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Thread: the addiction...

  1. #1
    Registered User Carl23's Avatar
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    Default the addiction...

    So, I've had my mando for a couple of years now.
    Only taken it seriously the last 9 months.

    I plan on adding amplification next year, I've set some skill goals for myself before that particular investment.

    Need to get it set up, will be doing that after the 1st of the year...

    Soooo...

    Why am I already looking at a Mandolin upgrade and trying to decide if my next instrument should be an octave mando or a mandola?

    WHY?????!

    That is all... thanks for listening.

    :-)

    carl

  2. #2
    Registered User Mando Mort's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    Carl, I feel for you...I don't think it ever goes away other than just for short periods of time following a purchase.
    "All of us contain Music & Truth, but most of us can't get it out." - Mark Twain

    Eastman MD615SB
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  3. #3

    Default Re: the addiction...

    Update your sig so we can see what mandolin(s) you have. :-)
    Davey Stuart tenor guitar (based on his 18" mandola design).
    Eastman MD-604SB with Grover 309 tuners.
    Eastwood 4 string electric mandostang, 2x Airline e-mandola (4-string) one strung as an e-OM.
    DSP's: Helix HX Stomp, various Zooms.
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  4. #4

    Default Re: the addiction...

    Ditto the above. Our advise likely to be different if you own a Rogue or a Gilchrist.
    Silverangel A
    Arches F style kit
    1913 Gibson A-1

  5. #5
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    I am sorry to have to report this to you Mr. Carl - but the test results came back positive . . . and they show that you are an addict.

    Play two 'A' chords and call me in the morning . . . and, unfortunately, your insurance policy will not cover future treatments.

    Welcome to the club.

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  7. #6

    Default Re: the addiction...

    Yep. I've had it since the late '80s. I don't wanna go to rehab.

    No,no,no.

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  9. #7

    Default Re: the addiction...

    Quote Originally Posted by Carl23 View Post
    So, I've had my mando for a couple of years now.
    Only taken it seriously the last 9 months.


    Why am I already looking at a Mandolin upgrade and trying to decide if my next instrument should be an octave mando or a mandola?

    WHY?????!
    Because learning to play the mandolin well is a long, dull grind - but buying new instruments is super fun and makes you happy instantly.

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  11. #8
    Registered User Carl23's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    Quote Originally Posted by OldSausage View Post
    Because learning to play the mandolin well is a long, dull grind - but buying new instruments is super fun and makes you happy instantly.
    Very true!

    I'm just past the initial rush. Can chord along with many songs, getting scales and a short list of songs under my fingers.

    Now it's scales... arpeggios... chord voicing... more music, more music, more music... and don't forget sound and tremolos!

    And, I have time to look at mandos online at work. Not so much for practice (though I do so at lunch on a regular basis).

    The other less than productive thing I'm doing is writing exercises in my free time at work (on a call center, so free time comes in 2 - 10 minute chunks)

    Great in concept and theory... but only if I actually play them at least occasionally!



    C

    PS: I don't actually mind the grind... not dull at all! (unless I'm short on coffee, then that's another think entirely!)

  12. #9
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    It is much much easier to get a better mandolin than to get better at the mandolin.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

    The entire staff
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  14. #10
    Registered User Carl23's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    There is also an interesting ego check in.
    When do you "outgrow" your instrument?
    On one side you do not want your instrument to hold you back, on the other is Willie Nelson's "trigger".

    Personally I do plan on having mine set up, then add amplification. If I get good enough to "need" a new instrument after that it would be nice.

    In the mean time, it's nice to dream.

    :-)

    C

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  16. #11

    Default Re: the addiction...

    If your current mandolin isn't at the level of a Kentucky master series(900 and above) or an entry level pro mandolin the likes of a Weber Gallatin, Collings MT, etc. don't think of a mandola or octave. Upgrade your mandolin. Then practice, practice, practice.
    Silverangel A
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  18. #12

    Default Re: the addiction...

    Quote Originally Posted by JeffD View Post
    It is much much easier to get a better mandolin than to get better at the mandolin.
    Almost all the mandolins I see in the classifieds are so expensive (to me; I have a mental block about spending more than $2K for any instrument) that it's probably easier for me to get better at the mandolin than to get a better one.

