available.  
> 
> 
> I bet there are a lot of other players like this out there.  And I'm sure that is VERY hard for people trained in music to relate to.  My own grandmother was a classically-trained pianist and it would absolutely blow her mind that I could play guitar and mandolin.  It especially blew her mind that I would make up tunes and things.  She never made up a tune in her life, or ever played anything not written on a page.  She would sit and listen to me and always say, "How in the world are you doing that?"

----------

Caleb, 

tmsweeney

----------


## yankees1

Intriguing but none ! Maybe in the future !

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## tmsweeney

> And even today she marvels at how I can memorize tunes and I marvel at how she can look at a bunch of dots on a page and play amazing stuff.


So true about classically or formally trained vrs vernacular learning!

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## DougC

> So true about classically or formally trained vrs vernacular learning!


I love that term "vernacular learning".  Since early childhood I could sing 'on pitch' and memorize tunes. My grandfather played 1930's jazz on piano by ear and could improvise like crazy. Obviously I had spent a lot of time with the guy as a toddler and youngster. He could read music but mostly 'had the tunes in his head'. Now I wish I had learned more from him but he moved to Florida when I was old enough to start lessons. His name is Reinhardt and I've always wondered if we are related to Django. (Probably not ,after some research. Reinhardt is a common name.)

Fast forward about 50 years and you'll find that kid still boogie-woogies but is working hard at reading and music theory.

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## QuakeCity

I like to use mandola when playing blues and swing tunes. It took a little bit of practice to get the swing style chords sounding good - all strings playing clear.
It is especially satisfying when playing 20's blues numbers - Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out for example. The sustain and depth of tone of the mandola really work for these tunes.

----------

Simon DS

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## Simon DS

That’s a great song, QuakeCity, did you do a vid of yourself playing it? Song of the week?

Scrapper Blackwell - Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=626pNZB8xXE

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## bbcee

Really interesting thread, @all, touching on some stuff I think a lot of us think about in relation to OUR relation with music. @Caleb, I especially like your distinction between player & musician.

I picked up an Eastman mandola last year after having played mandolin for a couple of years, knowing I wanted its sonority, but with a lot of trepidation of not being enough of a musician to understand how to transpose, how to chord, etc. My advice to you, Caleb, is - jump in. The mandola opened up a whole new world of how to think about the songs you know, how to learn new tunes and to music in general. I especially like it to accompany vocals, or as a layering instrument when recording, with tempos where its tonality & sustain can carry things. Playing it has made me a better player technique-wise and mentally for sure.

You can approach it as a bigger mando, nothing wrong with that, but it really comes into its own when you can adapt the song to the instrument and vice-versa. That headspace isn't too hard to get to - take it from another player!

----------

Caleb

----------


## Caleb

> Really interesting thread, @all, touching on some stuff I think a lot of us think about in relation to OUR relation with music. @Caleb, I especially like your distinction between player & musician.
> 
> I picked up an Eastman mandola last year after having played mandolin for a couple of years, knowing I wanted its sonority, but with a lot of trepidation of not being enough of a musician to understand how to transpose, how to chord, etc. My advice to you, Caleb, is - jump in. The mandola opened up a whole new world of how to think about the songs you know, how to learn new tunes and to music in general. I especially like it to accompany vocals, or as a layering instrument when recording, with tempos where its tonality & sustain can carry things. Playing it has made me a better player technique-wise and mentally for sure.
> 
> You can approach it as a bigger mando, nothing wrong with that, but it really comes into its own when you can adapt the song to the instrument and vice-versa. That headspace isn't too hard to get to - take it from another player!


Indeed a great thread, and very helpful to me.  

Yes, when I say musician vs player, I'm not splitting hairs but see a genuine distinction.  To me, people who can read music, compose (i.e. filling in notes on a staff with a pencil), and actually understand how music fits together like a math equation, are actual musicians.  Then there are people like me who just follow the sounds and feel of it all and *play* music.  The ins and outs of it all, the _WHY_ it all works, have always been a holy mystery to me.  But even understanding all of that would not make it any easier for my fingers to do what they already have a very hard time doing.  All said, I really am content to just play a few tunes and enjoy myself.  I just want to be able to play them all better, and that's all in the fingers and the hours it takes to get them to cooperate.  Enough of my autobiography...

bbcee, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on your Eastman mandola.  I have searched the Cafe and probably read every post about a mandola here by now.  I noticed a few comments about the sound and depth of the Eastmans being somewhat underwhelming.  I used to own an Eastman 505 mandolin, and while it was pretty much flawlessly built, the sound was a bit "thin."  

