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Thread: A Tone I Like

  1. #1
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    Default A Tone I Like

    I really like the tone from my mandolin playing with my thumb and index finger. I probably play using this combination around the house here more than with a pick. I keep a few picks within reach but tend to use my thumb and index finger for more pick-like approach the most.

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    Worlds ok-ist mando playr Zach Wilson's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by CBFrench View Post
    I really like the tone from my mandolin playing with my thumb and index finger. I probably play using this combination around the house here more than with a pick. I keep a few picks within reach but tend to use my thumb and index finger for more pick-like approach the most.
    With your fingernails or finger style like Travis Guitar picking?

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by Zach Wilson View Post
    With your fingernails or finger style like Travis Guitar picking?

    Thumb mostly for chord strumming. Thumb behind index finger for a brighter attack for strumming chords, single notes, double stops, cross picking. But then it's just me so I'm in no volume competitions so it's a mellow tone

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    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Well, it's harder to get much in the way of volume, punch, or speed that way. The string tension on a mandolin is very high, and there are double courses. There are good reasons why the overwhelming majority of mandolin players of all musical genres and playing all instrument types (bowlback/Neopolitan, modern carved archtop, flat top, etc.) use some kind of a flatpick to play. Of course, you're perfectly welcome to play your own mandolin any way you like, and a few players out there do use their fingers. Wayne Henderson (who uses a thumb pick on an F5-style mandolin) and the late Kenny Hall (who used bare fingers on a bowlback) come to mind.
    Last edited by sblock; Jan-09-2021 at 2:24pm.

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    Worlds ok-ist mando playr Zach Wilson's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by CBFrench View Post
    Thumb mostly for chord strumming. Thumb behind index finger for a brighter attack for strumming chords, single notes, double stops, cross picking. But then it's just me so I'm in no volume competitions so it's a mellow tone
    Interesting! A friend of mine (a true bassist) plays his octave with his fingers like a classical guitarist. He, like you, gets a different sound that he likes.

    Happy picking... er... fingering?

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by Zach Wilson View Post
    Interesting! A friend of mine (a true bassist) plays his octave with his fingers like a classical guitarist. He, like you, gets a different sound that he likes.

    Happy picking... er... fingering?
    Happy fingering...Haha

    That's cool and I'm sure he sounds really good also...and as you understood I said "A Tone" not the Only Tone as in "A Song" not the Only Song ha. After 30+ years of playing out I'm an introvert nowadays and stay at home and play alone so I don't have to have a bright pick attack all the time on guitar or mandolin shredding haha. A bandmate once said "you sure love a ballad don't you"...as a matter of fact I do love soulful ballads, pick, thumb, fingers...whatever suits the mood I'm in

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    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Herco thumb-Flatpicks may be useful .. https://www.stringsandbeyond.com/jimduheflthg.html
    writing about music
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  11. #8

    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    @CB - I know what you mean.

    A long time ago, I was lucky enough to meet someone with good advice soon after I encountered hand/wrist problems playing guitar. "You don't actually need to pay dues in terms of pain and heavy calluses to play loud and well." The example was presented of the classical and flamenco guitar, which is lightly braced and responsive.

    That started me down a path of choosing instruments which were responsive and not overbuilt. Using lighter strings on them avoids stiffening and thereby dampening the vibration of the soundboard, a mad spiral one often sees as people use progressively heavier and heavier strings to drive a soundboard being simultaneously loaded down more and more.

    I also lucked out to have avoided the kinds of soundboard issues one sees when one loads, say, a Gibson or Flatiron pancake mandolin with strings which are too heavy. GHS makes a set of ultra-light strings which are lighter than the original Flatiron gauges, and they are responsive and loud. Additionally, the neck isn't being yanked in a way which can easily cause high frets, which allows lower action.

    Of course, a good set-up is a joy forever, or at least for years.

    ----

    I occasionally use picks and did when I was recording, but using skin or nail has been my main method of play for many years. I've never found it to impede speed or volume, even though gypsy jazz. Jazz chord melody, duo-style and classical and early music ave been more my foci, and bluegrass has never even been on my radar. YMMV, of course.

