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A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Hey everyone,
I haven’t posted much in the last year as COVID kind of drained me of music after a bunch of jams/gigs and festivals were cancelled. Around Christmas something kicked in and I’ve been playing a lot more. Jams are still few and far between, but I’ve been working on solo Telemann and Bach pieces to keep me interested and busy.
I have a Kimble A style oval hole (#168) mandolin that I’ve had for about 7 years as my only mandolin and love it. I’ve put thousands of hours into it and it has matured very nicely. To be totally honest, I am thankful for such a wonderful mandolin and don’t NEED anything else, but WANT is a totally different animal.
Lately I’ve been thinking about getting an A style mandolin with f holes to go along with the oval. My first thoughts are Will Kimble or Michael Heiden from personal experience, as my son plays a Heiden F that I really like ~ except the point that digs into my leg when I play it sitting down. For the most part I’m mainly a living room picker and play by myself, but did get out to jams a few times a month before the pandemic.
Would getting a Kimble with f holes (A or 2 point) be a good match, or would there be too much overlap? All the Heiden mandolins I’ve tried have been phenomenal, but that comes in at a pretty penny. I will most likely be looking at a used instrument and still need plenty of time to save up for it (unless Bitcoin goes to the moon this summer;)).
What else should I be looking at? Pictures always help!
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
I bought my Kimble A5 in 2008. The choice was between that and an almost identical Heiden. The Kimble sounded warmer and I preferred the way it sounded - even my wife thought it sounded better! The Heiden was around £3500 more than the Kimble. I’ve since bought a Kimble F and that’s a killer. I quite like the way it digs into my leg!
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
You know what I'm going to say.....:)) :mandosmiley:
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Bitcoin to the moon!! Haha if not in this bull run, absolutely in 4 years ;)
I’ve always wanted a Kimble mandolin. Everyone I’ve played has been a beast. And I think his aesthetics and designs are second to none and completely unique. Anytime I think about buying one though I just pick up my Harvey Fern and bam! MAS is gone.
Good luck with your search John.
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Buy the Gil Model 3 that just hit the classifieds
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Chris Gray
Buy the Gil Model 3 that just hit the classifieds
I wish I could.
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sgarrity
You know what I'm going to say.....:)) :mandosmiley:
I recon your thinking you want to straight up trade your Heiden for my Kimble :whistling:
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
I’m sure that Gil an excellent mandolin, but it’s too rich for my blood.
Ellis make great mandolins, but unfortunately I haven’t found one that speaks to me personally. I can understand why a lot of people like them though.
Any other suggestions?
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Denman John
I recon your thinking you want to straight up trade your Heiden for my Kimble :whistling:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Denman John
I’m sure that Gil an excellent mandolin, but it’s too rich for my blood.
Ellis make great mandolins, but unfortunately I haven’t found one that speaks to me personally. I can understand why a lot of people like them though.
Any other suggestions?
You guys are a Heiden family...track down a Heiden A!!
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
You can’t go wrong with either the Kimble or the Heiden. I know of a very good A Heiden that’s available if you want to send me a PM.
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
^^this^^ I'm sure both would be awesome. If I were as close as you are, I think I'd go visit Michael Heiden.
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Tyler White had a pretty one listed on his website . . . briefly. I hope someone here snagged it.
http://www.whitemandolins.com/shop/m...-mandolin-2001
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
That was a while back. It reappeared after that and was resold.
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
It was listed as available on Friday and “Sold Out” as of last night. Perhaps that explains why Tyler didn’t respond to my inquiries.
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Denman John
I’m sure that Gil an excellent mandolin, but it’s too rich for my blood.
Ellis make great mandolins, but unfortunately I haven’t found one that speaks to me personally. I can understand why a lot of people like them though.
Any other suggestions?
There are MANY really wonderful mandolins. As you mentioned it all come down to finding one that speaks to you. Good luck in the search.
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Well DJ, A Heiden, in addition to all the tonal attributes, could save you some cross-border shopping.......
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
doc holiday
Well DJ, A Heiden, in addition to all the tonal attributes, could save you some cross-border shopping.......
Very true Doc. While Michael flirted with retirement last year, I've heard he's in full swing again building a lot of A model mandolins. I do know of a great used
Englemann A Artist model for sale here in the US (and shipping shouldn't be a big deal) - No financial interest at all...it just happens to be someone I know
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
I don't think of the point as digging into my leg. I think it as anchoring the mando and keeping it from sliding around. All the above suggestions are great. Have fun; you can't go wrong.
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Denman John
I’m sure that Gil an excellent mandolin, but it’s too rich for my blood.
Ellis make great mandolins, but unfortunately I haven’t found one that speaks to me personally. I can understand why a lot of people like them though.
Any other suggestions?
I'm very satisfied with my Black A5. Very different price point from what you're looking at, but, at the risk of embarrassing Mike, not different quality.
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Don't discount a Hamlett, they seem to be under the radar unless you own one.
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Re: A style Kimble, Heiden or ...
Hey Patrick! Yes, that one on my website sold very quickly and was such a great sounding mandolin. I'm sorry you didn't get my response - I had sent an e-mail over on Saturday letting you know that I had made an error with my inventory and that it had in fact sold. Maybe it's in a spam folder?
I second the advice Evan gave on snatching a Heiden A model if ones available.
Tyler