While my eye leans heavily towards the simplicity of a Big Muddy (et al flattop A-styles), I have to admit that the Eastman MDA315 mandola looks very cool.  I like the look of it better than the one with the gloss (MDA815), but some of those look nice too (just hard to justify the $1000 price difference for a gloss finish and better tuners?).  Eastman made an oval hole F-syle mandola (MDA814) a while back and those are super rare now.  I'd be tempted to buy one of those if I ran across one because I really like the design, though the Hobbit in me will always like the lute-like Big Muddy.  All said, I'm still trying to figure it all out, but can definitely see myself getting a mandola at some point.

----------


## Chuck Leyda

If you want to indulge your inner hobbit and go for one of the flat top mandolas, I would highly recommend Davy Stuart.  The price range on his website is in NZ dollars and the exchange rate is pretty favorable for US customers.
http://www.stuart.co.nz/pagex.asp?bioid=4259

----------

Caleb

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## Caleb

> If you want to indulge your inner hobbit and go for one of the flat top mandolas, I would highly recommend Davy Stuart.  The price range on his website is in NZ dollars and the exchange rate is pretty favorable for US customers.
> http://www.stuart.co.nz/pagex.asp?bioid=4259


Thanks for the heads up.  I'd never heard of this builder and really like what he is making.  There is also a definite Hobbit connection with New Zealand that's pretty cool as well.

----------

Chuck Leyda

----------


## Mandoloon

I'd had an interest in learning mandola for a while, too, so when the opportunity arose recently to acquire a Pono prototype tenor-uke-bodied mandola at a good price, I went ahead and bought it, figuring that I probably wouldn't play it as often as my mandolin but that having it would likely, at the very least, motivate me to work on my transposition skills. Granted, because mine is a hybrid of sorts (a Dolalele?), the body style probably contributes something to its tone and performance, too, but my mandola has proven a very versatile instrument, and to my surprise, it's the one I now find myself reaching for first and playing longest every day. 

Why? The size and scale length feel just right, the tone is hauntingly lovely and rich, the sustain is amazing, and while it is as well suited for melody as my mandolin and octave, it has proven to be a better accompaniment instrument for me than either of them, so I use it a lot when singing. It does, as someone else mentioned, occupy a similar 'sonic space' to guitar, but I am not using it in a situation where it needs to compete, so that's actually been a plus for me.

And my dog has very strong opinions about the high e string on my violin and mando, and she doesn't leave the room in a huff when I play my mandola...so, you know, there's that.

----------

Bob Clark, 

Caleb, 

John Lloyd

----------


## Simon DS

Been playing my Octave for about 5 months now. One of the (many) challenges that I’ve had, and just about sorted out, is to pivot the left wrist as seen from above in a clockwise direction as I jump down to the third and then fourth strings. Basically trying to move smoothly from a mandolin shaped hand to guitar shaped.

It’s cool too, to use a capo moving up the neck and feel my style become less three dimensional, more resonant for individual notes and richer, more melodic and more direct in some ways. 

I’ve found that at each step the mandola is a very satisfying instrument to learn, and especially when beginning to use more double stops and full chords during tunes.

----------

Caleb

----------


## tmsweeney

> I’ve found that at each step the mandola is a very satisfying instrument to learn, and especially when beginning to use more double stops and full chords during tunes.


I did the Artistsworks Mike Marshall lessons for a bit, the video I submitted was Cuckoo's Nest on mandola.
Mike's main point to me was -try not to do what you would on a mandolin when playing mandola, but leverage the strengths of the instrument, so less trills and quick runs on the lower courses and more emphasis on double stops and open strings. 
atsunrise I think you are on the right track!

----------

CHASAX, 

Chuck Leyda

----------


## DougC

I've been working on chords. The thing I noticed last night was that the mandolin is small, and some four note chords really required some effort to fit my SMALL hands into place. That's not the case with the mandola. 

