Eastman 604 might be a good choice, but I will agree with rcc56 that you won’t go wrong with an Eastman 505. A lot of people will pitch the Eastman 300 line but the 500 and up series are definitely...
Eastman 604 might be a good choice, but I will agree with rcc56 that you won’t go wrong with an Eastman 505. A lot of people will pitch the Eastman 300 line but the 500 and up series are definitely...
The brilliance of mandolin is largely due to the GDAE / fifths all across tuning.
Don’t be discouraged by that stupid bluegrass trad four-stretched-fingers G formation. It’s ideal for...
Hi Barry. Yes I have been using TI mediums for a couple of years on that very model. Do you have one too? We should compare them in person sometime. Mine’s a 2011.
The TI’s are truly…well I used...
Well done sir! I am interested in how you got that perfect crunchy Richard Thompson electric guitar sound…
When you say “any Eastman” what models do you mean? Big difference between the 300-series—which I personally indeed find a bit tinny (I’m guessing that’s the word you meant to type) but I played a...
Probably not what you’re after, but for the functional/funky effect I like, I enjoy carving pre-curved pieces of driftwood to fit my hand and the attachment points on the case, and attaching them...
After decades of trial and error and.a couple of disasters, I have concluded that no stand is perfect. They are just like life, like gigs, and like political practitioners; they all make promises...
I like every thing about this!
Play what you love!
I like the Mando part!
Thanks for the kind words!
To complete the missing surname from the original post, my source was Dick Gaughan, 1978 album “Gaughan”.
Four weeks past shoulder operation, I’ve started playing the...
Jim Dunlop Tortex .88, 1mm max. Easy to hang onto, cheap, and I like just a tiny little bit of flex. Some Mando players prefer to use the rounded corners, I generally use the pointy one, but they...
I’ve had this Sawchyn Beavertail Mandola for a year or so…gradually trying out using it for song accompaniments. This song (Child Ballad 238) was learned from Dick Gaughan’s version many years ago as...
Nice version to be sure. (You’re gonna regret getting me started on this topic Ranald.) With all the work they put in it’s too bad they didn’t get the lyrics right in the chorus. They are singing the...
It’s a beautiful and valuable instrument. Why is it unstrung and where is the bridge? Please hie thee to a luthier, get it checked out, restrung and set up for optimal playing. The thng you want to...
Grover 309s are commonly put on Eastmans. The peg holes fit perfectly (in fact you can leave the old bushings in place as I recall) but you have to predrill a couple of differently-placed screwholes....
Hmm, I was confused about Rufus Stewart vs Rufus Guitar Shop. . His personal shop (if still active, he is getting on) is or was most recently Rufus Island Guitars on Vancouver Island, now...
Hi kdird. I am Canadian and know exactly whatyou’re talking about.
I highly recommend Rufus’ because he used to be in Ontario and is an absolute master at setup, regulation (tweaking) and...
Well…the 4-string Mando-strats from late 50s/early 60s go for a couple of grand, give or take. I’ve never played one but they look virtually identical to the ones that came out about ten years ago,...
I agree about the Dyn-M, it’s a great contact pickup. You quickly get used to the couple-of-minutes routine of installing it, and carefully recasing it when you’re done for the day. When you want to...
They are not a punchy in the bass but they look and feel like works of art. They are very durable. I have found the TI mediums last about 9 months on my Collings. The very finely wrapped A’s...
Way back in the Plasticine Era, 1979 when I was a young fella, I spent five weeks in Elkins WV taking a luthiery course at Augusta, taught mainly by Paul Reisler. In that length of time our group of...
Never heard Andy Irvine’s version untilI just looked it up now (Sweeney’s Men are long time gone) although I have been listening to him a lot. I learned the song originally from Dick Gaughan who used...
Cape Breton players love the key of F, and Bb or Gm as well. Here’s a set the Ottawa CB Session plays of some of the favourites, including settings for a couple of tunes that have been mentioned in...
If you can find a good deal on a Collings MTO—lowest used price seems about $2k US, I’m not thinking of any particular ad anywhere-you ultimately won’t regret it. I played mine at a Cape Breton...
In the movie Winter’s Bone, Jennifer Lawrence’s breakout flick, she plays a teenager searching the Ozarks for her missing father. At one point she goes to her dad’s sometime-girlfriend’s house and...
I don’t usually get interested in “see this incredibly young musician” videos, but she really had a great soulful mature sound by the time she was 12. Pretty good at 10 in fact. Really got it now...