  19. #13
    Registered User Carl23's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    Quote Originally Posted by Br1ck View Post
    If your current mandolin isn't at the level of a Kentucky master series(900 and above) or an entry level pro mandolin the likes of a Weber Gallatin, Collings MT, etc. don't think of a mandola or octave. Upgrade your mandolin. Then practice, practice, practice.
    That's basically where I am at. I'm thinking on waiting on the next mando until I start playing gigs. At that point I'll know if I'm happy with the sound and play-ability of what I have. (see my shiny new sig for what I have, would like your thoughts)

    I will likely end up playing some "less than traditional" mandolin music. Even now, thinking about where I am going, I'm pretty sure I'll need some lower register to get what I'm looking for.

    C
    "The Loar" LM-520
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  20. #14
    Registered User William Smith's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    I have some of the most Killer and rare mandolins out there and I still look at all the others on this here DARK and VERY DANGEROUS web! It is a sickness that I simply LOVE!!! Each one is full of beauty and wonder to me. Its art that you can play, adore, pass on thru the ages. Every one is different and special in its own way to me, I love the old and ugly to some. There is worst ways to spend your time, energy and $$$$$$! I say enjoy what you can if you can as life is short for most of us. Sure be happy with what one has but you never know what'll be around the next click of your finger!

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  22. #15
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    Carl23, it's called MAS............look it up. Good luck.

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  24. #16
    Registered Plec Offender Mickey King's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    Welcome to Mandoholics Anonymous. Keep coming back!

  25. #17
    Registered User Carl23's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    Quote Originally Posted by Denny Gies View Post
    Carl23, it's called MAS............look it up. Good luck.
    Didn't know we had a glossary. :-)
    "The Loar" LM-520
    Ludwig & Ludwig 8-370X Marimba
    Slingerland Modified Drumset
    Hand made profesional djembes from Guinea and Maili West Africa
    and toys... lots and lots of toys.

    Hey... I have a blog here!
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    Feel free to stop on by and let me know what you think!

  26. #18
    two t's and one hyphen fatt-dad's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    You really want the reason? It's because actually learning how to pull music out of a mandolin is hard! Drooling over mandolins purchases is easier!

    f-d
    ˇpapá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!

    '20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A

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  28. #19
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    Quote Originally Posted by Carl23 View Post
    There is also an interesting ego check in.
    When do you "outgrow" your instrument?
    On one side you do not want your instrument to hold you back, on the other is Willie Nelson's "trigger".

    ... If I get good enough to "need" a new instrument after that it would be nice.
    I think you have asked a very seriously great question. My response, I'm afraid, is not going to be as great.

    The only mandolin I outgrew was the first one I got. It was OK, and got me started, and at the time I would not have noticed or appreciated the difference in feel and sound of a better mandolin.

    So I think it was three years I played on that mandolin. The next mandolin was the very best I could afford. And while I suffer from MAS as much if not more than most of us mandolinners, and have been I think 9 or 10 mandolins down the line, I have to admit: to be truthful, that second mandolin, purchased oh so long ago is still more mandolin than i will ever, ever, need.

    So I would say that most of us have purchased a somewhat limited mandolin at first, to see if the interest will take hold. And at some point one notices (or a competent teacher points out) that there are things could be much easier on a better instrument, things you are recently trying that you can't make work because of the instrument, sure, that is an indicator you have outgrown it.

    If you then get the very best you can afford, (which is what I always think one should do), you will have assurance that it is not the instrument that is holding you back.

    I am not saying don't buy another mandolin. Far from it. Buy another and another after that. Absolutely. Just don't kid yourself that you "need" to buy it. Just buy it because you want it.

    The only mandolin that I ever needed to buy was the second one. After that it has all been because this looks cool that sounds cool, I need one like that.