Also regarding the search for a good value. Some instruments are made to 'look cool' in order to increase sales and save money in manufacturing. The quality is inside, where you can't see it: better and time consuming detail work costs money. So find someone who cares about making instruments....

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## Caleb

Been cruising eBay and seeing some of the Greek-made, bowlback mandolas.  Some of them look nice (even if a bit too much bling for me), and with prices ranging from $500-$900 or so, I figure the quality is probably pretty good.  Anyone have experience with any of these Greek instruments?  The whole bowlback thing is something I’ve not given much thought to.

----------


## Simon DS

I like the Greek ones too, maybe in darker wood (less contrast). They do ring a lot, for me that is, and Id need to improve my slides because I still find that if I play full neck, one or two string style then my fingers start to hurt. Im probably doing something wrong. 
I actually really like the quite narrow bodied ones, with either bare dark wood or well used matt finish, not sure what theyre called, theres an example on the photo here:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bsUYqF...&index=14&t=0s

----------

Caleb, 

Gypsy

----------


## derbex

> Been cruising eBay and seeing some of the Greek-made, bowlback mandolas.  Some of them look nice (even if a bit too much bling for me), and with prices ranging from $500-$900 or so, I figure the quality is probably pretty good.  Anyone have experience with any of these Greek instruments?  The whole bowlback thing is something I’ve not given much thought to.


I have a Greek Sakis mandola that I am happy with, I was playing it in a group last night. I have mine strung as an Octave but it was built to be CGDA. I think it was one of the cheaper models, and it's a little rough and ready in places but a perfectly good, and good sounding instrument. I play mostly light classical and arranged folk pieces on it, so generally a melody or harmony line rather than chords and lots of ornamentation, and it works well for that. It's well within my bling tolerance zone -but I have never been accused of having too much taste.

----------

Caleb

----------


## Caleb

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Neapolitan-...AAAOSwzANanW5Z

^^^ 

This one looks interesting, though I swear the price went up $10 since yesterday.  Odd.  Not sure why it’s a few hundred less than the other Greek-made mandolas on eBay.  Wish they’d list the name of the maker.  That bit being a mystery is somewhat troubling for me.

----------


## J.C. Bryant

Great thread!  I have enjoyed reading.  I really love the sound of a mandola and have tried it more than once.  I am preparing to make the dive again with a Sawchyn mandola.  I suppose I just enjoy trying to learn and the post awhile back a while about it being good for the mind of older people fits me well.  I'm older and will never be a "real" musician but I go forth and enjoy trying to learn.  To me (I keep reminding myself) it has to be about the journey.  Thanks for the thread.

----------


## Caleb

> Great thread!  I have enjoyed reading.  I really love the sound of a mandola and have tried it more than once.  I am preparing to make the dive again with a Sawchyn mandola.  I suppose I just enjoy trying to learn and the post awhile back a while about it being good for the mind of older people fits me well.  I'm older and will never be a "real" musician but I go forth and enjoy trying to learn.  To me (I keep reminding myself) it has to be about the journey.  Thanks for the thread.


Great thread indeed, and one I continue to learn and benefit from.  I'd never heard of this maker before, so it's been yet another avenue to explore.  Thank you, J.C. Bryant.  

I've got a few hundred bucks stashed away in my rat hole right now and have been tempted to pull the trigger on a mandola just to get started playing it.  But mid-life has brought on at least _some_ wisdom and I'm pretty sure I'll be disappointed with a super cheap instrument.  There is an Ashbury for around $400 that seems simple, Hobbit-like, and interesting: but they also offer another model and the price goes up around 3 bills more.  I contacted Hobgoblin and was told this was mainly cosmetic.  If I found one of these (or a Big Buddy) used, I'd probably jump on it in a hurry, knowing I could likely sell and recoup if I wanted something different.  I really like the Davy Stuart stuff too.  Pretty sure there'd be a nice wait on that.  And then there is the Eastman line, while not simple and earthy like the oval-holes, surely are beautiful and get good press.  

The ovals, for the most part, don't seem to have adjustable truss rods, though I'm sure there is some steel in the neck for stability, and I wonder about this for setup purposes.  

