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I was made aware of this band that I have never heard about. They are the Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee. They obviously play traditional bluegrass in a very good way. I have only been able to dip into the...

This is probably the reason for criticism concerning SOLs. If you are mainly a classical music person, you would probably want a mandolin to have the typical sound of a bowlback etc. that is the norm...

Well, SOLs are "handmade". And indeed it´s unfair to do a comparison of an SOL with f.ex. a Duff or Kimble A-5 (though I liked the tone of my SOL better than the one of an Ellis A-5 when I tried it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcYGN8NTgYU

That´s the sound I am talking about. This is about what mine sounds like. It is interesting to note that the bridge sits close to the middle of the...

I am an avid promoter of a certain style of Strad-O-Lin mandolins. They have the comma f-holes. The body is slightly smaller than the average A shaped Gibson mandolin and - as far as I know - it was...

I hope that Norman Blake is doing well (and Nancy Blake also of course). Yes, happy birthday!

While he excels on pretty much any stringed instrument I am particularly happy with his guitar...

1. What Don Grieser said

2. So many crazy thoughts pop up in my mind
a. Are you trying to quadruplicate yourself in order to be able to play the instruments simultaniously?
b. Are you allready...

It does not allways have to be bluegrass. Nicely done. Yet the song is called "Nine Pound Hammer". I just found out that the first recording is probably by Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters (May 13,...

It is super interesting that this thread focuses on Bill Monroe tunes with the sole exception of the ultimately great "Carter´s Blues" by Larry Sparks. Are there any other proper bluegrass artists...

Quite obviously there is no disagreement between us. You wrote it: If the singer is able to pull a song off why not tweak the key a bit. My fun experiences are when this tweaking spanns three or for...

From what you write, it may be indeed a problem of the band leader. A person who is potentially uncomfortable to deal with people (looks through you, does not make eye contact, is not encouraging...

We moved along nicely from discussing the question of prejudice concerning keys to (personal) preferences concerning songs/tunes. I applaud personal taste.

There are indeed a bunch of music pieces...

RIP. Shalom

Hans Süper was self taught. His fingerwork was unorthodox as he vastly used his thumb to fret chords. As a kid I used to watch the respective carnival shows on TV only to see him play the mandolin as...

Adendum:

Go and look for Jimmy Bruno on youtube. His mantra is: "Learn to play in all 12 keys".

I think that it is fairly limiting to be able to apply a universally valid fingering system only...

I think that there is a boat load of prejudice when it comes to playing something in a certain key on the mandolin.

Prejudice #1: xxx (f.ex. Bill Monroe) didn´t play it in Eb... The other way...

I thought long and hard before replying to this thread. Maybe I am just not able to understand what the teacher told you. Maybe it is a wording problem. And I do not want to bash any teacher...
...

My 30ies Strad-O-Lin came with a - I presume - original non compensated two piece bridge. The non compensated bridge top drove me to distraction (after I got aquainted with the instrument - my first...

This super funny (the other funny) story actually shows several possible facts.
- How limited can one be to believe certain instruments are limited to certain styles (has the praise band guy never...

I do not think that pressed soundboard instruments sound necessarily bad. As it is with carved top instruments many factors come into play (check out the discussions on mandolincafe about the recurve...

Since everyone unloaded their ideas about picks on you, one more post does not matter.

When I started out playing an instrument it was very difficult for me to find a pick that I could actually...

VERY NICE! THANK YOU!


It is also very interesting to watch the videos under different perspectives. For example check out the right hand position (relative between bridge and fretboart...

I figure that a Cumberland Acoustic bridge is the bridge of choice.

I have never replaced a bridge. I have had stuff done to a bridge by a good repair person (Jürgen Richter, Hamburg, Germany)....

"The Ban" touches upon two topics and a general thought:

1. Is it okay to play musical pieces that could offend? Or should they be banned?

2. Is it okay to play musical pieces even though...

Look at the best budget vintage instruments. Get the great vintage vibe and sound on a budget:

https://www.mandolincafe.com/news/publish/mandolins_001443.shtml

Of course it also depends on what...