The scratchy sound you mention could have a lot to do with old strings, so just changing to any new string could help smooth things out. I know I need new strings when my fiddle starts sounding...
Type: Posts; User: maj34
The scratchy sound you mention could have a lot to do with old strings, so just changing to any new string could help smooth things out. I know I need new strings when my fiddle starts sounding...
I'm a firm believer in DUDU picking both a a teacher and as a performer. From a teacher's perspective, it is a foundation technique for playing guitar or mandolin. If you learn DUDU, then you can...
Thanks for sharing, David. Dale was a good guy, and I'll miss him.
Your signature inlay on the peghead is so classy. Lovely mandolin.
Here's a picture of my good friend's LP collection. He has been buying records since he was in junior high in the late 1950s, and he doesn't get rid of anything. From the top, the first row is...
I love blonde F4s. Here is mine.
Here's an update. I spoke to Al and Aleta Murphy about this one this morning to get the straight dope. As CarlM pointed out, Monroe wrote this one in the 80s in honor of Strawberry Point, IA. Al...
Thanks to CarlM for the details there. I don't have much more info than that, but I'll add that I'm good buddies with Al Murphy here in Iowa City. I learned Strawberry Point from him, and I'd say...
Sorry, I'm late to the party here. I'd say there are bright/edgy-sounding steel strings, and there are warm-sounding steel strings. If you have about $125 available to experiment, I suggest trying...
Love it!
A good friend of mine has a 1916 Gibson F2 with an interesting bridge. The original one-piece bridge is long gone; it now has a full-contact ebony bridge base with a bone saddle. It is one of the...
Looks great! That's a really nice find.
Hi Don. I live in Iowa City, about three hours away from Fort Dodge, and we have several players here. I know some folks in the Ames/Des Moines area, which is a little over an hour from Fort Dodge....
I'm happy that this thread has turned into a way to think about Kim and Jim. A few of us here in Iowa City got to know them a couple years before Jim died, and we had some fun playing lots of...
Hi all. I bought a Gibson snakehead mandolin several weeks ago, after years of wanting one. I have always liked the plain Sheraton brown A models, and I found one in great shape. The mandolin...
Gail Hester started a thread some time ago to discuss thickness and graduation differences between snakehead and paddle head Gibsons here:...
That's a great mandolin to inherit!
I think this mandolin is in the date range to have Handel tuner buttons. Does anyone know if that is correct?
Thanks for the background on the Baker mandolin album. A buddy of mine jammed, recorded, and toured with Baker through the years. He told me pretty that Baker had recorded a mandolin album, but he...
Can somebody help me out? I am convinced that I saw a photo here on the Cafe of the great Kenny Baker playing a mandolin, but I can't seem to find it. In my memory, he was wearing overalls, and he...
I play 80-90 gigs a year. In my experience, when someone asks me what kind of music I play or what instrument I'm playing, they are asking because they enjoyed what they heard. They what to know...
I had this exact experience with the G strings in a fresh set of J74s several years ago.
When I was a new Cafe member, i noticed a Gibson snakehead mandolin for sale in the Cafe classifieds. To my surprise, the seller's address was only about 5 blocks from my house. It looked good, the...
I agree that it's an A tune, but I'd also suggest that you get comfortable with it in G. Fiddlers often play Booth cross-tuned (AEAE), and some fiddlers prefer to cross tune down to GDGD instead of...
I just received a copy of the book from Rob, and I'm looking forward to reading through it. Thanks to Rob for his generosity!
According to Hans, I bought the next-to-last F5 style mandolin that he built. It is a PML model, and I took delivery in October 2010. As mentioned above, these were Hans' budget varnished F5...