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Type: Posts; User: Martin Beer

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  1. Re: What qualities does a Neapolitan mandolin have?

    Associating what was the dominant form of mandolin (until they came along) with a loathed agricultural pest was a genius marketing move by Gibson, especially as the association has still stuck 100+...
  2. Re: Have Fishman Piezo Bridge Pickups Substantially changed since

    Blackface/Silverface type Fender amps are surprisingly flattering to piezo amplified acoustic instruments. I think it's a combination of the broad midrange dip in the preamp (centred around 500Hz)...
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    Re: JT's Pix Blue Celcon Pick Review

    They look nice, no availability on my side of the Atlantic though. I like a thinner (1.2 or 1mm) pick with a bevel for my cittern and acoustic guitar, and after discovering my adolescent lurcher...
  4. Re: What qualities does a Neapolitan mandolin have?

    I enjoy how my bowlback mandolin sounds, a fairly humble Il Globo that's had the fingerboard replaced. It doesn't have a great deal of low end, but it's clear, sparkly and can be surprisingly loud....
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    Re: Harmony Monterey mandolins

    I have the birch model, mine is a catalogue model that's not branded, but equivalent to the H410 Monterey. I find it has a likable, balanced sound, but not the biggest in terms of depth or...
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    Re: Golden Gate Large Triangle X Stiff

    I have some "Alice" branded 1.5mm celluloid triangles that I quite like, and a big bag of them from a Chinese ebay seller was less than one upmarket pick. No clown barf though - there's...
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    Re: Experience of short scale bouzouki?

    I played a 560mm (22") LeVoi instrument for a long time that I always knew as an octave mandola, before I'd discovered all the discourse about naming! I used GDAE unison tuning, occasionally GDAD....
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    Re: It's a blarge!

    I'm not fond of the word, but I suppose my instrument qualifies. The maker and I call it a cittern, but it's 650mm scale, 5 courses tuned CGDAD and fits in a dreadnought guitar case....
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    Re: Non-standard zouk tuning

    I've seen people using ADAD on Irish bouzouki where they're playing primarily in D, so essentially you've hit upon that, just a whole tone lower.
  10. Re: Anyone tried this mandolin-friendly guitar tuning?

    I played around with CGDGAD on guitar for a few weeks, it's very close to the CGDAD tuning I use on my cittern, but with that added whole tone interval that's good for playing melodies across the...
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    Re: Pick tradition

    European mandolins are often a shorter scale than American instruments in the Gibson style, and European string gauges tend to be lighter. So in addition to the musical developments in the US through...
  12. Thread: Pick Boxes

    by Martin Beer
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    Re: Pick Boxes

    201073

    I have one little zip pouch that has the picks I use across mandolin, cittern and guitar, plus the capo I use for cittern and guitar. There's another little pouch of B-list picks too, but...
  13. Re: String Gauges For Cittern, changing Unisons to Octaves

    It's possible to overthink tension calculations! If you're happy with the gauges you have for the main strings, I'd just try around half the gauge for octaves, play it for a while and see if you feel...
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    Re: Clifford Essex status?

    Ah, that's sad to hear, and would certainly explain why the site and store went quite so suddenly.
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    Clifford Essex status?

    Does anyone know if Clifford Essex in the UK are still operating? I have one of their Triad buffalo horn picks that so far is my favourite on cittern, but mine is starting to wear a little. Both the...
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    Re: Balancing a headstock-heavy CBOM?

    Where is your heel strap button positioned? I feel like a button on the treble side of the heel hugs the instrument in a little closer to you. Buttons on the back of the heel tend to tip the...
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    Re: This weeks mandolin that won't get a bid or buyer

    I have no idea if this mandolin is even from the same factory, but Greco electric guitars and basses are among the better regarded Japanese copies of that era, and even have a few collectors. So I...
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    Re: This weeks mandolin that won't get a bid or buyer

    Spotted this on my local Facebook marketplace. Call me cynical, but I don't think they'll get £250 for it! And the description somehow neglects to mention the neck joint.
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    Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    It does at least fit into the general "what kind of musician are you?" intent of the thread, even if it's digressed a little. And I feel like I have a slightly different "home" style on each...
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    Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Yep, that first part is familiar! I definitely feel some pressure to show up with the bass when there's a party with jamming. And I'm a more confident and versatile bassist than I am as any other...
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    Re: Has COVID affected your MAS?

    I have a very modest income, so I don't buy instruments often. But as someone playing a few different instruments, having more time at home and my bands less active has definitely shifted my focus...
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    Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Another double bassist here. I see Americans using the term doghouse online, mostly in more rootsy styles of music, but haven't heard it used over here in the UK. I have heard "bull fiddle" from much...
  23. Re: Best strings for magnetic pickup mandolin?

    Flatwound strings often have slightly higher tension than a roundwound of the same gauge (with some exceptions like Thomastik). So the lighter gauges on the G and D of the Galli set might just be to...
  24. Re: Best strings for magnetic pickup mandolin?

    I haven't actually tried them with a magnetic pickup, but the Galli flatwound set is reasonably priced at Hobgoblin and is sold as an electric mandolin set. I like the set I have on my old Harmony,...
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    Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    I'm not a bluegrass player - the closest I've been has been depping as a bassist on a couple of bluegrass gigs, but it's not really my inherent style there either. On mandolin and related instruments...
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