Newbie from the UK!

  1. Bex W
    Bex W
    Hello,

    Newbie here from the UK. Very pleased to have found this incredible community and resource.
    Brief background: work in the NHS, bit frazzled at the moment and have realised that my downtime is important and that music and making music are very important and therapeutic.
    I have a dream of being able to play 'Losing my Relgion' at my 60th Birthday - I've got 8 years.....
    I'm also a fan of folk, bluegrass and the overall amazing versatility of the mandolin.
    I read music and played piano (until medicine took over my life) up to Grade 5.

    As you can imagine trying to purchase a mandolin in these challenging times we find ourselves in is difficult!
    I don't really have a budget but am quite cautious in my spending. If like to buy an instrument that will inspire me and keep me hooked.
    I've done some research and think the Loar 310F may be the one for me.
    I'm struggling to source it as if also like it setup.
    I see moloneymusic.com may have these and do offer setup.

    Does anyone have any alternatives? Anyone with any experience of Moloney Musical Instruments? What resources are there for online learning? Book recommendations?

    Thanks for being patient with me,
    Bex
  2. bbcee
    bbcee
    Hello Bex, and welcome to this great resource! I hope you learn a lot. Playing mando is indeed therapeutic (as well as being a bit of a black hole, but you'll discover that soon enough!).

    Being in the UK, you have the fantastic resources of Hobgoblin Music stores all over the place. The two I've been in, in London and Brighton, were staffed with knowledgeable, friendly, nonjudgemental musicians.They carry a wide range of mandolins in different price ranges, and can move them around between stores. I believe they offer setups too, which really makes the difference between wanting to pick up the instrument every day and being frustrated and discouraged. NFI, by the way - there's lots of good resources in the UK where you can go and try out instruments to see what actually works for you instead of theorizing on the other side of a computer screen. No experience with Moloney, sorry to say.

    Having said that, you'll see Kentucky and Eastman mandolins recommended a lot here, they're a lot of bang for the buck. However, I had a The Loar as my first decent mandolin, and it was a perfectly good instrument that advanced my playing.

    If you're anywhere near Brighton, there's also TAMCO, which is like Christmas for mandolinists. It's a TERRIBLE place for the budget, but Trevor's just a great guy.

    Wishing you lots of adventure on your journey, we're here to answer any questions (don't worry, we all asked the stupid ones, so now there's none left to ask). And let me just add my thanks to all you've done and are doing. I recently received an email from a friend's son, a newly-mined doctor, describing his day-to-day. I hope music is indeed the balm you need on your down days. Hats off to you & the other NHS-ers who are doing so much with so little.
  3. Swimbob
    Swimbob
    Welcome Bex.

    To answer one of your other questions I'd like to be the first to recommend mandolessons.com. It's a great place to start. Barron Collins-Hill breaks songs down into easily learned segments and then puts them all back together at the end. A wonderful resource and many of us contribute to his site but every bit of it is free if you can't afford to donate.
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