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I live in Rogers and have been in Northwest Arkansas all my life (40 years minus 4 years in the USAF). I used to work for Janet Davis Music in Bella Vista which specialized in bluegrass instruments...

Wayne Benson has some good videos on YT. He's a big proponent of learning double stop scales.

https://youtu.be/UDTNq_P1nek

I always use them. For the record, I don't think that the size of one's belly has any bearing on the usefulness of the tone guard. If the back of the instrument touches your chest, it's deadening the...

I was on the hunt for exactly what OP is seeking, an A5 that had the tone of an old Gibson in the sub 5k price point. After much homework, I bought this Skip Kelley, this exact one from the video...

That really depends on how one defines value. I've got half a dozen picks I paid $35-40 that I consider to be worth the difference both in terms of tone and longevity. I got my first Blue Chip around...

Is this sarcasm? I really can't tell. Sturgill can't sing his own songs?

I'd take this over mainstream country all day long.

https://youtu.be/zCvO_mSSHuE

Not sure what constitutes the "current spotlight", as Sturgill has been making waves for the last 7-8 years on the edges of country music. He's part of a push against mainstream country, and I, for...

On my android phone, which is my preferred tool for the job, I use ASD and Spotify. In Spotify, create a playlist named something like "Songs to Transcribe" and add any songs or albums I want to work...

It's an early plastic material that is derived from milk casein rather than petroleum. Galalith was a common name for it in the past, and it was often used for buttons and other similar objects...

No one has mentioned casein, so I'll chime in with that recommendation as a good TS sub. I have been using a casein triangle from EML picks, but it seems he is no longer making picks. Nik Monnin has...

Thanks, sblock. Just hadn't thought about doing anything with them until seeing a thread were some folks mentioned liking them. Disregard for sale comment, all.

I'm a big fan of Curt Mangan strings as well, but I've settled into a phosphor bronze set that I prefer. Tried the monel, great strings but not my flavor. Ended up with 3 extra sets of CM monel...

I'll second (or third) the Eastman 305 rec. If you can't afford a new one, look for used. But the tonal difference between that and a sub 500 instrument is going to be major. 305 will carry you as...

Well, that was easy! Thanks for sharing, Geno!

I've recently been listening to this fantastic Grisman album of old tunes with an all star lineup. David Grisman - 'Home is Where the Heart is' (1988)

For those that may know, which mandolin is...

No helpful advice here, but I nearly lost my dinner just now reading about your Red Diamond mishap.

I just listened to it recently and thoroughly enjoyed it, Brad. I'd gotten behind on listening to your episodes, but this one reminded me to go back and get caught up.

In fact, I was inspired to...

It's not about mandolin, if that helps. Based on the press release, I expect more "philosophical" content.

"Music is Life is Music is a three-part look under the hood of my music-making process,”...

I'm definitely in! Huge fan and have been hoping against hope for a long time that he would do some form of online instruction/master class.

That said, my impression is that none of this will be...

In hindsight, I'm not sure why I thought it would need to go under the strings. Makes much more sense to go over. Thanks for the sanity check!

I know that this topic has been beat to death with various posts and a slew of different opinions, so I'm really going to get very specific with this ask.

I have a new A style mandolin. It doesn't...

In theory, I'm on the wait list for Oliver's wait list. So, that could be a good long while. But this one will absolutely do the job in the mean time and then some! After a couple years of play time,...

Welp, Kelley A5 #79 arrived safe and sound yesterday! Thanks to Kevin at Mandomutt in NC for working with me, and especially answering my questions over the weekend. I'm not recommending you bother...

You're more than welcome! I'm real happy with #79. Can't wait to pick with others and hear it sing!

I did! Kevin shipped it Monday via UPS ground, and it made its way from Raleigh NC to Rogers AR (that's Arkansas, not Arizona) in just under 48 hours! Guess he just hasn't updated the site yet.
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