An intro and thanks to you, Rob M, Steve S, and more.
After a year of lurking here at the Cafe I finally had to register say hello and to convey my appreciation for all of the help, direct or otherwise, I've been provided since deciding to focus less on six strings in favor of the more delightful and devilish eight.
First thanks go to the Cafe membership at large for the sometimes contentious but always entertaining discussions on the near-infinite options for mandos, strings, picks, styles, lessons, accessories, etc. So far I've cycled through half a dozen mandolins of increasing quality (and cost) as I wrestle with getting my fingers and brain to step up their game but finally listening to the talk got me to make the jump to a The Loar LM-500 as my main instrument to temporarily sate my MAS. It's almost been five months and I haven't started shopping again, so I've really been able to focus on playing. Which is the whole point, right?
But even with my earlier instruments, most of which I've gotten rid of, it was Rob Meldrum's guide (I learned about it here of course) which helped make playing each of them an absolute pleasure. I'd learned to set up my guitars, both electric and acoustic, years ago but Rob's book taught me tons about the unique attributes of the mandolin that makes such a difference in achieving good playability and the best sound possible.
I have to give a big kudos to Steve Smith also. Very recently I had the misfortune of finding a crack in my stock 500 bridge, which was awesome because it gave me the excuse I had been looking for to upgrade to a Cumberland Acoustics. After fitting it, I had to seek Steve's advice about the best method for lowering the saddle a bit more to achieve the right action and I have to say his bridge is second in quality only to his customer service. I'll admit I was skeptical of the numerous testimonials on this forum but I am now one of the believers. The improvement in volume and tone is incredible.
This is getting much longer than I'd hoped so I'll make one final shout-out to the forum member who sold me the Orrico tailpiece he was no longer using. It looks fantastic and cleared out those last few rattling demons I'd been trying to exorcise.
Yeah, that's enough gushing for now. Prosit and happy picking!
Chris
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