Nothing beats the tone of John and his Loar.
https://pegheadnation.com/featured-v...man-malvern-2/
Nothing beats the tone of John and his Loar.
https://pegheadnation.com/featured-v...man-malvern-2/
Personally, I don't believe there is a better sounding mandolin in the world, at least for what I like to hear in a mando tone.
Certainly doesn't hurt to have Reischman playing it.
Unbelievable tone.
Mandolins: Northfield 5-Bar Artist Model "Old Dog", J Bovier F5 Special, Gibson A-00 (1940)
Fiddles: 1920s Strad copy, 1930s Strad copy, Liu Xi T20, Liu Xi T19+ Dark.
Guitars: Taylor 514c (1995), Gibson Southern Jumbo (1940s), Gibson L-48 (1940s), Les Paul Custom (1978), Fender Strat (Black/RWFB) (1984), Fender Strat (Candy Apple Red/MFB) (1985).
Sitars: Hiren Roy KP (1980s), Naskar (1970s), Naskar (1960s).
Misc: 8 Course Lute (L.K.Brown)
It is also his technique that helps get that tone.
Nic Gellie
Well I just got back from a music camp (Walker Creek) that had John R. and Sharon Gilchrist as teachers. One session was with John and Sharon playing/teaching melody and harmony, a couple of songs from their recent CD with Scott Nygard. This session was in a small room, no amplification, about fifteen people attending. John played his Gibson Loar, Sharon her red Gilchrist mandolin. I noticed that John used a tone guard, Sharon did not. To me the Gil had a louder, fuller, rounder tone than the Gibson Loar, by just a little bit. I know it's, "In the ear of the beholder," but that is how I heard both mandolins. Don't get me wrong, John's tone was outstanding (as it always is), but Sharon's jumped out a little bit more, as they sat right next to each other, playing without microphones. The bottom line is, don't miss a chance to hear either one play, amplified or unplugged = two world-class mandolin players.
John A. Karsemeyer
That's preference for you....simple as that.
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.
John Reischman has said in an interview,that he likes the tone of his Loar because it's a tad laid back & has a slightly 'dull' tone to it.
By 'dull', i'm pretty sure that he means 'not bright'. It is a lovely sounding mandolin for sure & with John R.driving it,there's none better,
Ivan
PS - Here's a fine example of John's playing.
Weber F-5 'Fern'.
Lebeda F-5 "Special".
Stelling Bellflower BANJO
Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.
I've been fortunate to do workshops with both John R. and Sharon G. and they both produce some of the most musical and powerful tone I've ever heard. One evening during the workshop JR came out and jammed with two other students and after each tune they would swap mandolins (the other two instruments were a Collings and Flatiron), there was definitely a special magic when John played his Loar but to no surprise he still had that JR tone when he played the other mandos. I did also get an opportunity to play John's Loar and yes it's the finest mandolin I've had the pleasure of having in my hands including a number of other Loars. Saying John and Sharon have great tone is kind of like saying Bach wrote some pretty good tunes.
Last edited by Gary Alter; Apr-13-2017 at 2:41am.
I feel urged to respond to JAKīs post for two reasons (blue and red).
The use of a Tone Guard is no reason for "lesser" or "better" tone. While I think that itīs a trinket/gadget/thingy I know that some people swear by it. I do not deny its potential usefulness. I, though, know that the same result can be achieved just by holding the mandolin a certain way. And I do (hold the mandolin to your belly and get a crunchy tone; angle the mandolin away from your belly and get aditional jingle jangle...). But that is not necessarily part of a "good" tone.
The perception of a "louder, fuller, rounder" tone in the Gilchrist mandolin as oposed to a (let me phrase it that way) "leaner, tighter, muscular" tone is just the difference between a modern mandolin (tone) and an old F-5. I was astonished to notice just that when I was able to try out a Lloyd Loar F-5. It has been interesting to me, that the presumed advantage of a fuller, rounder tone is a clear setback in a band situation. We seem to prefer a modern tone yet do not think about putting it to use in a band context.
We all seem to agree that neither tone (modern vs. traditional/old) is "better/preferable".
And of cours, as it has been allready and rightfully noted, technique has a great impact on tone.
Olaf
Lower frequencies carry farther. Gilchrist is a bassier mando to begin with, and even more with a tone guard.
