DUDE!?!
DUDE!?!
Shaun Garrity
http://www.youtube.com/user/spgokc78
just getting ready to say,
"Dem, this thread is dying, we need some action"......................
Nice Wiens just appeared in the classifieds...
http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/101424#101424
Gibson F5 'Harvey' Fern, Gibson F5 'Derrington' Fern
Distressed Silverangel F 'Esmerelda' aka 'Maxx'
Northfield Big Mon #127
Ellis F5 Special #288
'39 & '45 D-18's, 1950 D-28.
This thread has the potential to hit 50 pages ...
... not all those who wander are lost ...
I think this whole episode has gone just a little too far.
Again, a lot of good advice has been posted in this thread. It wouldn't be a bad idea to reconsider some of it that has not been followed to date.
Purr more, hiss less. Barn Cat Mandolins Photo Album
I've been a skeptic of Dem's reasoning and search from the beginning and really thought this was some sort of social media experiment. However, watching some of the videos and listening to Dem's style, I knew he was making a mistake buying a mandolin that is cloning the "loar" tone. This is traditionally a bluegrasser's instrument. I think he needs and wants a mandolin with a more modern tone and lots of sustain. Just the opposite of what he has in the Wiens, or any other gibson clone, which should be dry with fast decaying notes and tonally mid-range centric.
My advice is to concentrate on mandolins that have an Engelmann or Italian spruce top. If you can't find a Gilchrist with Engelmann, then look at a nice Collings MF5V with hard maple back and Engelmann/Italian spruce top. These, in my opinion, would be perfect for your style.
Last edited by KMaynard; Aug-15-2016 at 6:13am. Reason: typo
I think 'experiment' is giving too much credit. It seems clear enough to me that Demetrius likes the attention he is getting from this thread more than he likes playing any mandolin. The only way to keep this thread (and the utterly redundant blog) going is to keep buying high end mandolins after pretending to consult with cafe members and then change his mind minutes after declaring the most recent purchase 'a keeper.' He has exactly zero credibility left, but people will ignore that and continue to make suggestions.
I agree. I knew the Weins wasn't a good fit from the start. Demetrius is making a mistake in his evsluation process. I know, because I've done it myself. Often times, an instrument "tests" well, but the test criteria that one uses are not relevant to their natural playing style.
Everyone likes to pick up a mandolin and go Thunk, Thunk.....beat it down low, then see how much gas it has up high.....Beat it. Tickle it. Beat it some more.....
But a good bit of that is not applicable to real-world playing. The idea is to find a companion, not merely an instrument that "shows well".
Well said KMaynard. I could not agree with you more. Demetrius could even go with a Collings MT2V with an Englemann Spruce top and a hard maple back. I have been trying to suggest to him that there are alternatives to all the Gibson Loar copies. They are great mandolins but as you say they may not suit his style.
My advice Demetrius is to go down to Carter Vintage for a weekend in Nashville and have a holiday with your wife and get away from the computer, Ipad, or Iphone and play the hell out of every mandolin there until you find the one with the right tone, touch, playability, and lastly but not least looks. Get this MAS out of your system. No mandolin is ever going to be perfect.
One thing I can say when you get beyond your current craze, you will feel relieved when you are no longing searching for a mandolin and you are content with what you have. I remember seeing you had a Collings MT2 a year ago. Maybe you should have stuck with it and worked the tone you wanted out of it. If Adam Steffey, Mike Marshall, Matt Flinner and a host of others can do it, we can all do it. That is what I have learnt. Work with what you have got. You will surprise yourself.
O what the heck you could even try one of these beautiful mandolins:
https://vimeo.com/171202098
Nic Gellie
Two days at Carter's and I came home with a Girouard Mandola. This after just commissioning a Nyberg, you guessed it, mandola. What a great experience. I am not sure if I could afford too many more visits to Carter's however. Now back to this thread, the MC Reality Show. I know from the experience of the last week that I can only go a few days of serious looking without getting hooked. Also, for me, the buying experience, cries for an end, unlike this thread. I want closure. And usually the choices are after a short time pretty narrow. Once in a while a new thought comes to mind, but after playing mandolin family for twenty years and being a regular cafe participant for about the same length of time, not many new ideas surprise me (Brentrup V8 and Sorensen VX aside). Guess I'm not much for drama either. Oh well, time to play the Girouard and put this thread to bed.
Tony Huber
1930 Martin Style C #14783
2011 Mowry GOM
2013 Hester F4 #31
2014 Ellis F5 #322
2017 Nyberg Mandola #172
To riff on Hendrex:
"...and the wind cries...Kardashian."
Maybe it's time to look for a Monteleone Style B. Listen to some of Paul Glasse's recordings, that mandolin has as musical a voice as any I've heard.
Dem just needs to find the "ONE", nothing wrong with searching and trying a bunch to find one that speaks to him. When he finds it there should be no doubt no regrets just happy bliss, For some of us its an obsession, I found my ONE but hey always lookin, When I should be playing....Happy Hunting
People should also keep in mind that many factors affect the sound of a mandolin (e.g. strings, pick, weather, etc.). A mando might sound amazing one day, and in a different environment sound lacking. What I'm trying to say is, no mandolin will sound "perfect" all of the time. The three factors I look at when trying mandolins are feel in my hands/playability, volume, and tone. I've played a good number that have all three.
Maybe once you've dated a supermodel, the prettiest girl in town is not enough.
Cleanse your palate. Play a $50 mandolin without a setup for 30 days and try the Wiens again
Long thread here, but starting to feel like a "victim" of a con game. Sure, I've been entertained. But, like our favorite television characters, we have an emotional investment in hoping our protagonist finds what he is looking for. Turns out, he doesn't even know, himself!
Twenty-six pages!!??
Please refer to the Department of Redundancy Department.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Hopefully the well-known shops with high end mandolin's don't catch drift of this rather....strange catch and release thing. I'd be hesitant to sell to someone like this.
I really see nothing wrong with Demetrius. He is just doing what many of us have done. The only difference is he went public with the process on the forum.
There are a great deal of (non-dealer) individuals who frequently sell fine instruments in the classified section of this website. Those guys are no different than Demetrius, or me.......or possibly you.
They just don't have wives who find the sport interesting enough to blog about.
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