    Few of us, very few, are held back by the quality of the instrument we play. Likely those with that much talent and promise that in fact "need" a high end mandolin, are not reading this post, because they are practicing.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

    The entire staff
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  29. #20
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    I would add that there is great value in staying with an instrument. (After the second one of course. ) Learning the idiosyncrasies of your instrument and really getting into figuring out how to accommodate all its quirks is a real bonding experience. Once you have a mandolin that is better than you need, play the potatoes out of it. Get used to it. Learn what you uniquely have to do to make that one sing.

    (Of course you should acquire another one, I am not saying don't. I am just saying that you can't justify a new one to me me by the quirks your present mandolin has. All mandolins have quirks.)

    I have one mandolin with such amazing sustain that it gets in the way sometimes and I have to mute a string with an available finger or my palm. Another mandolin wants me to finger a little closer behind the fret to get the best tone. Another one is very sensitive to humidity and is often not available (its too wet, its too dry, waa waa waa). But when this one wants to play along, she sings like opera soloist. Another one is so loud I have to really be conscious of my right hand. Another is so focused you can aim it at one person, so I have to be aware who is getting wacked. Etc., etc., etc.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

    The entire staff
    funny....

  30. #21

    Default Re: the addiction...

    Quote Originally Posted by Carl23 View Post
    So, I've had my mando for a couple of years now.
    Only taken it seriously the last 9 months.

    I plan on adding amplification next year, I've set some skill goals for myself before that particular investment.

    Need to get it set up, will be doing that after the 1st of the year...

    Soooo...

    Why am I already looking at a Mandolin upgrade and trying to decide if my next instrument should be an octave mando or a mandola?

    WHY?????!

    That is all... thanks for listening.

    :-)

    carl

    Well, there's commodity fetishization. And of course all the usual reasons, as Geddy Lee explains:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIMmdOZlmrU


    And, strings are of a realm, well, beyond words. The mndln is a feisty little thing - its percussive resonance is a joy. But as you're no doubt aware there are lots of others!

    Im totally addicted to it, but not a specific instrument so much as all of it - like, families (strings, reeds, percussion et al). But as the "drummer" thread extols: for a rhythm junkie there isn't much better than rhythmic deployment of sound. I find, after 50 years, that it's what I've been doing, essentially.

  31. #22
    Registered User Carl23's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    Quote Originally Posted by catmandu2 View Post
    commodity fetishization.
    Is there a support group for this?
    Asking for a friend.

    :-)
    "The Loar" LM-520
    Ludwig & Ludwig 8-370X Marimba
    Slingerland Modified Drumset
    Hand made profesional djembes from Guinea and Maili West Africa
    and toys... lots and lots of toys.

    Hey... I have a blog here!
    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/blogs/53556
    Feel free to stop on by and let me know what you think!

  32. #23
    Registered User Louise NM's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    Quote Originally Posted by Carl23 View Post
    Is there a support group for this?
    Asking for a friend.

    :-)
    Oh, you have stumbled right straight into the support group. This bunch will support any purchase or upgrade you care to make.

  33. #24
    Registered User William Smith's Avatar
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    Default Re: the addiction...

    Mandolins are one thing don't even get me started on old cases! I have serious case of case fetish! Not in any WIERD/STRANGE way, I love neat old cases! Ok the smell for one is like a little slice of my heaven! Of course ots better with a 90-100 year old mandolin in them but I've been known to buy just a KOOL old case!

  34. #25

    Default Re: the addiction...

    Here is how I break it down: Say you buy a $2000 mandolin. Now lets say you are so stoked you play it for two hours a day, for 300 days of the year. That is 600 hours. Comes to $3.33 per hour. Now lets say you hold MAS at bay for two years. Makes it $1.67 per hour.

    Instead, you buy a boat for $2000. You take it out three of four Saturdays for six months of the year. 36 days in the water, let's average four hours so you have 144 hours of use.$13.88 per hour not counting expenses.

    Other half isn't happy either way, but if you buy the mandolin, the grass gets mowed way more.Then said other half is driven crazy listening to the daily din, so you suggest buying a boat so you can go practice out on the lake so she can get some peace. If you buy used, she won't take much of a beating when she sells it after declaring you legally dead. After all, no body was ever found.
    Silverangel A
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