For now I'm content to play mandolin and wait for a great deal.

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## chuck3

My experience with mandola has been this.  I was definitely attracted to the lower pitch.  And I found that - playing by myself - mandola is very enjoyable because the longer scale and lower pitch produce a mellower (for want of a better word) sound.  Also for the rare occasions when I try to sing by myself - I prefer the mandola.  However, when playing with other musicians (read - at least one guitarist), which is mainly what I do, I find the mandola competes with the guitar's sonic space - so I don't use the mandola at all playing with others.  It's my occasional on-the-couch instrument.

Great instrument though, no doubt about it.

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Caleb

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## DougC

I suppose it depends on your situation regarding other instruments. I play (mandola) with one or two violins and it sounds great.

 Sometime I'd like to play(mandola)  with a mandolin and mandocello but it would be classical or klezmer music, or dawg jazz which I think would be really cool.

Or this would be a great group to join...from Belgum

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Gypsy, 

wildpikr

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## Simon DS

...

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## tmsweeney

So much for self control I just received the 2003 Weber Yellowstone mandola from Elderly - first off let me say the difference between a Weber Gallatin and a Weber Yellowstone is not too different from a Chevy vrs an Audi.
Right out of the box this mandola is easy to play and has a nice full tone. I will be putting Curt Mangan strings on, hopefully I can post something in a few days or weeks...
Mandola fever has captured my soul...

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Gunnar, 

Simon DS

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## tmsweeney

Riffing on Sally Anne on this 2003 Weber Yellowstone Mandola, plays like butter and has full rich tone.

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40bpm, 

Gunnar, 

Gypsy, 

Simon DS, 

wildpikr

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## GeoMandoAlex

Excellent...very well done.

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tmsweeney

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## George Henry

I saw an as new Eastman MDA-815 sitting on a wall at GC.  I had never tried playing a mandola, but knew I could take it back if we didn't bond.  I didn't take it back. After two years it has become a useful member of my axe arsenal, sharing equal time with my old Gibson A.  I have found the dola to be more useful than an octave because it fits my hand and I can actually play like I want.  It offers more sustain than the mando and more projection than an octave.
I have not attempted to learn the dola thoroughly.  I simply use it as a musical tool where it fits.  And it is useful.
I did rid myself of my beautiful Weber Gallatin octave because I had difficulty with hand reach. In contrast, the dola feels perfectly comfortable.

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tmsweeney

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## RBMB

You can hear me play Mandola on The Rocky Road to Dublin.  (See my post.)  It is the first instrument played and continues throughout the video.

I purchased my Mandola years ago and struggled to play it because of the lack of an E string.  I also found it awkward on many mandolin tunes in D without using a capo on the 2nd fret.  

I posted on the Cafe a few months ago and asked for help.  A few people suggested using the A string for the high A on the treble clef.  In other words, the A string would be played for the note you normally play at the 5th fret of the high E string on a guitar or mandolin.  This made a huge difference for my ability to play.  I set up Musicscore to tab out tunes using this method and it is very helpful.

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## mando-bob

I bought my first mandola in the nineties, pretty soon after starting to play mandolin. I upgraded over the years from Gibson H2, Lebeda H4, Flatbush A5 style to a very nice L. Smart H5. It's a beautiful instrument with an awesome sound. But to be true, it does not get used very much. I use it on recordings where I think it fits - that's all. Play mandolin every day but mandola five times  a year. What a shame.

Here are two vids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpV2kP8UFqE




https://youtu.be/iMacJNn3IOk

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Holger, 

pheffernan, 

tmsweeney

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## tmsweeney

Robert that Smart mandola sounds fantastic, nice playing too!

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## mando-bob

Hey, thank you very much. Yes, it's an awesome instrument. Lawrence Smart is a highly reguarded luthier. And I was lucky years ago to find it at Elderly at a reasonable price.

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## pheffernan

> Hey, thank you very much. Yes, it's an awesome instrument. Lawrence Smart is a highly reguarded luthier. And I was lucky years ago to find it at Elderly at a reasonable price.


Those years seem to have passed. Lawrence has a used A-style mandola in the classifieds for $5500:

https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/156111#156111

And when I asked him a year ago about an F-style mandola, the figure I heard was $12K.

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