Isabel Mandolins
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Arche...50923841658006
Sharon's mando is a bit deeper, which make it sound a bit bassier and louder. As for tone, that is something else. Sharon is a great player, by the way.
Last edited by John Kinn; Apr-13-2017 at 7:40am.
Based on this information I can see Tone Gard launching a national advertising campaign stating something to the effect of, "Buy a $75 Tone Gard and it will make your $175K signed Loar sound almost as good as a $24K Gilchrist!"
On second thought, might not be the best use of advertising dollars.........
Lovely tune, beautifully played.
Bill
IM(NS)HO
I need a tone guard if only to combat a sound grabbing belly. 😉
I've had the pleasure of being around John quite often.
In an acoustic situation the Loar usually goes 'naked'.
The Tone Guard John uses has all of his electrical attached to it.
Having been to Walker a few times I know they keep those guys hopping.
He could have been coming from a mini concert or on his way to one.
By the way, I use and love my Tone Guard.
Keeps my manly 'lower' chest away from my mandolin.
vincit qui se vincit
The idea of a 'Tone-gard' is to prevent one's body from damping the vibrations of the mandolin back,thus enhancing it's 'volume' rather than it's tone. The 'tone' of John Reischman's Loar was applauded well before Tone-gards were ever thought of. For JR it's an enhancement. However,as ''grassroots'' suggests,holding a mandolin ''a certain way'' - at an angle to your body,does the same thing.
I'm averse to hanging anything on my mandolin that might remotely damage it & hold my mandolin at 45 deg. to my body. If you're playing through a mic.,it's doubtful if you'd even need to do that.
The body of my Lebeda mandolin is larger than standard,including it's depth,that may account for it's enhanced bass tone,
Ivan
Weber F-5 'Fern'.
Lebeda F-5 "Special".
Stelling Bellflower BANJO
Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.
I know I'm in the minority but I don't use a tone guard and don't think it really helps anything other than the one playing the mandolin. I have taken the test, hold the mandolin next to your belly and play, then hold it away and play. There is a big jump in volume, I agree. Now take it one step further,have some one else play the mandolin with you on the other side of the room with your eyes closed and see if there is any increase in volume, I can't detect any. In my opinion the tone guard allows more volume at the instrument but does nothing for it's projection. This constant "need" for more volume makes us grasp for anything that seems to give us more but if you are a distance from a band or a group at a jam, and they are all facing you any good mandolin will cut thru as good as the "loudest" banjo, at least if no amplification is used.
If I were standing a lot I'd use one. it's pretty obvious you get more depth and sustain from the axe when it's not sitting on your body.
I have taken the same test and did notice a difference. It probably depends on the mandolin to some degree. The back of my mandolin vibrates a lot. I can feel those vibrations muted if I hold the mandolin against me. Maybe some mandolins have thinner backs than others and vibrate more in that area. It probably all depends (as usual)...
I usually play standing and I get the best ergonomics by letting the mandolin rest against my belly (as opposed to holding it away from me). I know that I could position the mandolin such that I do not need a tone gard; but if I like a different position better, and the tone gard allows me to use that position, then I will. When playing seated it doesn't make a difference because I rest the mandolin against my leg and have no problem keeping it away from my body.
My ears would take Reischman/Loar over any combination of Gilchrists.
2010 Heiden A5, 2020 Pomeroy oval A, 2013 Kentucky KM1000 F5, 2012 Girouard A Mandola w ff holes, 2001 Old Wave A oval octave
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I used a tone guard for a long time until last fall when I decided it was not fitting in my case as well as I thought it was. So this winter I went guardless. Now during the winter the things I play mostly allow me to sit, so a couple of times I put it on and played and took it off and did not notice a difference. This summer things will be different as I will do a lot more playing standing. I am not planning to use the guard tho as I will be playing plugged in and I feel the extra vibration of the back can promote feedback where as letting the back get muted slightly helps with this. Now I know I have played plugged in with it on and if we are not that loud, and we usually are not, it isn't a problem, but there were years that I always took it off as it helped with feedback tremendously. Especially when I was using a Schertler pickup, the K&K doesn't seem as prone to feedback as the Schertler was, but still it will stay off this summer.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
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