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  1. Reality Hits the Road

    I had to face a few facts:

    1: I may be to old to work but, I'm to young to retire.

    2: I would starve to death trying to make a living playing a mandolin and it doesn't lay eggs.

    3: The truck engine has to be rebulit.

    4: No "Super Mando" this year.

    After a few weeks in a rental truck (), I'm back in the black beast. As fast as ever with a fresh stable of 600 horses. You just don't realize how much of ...
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  2. Playing and Focusing (Multi-Instrumentalism continued)

    In my last post on this subject I came to the conclusion that the ability to play more than one instrument is a good thing. It broadens musical perspective, it highlights similarities and differences between instruments, and it helps development of music theory knowledge.

    But playing an instrument and focusing on an instrument are quite different musical pursuits. Anyone who can play a few songs and/or tunes with a moderate degree of musicality on a musical instrument can be said ...
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  3. Who Needs a Guitar When You Have a Mandola?

    I spent about 2 hours today with my Weber (Alder #2) 'dola. You put something away for a while and you forget how cool it is.

    With a banjo capo, this thing becomes incredibly versatile. I was banging through a ton of folk music (contemporary and traditional) and some rock n roll too. [John Prine, John Hiatt, Neil Young, Victoria Vox, Kate Wolf, Dylan, Grateful Dead, Graham Nash, Tom Waits, Stephen Foster, Danny Dill, etc.] I got nearly 2 sets worth of tunes just passing through ...
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    Acoustic Adventures
  4. Developing Skill on One Instrument or Many?

    As you may or may not know I am the moderator over at the Santa Cruz Guitar Players Forum. Recently on that discussion board one of our regular posters posed the question, "One instrument or multiple instruments?" It’s an interesting question, and one that can only be answered definitively for oneself.

    But that doesn’t mean examining the topic is pointless. The examination alone may prove useful reinforcing your own opinion. Or it can serve as an opportunity to change ...

    Updated May-08-2009 at 9:44am by Daniel Nestlerode

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  5. Shipping an Instrument?

    I insure my mandolins with a policy from Heritage Insurance, a company that actually *knows* what a mandolin is, and is engaged in the business of insuring instruments like Loars and high-priced violins, guitars and other acoustic instruments along with lesser valued instruments (such as my own).

    I once had the unfortunate experience of having to go toe-to-toe with FedEx on a $10K instrument that arrived at it's destination with a crushed in face that required about $700 of work and ...
  6. Our Money Where Our Mouth Is

    inline imageWhen you're dining here on bits and bites of mandolin info, we'd like you to know we help make a lot of mandolin activity happen outside of this web site as well.

    Last year we announced the Cafe's financial sponsorship of a special evening concert and workshops featuring John Reischman and Butch Waller and John's band The Jaybirds connecting the California Bluegrass Association Music Camp and Father's Day Festival.

    ...
  7. A review of the Gary Vessel "Monteleone"

    Damn.
    I played Gary Vessel's tribute to Monteleone today. It was hard to put down.

    Visuals:
    The maple back has a great looking tiger stripe figure to it, and Gary bookmatched the grain so that the stripes climb from the end pin to the neck joint.

    The two piece cedar top is equally beautiful with a straight grain and a pumpkin color.

    Gary just used clear lacquer to finish the mandolin, preserving the beauty of the woods. He says it would ...
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    Acoustic Adventures
  8. Collecting instruments & MAS

    I have been a blogger for some years already, mandolincafe member since the late 90s and because I do love to play mandos from time to time I comment on mando related subjects at festivalpo, so now I decided to write something it intrigues myself at this new feature of the mandolincafe...
    For many years I have been playing small plectrum instruments plus some woodwinds... and along the way I have been trading , ...

    Updated Apr-21-2009 at 1:17pm by lucho (addition)

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  9. Question on pick hand position

    As a beginning player, is it considered proper pick hand position to lightly rest the heel of the pick hand on or slightly behind the bridge? Does this deaden the sound any? I have a difficult time keeping position relative to the strings unless I contact the bridge lightly. Many thanks.
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  10. Music choice drops bluegrass channel

    [i]as of april 15th the mc has dropped both the bluegrass and americana[/venues]. I know i spent a lot of time watching the bluegrass channel as i got to hear all bg from the old to the latest releases. I senta blog to mc, but if any of you who will be missing these channels, i suggest that it will take a lot of complaints to get the bg back. So if you're a listener,,get that complaint to them asap!! It's musicchoice.com/channellineup
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