Anybody else got a Flatiron Festival A mandolin? Mine has a shiny cherry-colored finish, F holes,no pick guard. Made in Montana. Bought it new about 15 years ago. A teacher I had craved it; he would have bought it instantly, but it's not for sale! It has some "dings" where I've banged in on stuff. Comments I get about the dings when I complain about them are, that shows it's being played a lot. I still wish the finish were pristine. If I took it to be refinished, it'd just get more dings.
The feel of the neck is magnificent for me -- I have small hands. It's a "shallow" neck, not bulging out real far in the back. The sound can be loud and bright, or gentle. I mostly play lots and lots of fiddle tunes. Now I''m working on an Air in Dm by Henry Purcell, a classical piece that I am transferring from keyboard to mandolin. All the notes. It's my first classical piece. The technique is sorta a challenge, but the hardest part for me is memorizing the positions. When I was a kid I saw patterns on the piano. Now, I see the patterns in this classical piece, and instantly forget them. I learn about 2-4 measures at a time, and play them over and over for weeks. I still have about 8 measures left to learn.
I'm I'm getting a lot of help from my teacher. For the Purcell Air, I'm using a Dawg pick. Beautiful, soft sound. I'm lucky to have this pick. I think the factory burned down during the hurricane in New York. For fiddle tunes I use a Jim Dunlop USA Nylon 60 mm
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