I think you are talking to the "wrong crowd" suggesting mandolins are limited in scope of applicability. I have 3 guitars, I almost never play them, I have 12 mando type instruments varying from mandocellos to octaves, to mandolas to mandolins and almost never miss a day playing at least one of them.
I do choose different instruments for different styles or tunes, it has more to do with tone and sometimes fingering than a particular style of music.
I agree guitars have a lot of variation in style strings and tunings, and various musical applications, and perhaps mandolin and mandolin family have less diversity ( I will accept that there are probably not only a lot more guitar players than mandolinists, but since 1950 or so, there have simply been more guitars than mandolins on the planet at any given time) but fretted strings instruments in general have uncounted variation in # of strings, tuning, bridge and body style, and on and on.
I could easily name a dozen albums of very different musical styles using mandolins.
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I know, addressing "crowds" of various persuasions is often risky business. Fwiw, I never "dissed" mandolins...only pointing out some apparently little-known info on guitars, and hopefully avoiding sounding condescending about it..
Don't want to make anyone angry here. I like mndlns too, Mean Old Timer. ✌
Last edited by catmandu2; Jan-12-2021 at 4:34pm.
No problem here, just a typical MC discussion.
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catmandu2 no harm! no censorship! The aspiring kodger in me loves to spout opinions based on nothing but personal bias!
I was a guitar player for a long time and I moved to mandolin (partly) because there were simply too many guitar players at jams, now there are too many mandolins, so I actually had to bring a guitar a few times and realized I am very out of practice....
Stormy Morning Orchestra
My YouTube Channel
"Mean Old Timer, He's got grey hair, Mean Old Timer he just don't care
Got no compassion, thinks its a sin
All he does is sit around an play the Mandolin"
You can't argue with math
Edited.
Well it does get dicey quickly caz there are so many types of instruments, especially gtrs.. then taxonomy and all that .. which can lead on to lots of interesting discussions. I especially like different tunings, temperaments, instruments, early trad stuff..it's prbly been one of the most enjoyable things about music..resonance. that Micheal Hedges stuck with me early on..
I only have one mandolin (and one guitar, and one tenor banjo) because the herd needed to be thinned over the years either due to financial need or more recently, a transatlantic move home - the thought of trying to fly more than three instruments back to Ireland with me was too daunting to contemplate. As someone who likes to accumulate instruments though, if I had unlimited resources I could add the following types of mandolin (not mandolin family) instruments to the stable:
- bowl back
- flat top
- cant top
- pancake
- A style with f-holes
- F style with f- holes
- F style with oval hole
- 2 point
- guitar bodied jazz mandolin
- violin style (Campanella/Pomeroy/Kelley for example)
- travel mandolin
- electric mandolin
- carbon fibre mandolin
- resonator mandolin
I've probably left something off that list as well.
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2018 Frank Tate tenor guitar
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You can get multiple version of mandolins for different sounds, like many here have pointed out. If I want to equate it to guitar, it would be like having a Martin, Gibson and Taylor acoustics for the different sound qualities. Sure, they are all acoustic guitars, but each has it's own sound.
Same with mandolin. That said, there are a lot of folks who can and do get by quite nicely with just one. Whatever works for you.
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Good point Eric, Tony Rice pretty much used the same guitar for most of his recording / performance career ( tone poems a noticeable exception), John Reichman pretty much sticks to his Loar though I have heard him on other mandos and octave, same with Thile. Mike Marshall played his Loar (and mandocello) for a long time, last time I saw him at Freshgrass he had a Northfield.
Stormy Morning Orchestra
My YouTube Channel
"Mean Old Timer, He's got grey hair, Mean Old Timer he just don't care
Got no compassion, thinks its a sin
All he does is sit around an play the Mandolin"
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