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Thread: How to get that sweet tone?

  1. #26
    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to get that sweet (Zen) tone?

    Quote Originally Posted by mandocrucian View Post
    There are times, when palm muting is exactly the sound that is called for. A Chuck Berry rhythm shuffle sounds really corny on fully ringing mando strings. All the punch and percussive drive has been eliminated.
    Oh sure, I do that myself sometimes for contrast in the middle of a three-part tune. I used to do it a LOT when I played more guitar. Al DiMeola's acoustic playing was a big influence at one point, and he really milked that technique.

    I mentioned lifting the palm in the context of the OP's question in this thread, because I think of "sweet" as being more on the sustaining end of the available tone spectrum.

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  3. #27
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    Default Re: How to get that sweet tone?

    Cut down to one mandolin and play it a lot. It's a lot of work keeping all five in 'played in' condition.
    And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')

    C.S. Lewis

  4. #28
    Registered User Toni Schula's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to get that sweet tone? - Room acoustics

    Try to play your mandolin in different rooms and select the best sounding one as your music room, if possible. I find that my mandolin with the same strings on it, played with the same pick, by the same player sounds rather sharp an edgy in my bedroom, while the tone is sweet and round in the living room.
    I believe that this is more important for instruments with ff holes than it is for oval holes.
    The more the instrument projects the more you have to rely on reflections.

  5. #29
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    Default Re: How to get that sweet tone?

    Just wanted to report back . . . I got a dozen D'Andrea Proplec 346 1.5mm as recommended by JH Murray, plus I have had about three more weeks to play, so probably around 40 hours of playing this particular mandolin. It may be that the mandolin has opened up a bit more, it may be the picks, maybe I have just learned better right-hand technique. I don't know. I just know that I found myself blown away by the tone of the instrument last night. My playing isn't that great, but the instrument itself sounds like an angel.

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  7. #30
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to get that sweet tone?

    I second the idea of getting on that pick sampler list - and trying out a lot of stuff.

    I also recommend playing into a corner, face into a corner of the room. That way you will hear more reflection, and what you hear is closer to what the audience out in front of your mandolin hears. They are not necessarily the same, either in volume or tone quality.

    Enjoy the journey.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

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  8. #31
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    Default Re: How to get that sweet tone?

    You could try some silk and bronze strings: http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...ilk-amp-Bronze (I haven't, just read about them, but i think they would improve my Eastman)

    Red bear/caseine picks, which i really like for guitar, haven't tried on mandolin since i got new one. On guitar they give you that rolled off neck pickup jazz tone, without touching the tone controls.

    Room treatments to reduce reflections (carpets, hang up moving blankets)
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  9. #32
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    Default Re: How to get that sweet tone?

    Quote Originally Posted by Austin Bob View Post
    Check out this thread and focus on Sam's right hand. Notice how he moves from playing closer to the bridge for single notes, and then up the neck for chords.
    Heh. I had forgotten about the 2nd video where Sam almost leans back a little too much (at 0:59). Be careful Sam!
    Kentucky km900
    Yamaha piano, clarinet, violin; generic cello;
    a pedal steel (highly recommended); banjo, dobro don't get played much cause i'm considerate ;}

    Shopping/monitoring prices: vibraphone/marimbas, rhodes, synths, Yamaha brass and double reeds

  10. #33

    Default Re: How to get that sweet tone?

    I believe the sweet sound is a result of the right and left hand techniques. Of course different mandolins will sound different, but a good player is the X factor.

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  12. #34
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    Default Re: How to get that sweet tone?

    Dunlop 208..very heavy pick...very warm and loud sound ..not brash or sharp .....and I'd say sweet when I pick the mandolin in the right spot .

  13. #35
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    Default Re: How to get that sweet tone?

    I agree with others that you should investigate your right hand technique before looking at your gear. You should be able to get a sweet tone from your instruments. Make sure you're not gripping your pick tight, it should be loose, almost ready to fall out. Let the instrument do the work. You'll be surprised at the volume you can get with a light touch and the right attack. Use your wrist to do the picking, don't move the pick around in your fingers. Experiment with the angle you're picking at, find the right sound, and practice like that until it's locked in.

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