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Type: Posts; User: allenhopkins

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  1. Replies
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    Re: Gold Tone AC-1 banjo?

    To me, looking only at the pix, it appears to be the latest incarnation of the plastic-rim beginner banjos Harmony used to sell. For $79, as I remember from the '70's. Gather that's what the...
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    Re: What's up with Ukes?

    I've been teaching ukulele for several years -- intro and occasionally intermediate -- for a local town rec department. Never have a problem getting a half-dozen or more students for a six-lesson...
  3. Re: Octave mandolin - F holes or an oval hole?

    What role do you envision for the instrument? If it's vocal accompaniment, I'd go with a round/oval hole, for longer sustain and, yes, a more "guitar-like" sound (if we're thinking of a round-hole,...
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    Re: the kindness of strangers

    Was it a D-25? I loved Guild D-25's!

    Anyway, great story, and evidence of a generous spirit -- yours and hers -- and the admirable impulse to "pay it forward."
  5. Re: How often should my mandolin need to be tuned?

    "New to mandolin" may = new, or nearly new, strings. Almost all musical instrument strings with which I'm familiar take a while to "settle in." and during the "settling" period require frequent...
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    Re: Martin style 20

    Well, the collection of Bolick's papers, music (written and recorded), and such like is in the University of North Carolina library.

    No mention of the Martin mandolin.
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    Re: A Different Busking Question

    If you want bigger tips, play someplace where the clientele is drinking.
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    Re: You have never seen a mandolin like this

    Well, I've seen other 1920's F-4's. You mean "this is the best 1920's F-4 I've ever seen"? Or the worst? Or the most representative of the Platonic form of the 1920's F-4?

    Signed, "Confused."
  9. Re: Why are some songs not written in the key they are in?

    J Bear, nothin' you say is wrong. On the other hand, nothin' I said was wrong either. Of course I know Devil's Dream is (usually) played, and notated, in A. But the transcription is in the key of...
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    Re: Mandolin Cafe Milestones

    Nah, don't be thoughtful. If you post frequently and relentlessly, you increase the chances that one or more of your posts will be insightful and garner bunches of "Thanks" (shotgun vs. rifle...
  11. Re: Why are some songs not written in the key they are in?

    My theory: the Devil's Dream transcription is in the key of C, with the scale notes in the key of A that differ from those in C -- C#, F#, G# -- being written as accidentals, by someone who either...
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    Re: A Different Busking Question

    Pre-COVID, I played a few farmers' markets where they put out a "tip basket" to supplement the (very low) guarantees from market management. Singles, generally, and coins (sometimes pennies -- go...
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    Re: Effect of humidity on a nice mandolin...

    "Swelled up" from what –– the extra humidity in Arizona? Generally if an instrument dries out (which I assume would be the humidity difference between CT and AZ), it shrinks, rather than swells. ...
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    Re: What is the story behind the "scroll"

    Here's a recent Fretboard Journal article on a turn-of-the-20th-century scrolled mandolin built by Orville Gibson. I've seen nothing to disprove the generally-held position that he introduced the...
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    Re: Silk & Steel on old instrument??

    I have a guitar which has been estimated to be from approximately 1860 that I use for historical programs. Parlor size, no maker's label, but (surprisingly) X-braced, so one suspects an anonymous...
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    Re: MasterModel

    Yeah, I've a tenor lute with the "Master Model" label. Could it have been introduced at Lloyd Loar's initiative, since it seems to be mainly used for the "-5" models he designed? L-5 guitars were...
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    Re: Snark tuner

    The ball swivel on Snarks is a definite weak point. Usually it's one segment of the collar that fits around the ball, that busts off.

    I've glued a couple of the joints, in the...
  18. Re: Looking for a banjolin tailpiece and a neck brace

    Pic of the instrument's back showing the neck attachment would be helpful.

    Bob Smakula in Elkins WV is a specialist in banjo parts, including vintage gear. Here's the relevant part of his...
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    Re: Favorite Mandolins You’ve Owned

    My two faithful Strad-O-Lins, which have accompanied me to more musical events than any of my others. Jammed, performed, recorded, and just sat alone and "woodshedded" with first one, than the newer...
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    Re: Small PA setups

    Different animal, but I've been using a Fishman SA 330 SoloAmp for well over a decade. For ensembles, I plug a small mixer into the AUX, currently a 5-channel.

    It's handled everything I've needed...
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    Re: Guitar to octave-mandolin

    Just a note that this thread's a hoary antique, 15 years old. Some of the posters, including Bernie D, are still around, but may have moved on to other projects.

    Jus' sayin'.
  22. Re: Hi, first mandolin. Any ideas on identity?

    Like the Paracho hypothesis. Only question: Paracho mandolins I've seen have all had flat backs, not the "dome back" with several ribs that this one has. Otherwise looks very like them.

    Whether...
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    Re: Hurricane IAN coming

    One of my late good friends Betty K and her husband invested in rental properties on Sanibel Island. Unfortunately I've lost contact with her kids who presumably inherited them; wonder if they still...
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    Re: RIP Loretta Lynn

    Loretta Lynn was a grandmother at age 29; she came from an incredibly difficult background of poverty, teen motherhood, and gender discrimination. Her talent and her determination -- plus relative...
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    Re: What is that little instrument?

    Problem I run into is that mandolins come in such a variety of shapes. I'll be playing an F-model or a newer "pancake," and someone will ask what it is, and when I say "mandolin," the person says,...
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