10 year anniversary

[Franc Homier Lieu]

Yesterday marked ten years since my wife gave me a mandolin for Christmas. I did briefly own a super cheap mandolin when I was a teenager, though I don't even remember whether it was an oval or f-hole A style, and my father had a broken down flatback he bought in Russia in the 1960s that I played around with as a kid, but I consider the Alabama ALM 30 (these are sold under the Rally brand in the UK) my first mandolin. That started me on the journey which currently has me in possession of five mandolins: a Kentucky KM 150, Kentucky KM 950, a Weber Yellowstone A, a Seagull S8, and a 1983 Flatiron 1N. I think I will have these for a while, as I have learned a lot about my mandolin tastes and preferences since I got the Alabama. It has been fun catching and releasing a variety of instruments, which I finally sat down to tally up. On my way to my current lineup of mandolins I have had:
a Regal
an Epiphone MM-50
a Loar LM 600
an Eastman MD 305
an Eastman MD 505
an Eastman MD 315
a Kentucky KM 172
a Flatiron Festival
a Shiraki XM 25
and a Weber Gallatin A

And the mandolin has also led me to experiment with other instruments over the years, including:
4 different 5-string banjos (I have settled for now on a Gold Tone CC-50)
1 tenor banjo (got a super deal on a Gold Tone 250, should never have sold it!)
2 fiddles
1 tenor guitar
4 different 6-string guitars (currently playing a Blueridge)
1 12-string guitar
2 classical guitars
2 octave mandolins (sold a Trinity College, now have an Eastman)
1 harp (well, technically a harpsicle)
1 cello

The Mandolin Cafe has played a inestimable role in my musical meandering over the last ten years, and I can barely recall what life was like before I played mandolin or spent part of most days on this website. It must have been pretty dull, to say the least! I could not overstate how important the Cafe has been in my musical education over the years. I am certain that I would have lost interest or gotten stuck in an inescapable rut, even with all of the other amazing online resources available for mandolin players these days, if not for this site. Most of the resources I use (books, videos, instructional websites) I have found through the Cafe, and the forum is an endless source of inspiration and wisdom.

Looking forward to the next ten years.

[yankees1]

Yesterday marked ten years since my wife gave me a mandolin for Christmas. I did briefly own a super cheap mandolin when I was a teenager, though I don't even remember whether it was an oval or f-hole A style, and my father had a broken down flatback he bought in Russia in the 1960s that I played around with as a kid, but I consider the Alabama ALM 30 (these are sold under the Rally brand in the UK) my first mandolin. That started me on the journey which currently has me in possession of five mandolins: a Kentucky KM 150, Kentucky KM 950, a Weber Yellowstone A, a Seagull S8, and a 1983 Flatiron 1N. I think I will have these for a while, as I have learned a lot about my mandolin tastes and preferences since I got the Alabama. It has been fun catching and releasing a variety of instruments, which I finally sat down to tally up. On my way to my current lineup of mandolins I have had:
a Regal
an Epiphone MM-50
a Loar LM 600
an Eastman MD 305
an Eastman MD 505
an Eastman MD 315
a Kentucky KM 172
a Flatiron Festival
a Shiraki XM 25
and a Weber Gallatin A

And the mandolin has also led me to experiment with other instruments over the years, including:
4 different 5-string banjos (I have settled for now on a Gold Tone CC-50)
1 tenor banjo (got a super deal on a Gold Tone 250, should never have sold it!)
2 fiddles
1 tenor guitar
4 different 6-string guitars (currently playing a Blueridge)
1 12-string guitar
2 classical guitars
2 octave mandolins (sold a Trinity College, now have an Eastman)
1 harp (well, technically a harpsicle)
1 cello

The Mandolin Cafe has played a inestimable role in my musical meandering over the last ten years, and I can barely recall what life was like before I played mandolin or spent part of most days on this website. It must have been pretty dull, to say the least! I could not overstate how important the Cafe has been in my musical education over the years. I am certain that I would have lost interest or gotten stuck in an inescapable rut, even with all of the other amazing online resources available for mandolin players these days, if not for this site. Most of the resources I use (books, videos, instructional websites) I have found through the Cafe, and the forum is an endless source of inspiration and wisdom.

Looking forward to the next ten years.

Well, they will keep you out of the taverns !

[Franc Homier Lieu]

Can’t believe I forgot the five ukuleles and a banjolele in my list of related instrument acquisitions!