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I still don't know the secret. Every time I pour the beer into the mandolin, it doesn't disappear - it just runs out the holes.

This may have been suggested already. You can record the audio on your phone and save it as an .mp3. Copy the file to your PC, then play it back through good speakers and record a video on your phone...

I didn't know until my mid-fifties that you can actually pay someone to change your strings. The obvious advantage to having a good mandolin luthier change them is that he/she will look over the...

I've seen a couple of quality mandolins with the tone bar heights carved down to almost nothing - concave between the ends. Based on that, I have carved them flat across on one mandolin and slightly...

I don't know if this 2nd build is your own design, is being built from a plan, or is modifying a plan. If it is your own design or a modification of someone's plan, then I think you really are on...

Sherry, that all looks like excellent planning and progress. As somebody indicated, don't work at it too hard. Keep it enjoyable, but do play one of those new chord forms at least once every day. The...

I agree 1000%. Knowledge of some chords and chord progressions is essential to playing with others if you are playing traditional-based music. Some violin players can get along sort of OK without...

Old discussion; new examples.

A 1920 version of the Gibson A Jr. shown in the above post came into my shop yesterday for repair to the back pulling loose. The first thing I noticed was how...

I haven't had much success with general softening of a piece of wood prior to bending, such as with boiling or steaming the entire board. Focused heat with spot steaming works best for me. It seems...

The grain in those rib pieces looks just like what I had. Is the crack taking place at the end of the piece? If so and it will be glued to a block, you can put some CA glue in the crack, finish the...

There is no better way to get answers to these questions than to get more practice bending.

I bend sides by hand over a hot pipe - no back strap. I generally get to the final shape with maple in...

If your new mandolin is the Ellis shown in your signature, I suggest you call them for their recommendation. I feel certain they have a good reason for fitting the end pin the way they do.

Thanks for the kind words. I definitely agree with everyone recommending Marty. And, yes, that was my reason for posting since the OP is in Columbus. Sometimes I think folks around the country don't...

I'm in Peachtree City.

John, I like the sound of that too, and the way it plays.

Here's what I have. Two .pdf files. Notation and Notation + Tab. I arpeggiated the last chord to approximate the split chord the way the cellists bow it. Measure 26 has a B natural instead of a Bb,...

Thanks, Jim, for posting the op. Until now, I have found this piece to be sort of uninteresting and unpleasant on the mandolin. Turns out that every (really, every) piece of sheet music I've seen,...

I think you made the right decision to replace the mandolin. I just went through this with a Rover mandolin that had a neck block failure, to get some necessary practice with cheaper Chinese...

I'm not arguing gloom and doom about using or not using written notation or tab. I am putting up a little Warning sign about using it. I've seen many beginners who believe that if it is in writing...

Ralph, thanks for your comments. I was stumped for years trying to learn the melody to Sweet Georgia Brown. I played with a group that featured that song. They insisted that it is in the key of E,...

Try holding something comfortable like a wine bottle cork with the last three fingers while you practice.

"Is playing TABS detrimental to really learning?"

I'll say Yes as it relates to really learning to play bluegrass music - and this is true for other genres as well. Part of the problem is that Tab...

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Well, we are learning to play music on our instrument, not to play tabs or notation. Tabs are great for showing quickly where a good place is on the instrument to play the chords and the melody....

I agree with the OP's point about E strings breaking from tuning up and down while setting up the mandolin. The man who taught me to do setups insisted that I wear eyeglasses for protection. He...