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by mandroid View Post
    Herco thumb-Flatpicks may be useful .. https://www.stringsandbeyond.com/jimduheflthg.html
    me and a thumbpick are a trainwreck...anyway I like the FleshTones...is that a band name? if not it ought to be

  14. #10

    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    Well, it's harder to get much in the way of volume, punch, or speed that way. The string tension on a mandolin is very high, and there are double courses. There are good reasons why the overwhelming majority of mandolin players of all musical genres and playing all instrument types (bowlback/Neopolitan, modern carved archtop, flat top, etc.) use some kind of a flatpick to play. Of course, you're perfectly welcome to play your own mandolin any way you like, and a few players out there do use their fingers. Wayne Henderson (who uses a thumb pick on an F5-style mandolin) and the late Kenny Hall (who uses bare fingers on a bowlback) come to mind.

    Hey CBFrench, look at that - Captain Obvious just gave you permission to enjoy your mandolin the way you want in your own home even though the overwhelming majority doesn't agree with you.

    Have you tried flatwound strings on your Pava yet? They might actually work well for fingerpicking and ballads, interesting thought anyway.
    Gunga......Gunga.....Gu-Lunga

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    I was working out and writing a melody the other day, and it was more convenient not to have a pick in my hand. Sounded pretty good, but I'd be even slower than usual if I played that way.

    D.H.

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by ColdBeerGoCubs View Post
    Hey CBFrench, look at that - Captain Obvious just gave you permission to enjoy your mandolin the way you want in your own home even though the overwhelming majority doesn't agree with you.
    Lol now this is funny but only if I can be Captain Obtuse

    Quote Originally Posted by ColdBeerGoCubs View Post
    Have you tried flatwound strings on your Pava yet? They might actually work well for fingerpicking and ballads, interesting thought anyway.
    Haven't tried flatwounds but maybe I'll stick with fleshwound altho I may try a set and see how I like the tone on my mandolin. Flatwounds were a bit too dark on my archtop, maybe if I was a hardcore jazz player but I jump from one genre to the next quite often. Funny I was just messing around with Tumblin Dice by Stones on my mandolin, damn what a cool instrument...

  17. #13
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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Thinking about it... I do the thumb pick+palm mute when playing in the wee hours and the kiddos are sleeping.

    Its not my fave tone but it works for getting ear worms on my fretboard.

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by ColdBeerGoCubs View Post
    Hey CBFrench, look at that - Captain Obvious just gave you permission to enjoy your mandolin the way you want in your own home even though the overwhelming majority doesn't agree with you.

    Have you tried flatwound strings on your Pava yet? They might actually work well for fingerpicking and ballads, interesting thought anyway.
    Jeez Louise. That was pretty darned rude of you, and unworthy of the Mandolin Cafe. I was being gracious, and not "giving permission" to anyone. How could you possibly come away with that interpretation, I wonder? If anything, I was saying the exact opposite, namely, that the OP doesn't require anyone's permission to play his mandolin exactly as he chooses! It's his mandolin, after all. Furthermore, my statement that an overwhelming majority of mandolin players happen to use a flatpick is a statement of fact, not my opinion. I didn't write that these people "disagreed" in any way with the OP, only that they used a different technique. Finally, I offered up the names of two well-respected players who don't use a flat pick.

    I think you owe an apology.

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    While we're waiting, here's a delightful performance from Maurizio Vitagliani, a member from Italy, with an intriguing pickless technique, or mixture of techniques. I don't even know what to call this. Clawhammer mando? I don't remember ever seeing this approach before. But it's a fascinating sound.

    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

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  22. #16

    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    Jeez Louise. That was pretty darned rude of you, and unworthy of the Mandolin Cafe. I was being gracious, and not "giving permission" to anyone. How could you possibly come away with that interpretation, I wonder? If anything, I was saying the exact opposite, namely, that the OP doesn't require anyone's permission to play his mandolin exactly as he chooses! It's his mandolin, after all. Furthermore, my statement that an overwhelming majority of mandolin players happen to use a flatpick is a statement of fact, not my opinion. I didn't write that these people "disagreed" in any way with the OP, only that they used a different technique. Finally, I offered up the names of two well-respected players who don't use a flat pick.

    I think you owe an apology.
    My favorite part:

    "The string tension on a mandolin is very high, and there are double courses." - You just said this to a guy who posted about liking to fingerpick his mandolin on a forum about mandolins. Do you honestly think he - a guy fingerpicking a mandolin - did not know that?
    Gunga......Gunga.....Gu-Lunga

  23. #17

    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by journeybear View Post
    While we're waiting, here's a delightful performance from Maurizio Vitagliani, a member from Italy, with an intriguing pickless technique, or mixture of techniques. I don't even know what to call this. Clawhammer mando? I don't remember ever seeing this approach before. But it's a fascinating sound.


    This is very impressive.
    Gunga......Gunga.....Gu-Lunga

  24. #18
    Worlds ok-ist mando playr Zach Wilson's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by journeybear View Post
    While we're waiting, here's a delightful performance from Maurizio Vitagliani, a member from Italy, with an intriguing pickless technique, or mixture of techniques. I don't even know what to call this. Clawhammer mando? I don't remember ever seeing this approach before. But it's a fascinating sound.

    Not sure what that technique is called but I have seen/heard folks doing that on their small, parlor guitars. Kinda bluesy.

    Cool video. Thanks

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    I could change the title to "A Song I Like" or 1 of a million

    Edit: haha

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by ColdBeerGoCubs View Post
    My favorite part:

    "The string tension on a mandolin is very high, and there are double courses." - You just said this to a guy who posted about liking to fingerpick his mandolin on a forum about mandolins. Do you honestly think he - a guy fingerpicking a mandolin - did not know that?
    OMG, what is your problem, ColdBeerGoCubs?! Are you asking to get booted off this forum for your appalling rudeness? Why can't you dispense with the snark and treat folks with more courtesy?

    I'm guessing here that you didn't quite understand the reason behind my original comment, so I will spell it our for you. Having high string tension makes fingerpicking harder, and so does having double courses. These aspects help to explain why I commented that finger-picking the mandolin usually offers less punch and less volume. It pays to be a more careful reader.

    You have consistently misread my remarks, and also seem to want to pick a fight (why?!). At no point did I ever take issue with the OP's desire to fingerpick his mandolin. That's his choice, and I said as much. I simply pointed out some well-established drawbacks for doing so, and the fact that most mandolin players happen to use a flat pick -- for good reason(s)!

    You still owe an apology.

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    OMG, what is your problem, ColdBeerGoCubs?! Are you asking to get booted off this forum for your appalling rudeness? Why can't you dispense with the snark and treat folks with more courtesy?

    You still owe an apology.
    As my, wise beyond her years, 8yo daughter would say;

    "L.IG. man, let it go."

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by Zach Wilson View Post
    Not sure what that technique is called but I have seen/heard folks doing that on their small, parlor guitars. Kinda bluesy.

    Cool video. Thanks
    You're welcome. And thanks. Yeah, it's much more of a guitar technique, or old-timey banjo. Never seen it on a mandolin before. But clearly he's been doing it a while, because it's so smooth. And cool.

    I know this is different from what CBFrench (post a video, if so inclined), but it shows how much can be done without a pick.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

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    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    ...but then my reason for sometimes just using thumb/fingers was for less punch and less volume and if I want more I use a pick

    But I think the misunderstanding comment was maybe due to a simple explanation of how mandolin tones work that CBGC figured I already knew or at least should know...but everythings cOoL
    Last edited by CBFrench; Jan-09-2021 at 7:26pm. Reason: spelling

  30. #24
    Fingers of Concrete ccravens's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    OMG, what is your problem, ColdBeerGoCubs?! Are you asking to get booted off this forum for your appalling rudeness?
    With all due respect sblock, I think it's the job of the mod or site manager to say who gets the boot. They're quite capable, I'm sure.

    If it makes any difference, I also thought your initial post came off as rude and/or somewhat condescending, when I first read it. Especially your intentionally italicized part. I didn't say I thought you meant it to be rude (you've said you didn't, and I take you at your word), but I read it that way as well.

    Just one person's viewpoint, of course, FWIW, YMMV, etc. etc.

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  31. #25

    Default Re: A Tone I Like

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    OMG, what is your problem, ColdBeerGoCubs?! Are you asking to get booted off this forum for your appalling rudeness? Why can't you dispense with the snark and treat folks with more courtesy?

    I'm guessing here that you didn't quite understand the reason behind my original comment, so I will spell it our for you. Having high string tension makes fingerpicking harder, and so does having double courses. These aspects help to explain why I commented that finger-picking the mandolin usually offers less punch and less volume. It pays to be a more careful reader.

    You have consistently misread my remarks, and also seem to want to pick a fight (why?!). At no point did I ever take issue with the OP's desire to fingerpick his mandolin. That's his choice, and I said as much. I simply pointed out some well-established drawbacks for doing so, and the fact that most mandolin players happen to use a flat pick -- for good reason(s)!

    You still owe an apology.
    I'll just go ahead and assume this is some sort of bad joke.

    Enjoy the fingerpicking, CBF!!
    Gunga......Gunga.....Gu-Lunga

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