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Thread: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

  1. #1

    Default Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Hello all,
    I just recently found this Cafe and I am very glad that I did. I have been soaking in all the information I can while waiting for my mandolin to arrive. I purchased a Kentucky KM-756 and it is being delivered tomorrow. I have no experience with music at all. I tried several years ago to learn both the mandolin and the banjo but I suffer with severe PTSD from the Gulf war and back when I originally tried to learn these instruments I was not in the correct state of mind to do so. I am now in a much better place mentally and feel that this will be very good therapy for me. I have always loved the sound of the mandolin, and I love both Bluegrass and Celtic music. I have lessons lined up weekly with an awesome instructor and I really think that I have set myself up for success this time.

    Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and thank you for this wonderful site. I look forward to reading more of your posts and gaining all of the knowledge I can.

    Best regards,
    Scott

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  3. #2
    Registered User Sue Rieter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Hi Scott! I'm a new player, too, just started last year when covid hit. This place has been an awesome refuge and a source of boundless information and entertainment. I remember waiting for my first mando to arrive, it is exciting and nerve wracking!

  4. #3

    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Congratulations and welcome! I’m a six month newbie myself and can attest to the value of every day music therapy!

  5. #4
    Worlds ok-ist mando playr Zach Wilson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome Scott!

    Happy picking

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    Registered User tassiespirit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Mavicboss View Post
    Hello all,
    I just recently found this Cafe and I am very glad that I did. I have been soaking in all the information I can while waiting for my mandolin to arrive. I purchased a Kentucky KM-756 and it is being delivered tomorrow. I have no experience with music at all. I tried several years ago to learn both the mandolin and the banjo but I suffer with severe PTSD from the Gulf war and back when I originally tried to learn these instruments I was not in the correct state of mind to do so. I am now in a much better place mentally and feel that this will be very good therapy for me. I have always loved the sound of the mandolin, and I love both Bluegrass and Celtic music. I have lessons lined up weekly with an awesome instructor and I really think that I have set myself up for success this time.

    Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and thank you for this wonderful site. I look forward to reading more of your posts and gaining all of the knowledge I can.

    Best regards,
    Scott
    Hi Scott,

    Music can be a refuge for the mind and that is what I use it for in all different ways. I have Migraine Disorder ( for 20 years) I play music at low levels through ear buds to take my mind off the pain. But I just love the light and dark ( sometimes) noisy sound or the mandolin can make. My daughter has PTSD, so although I do not know what you have suffered, I do understand part of your trauma and what retraining your mind and how it can control pain and turmoil in your body.
    Just enjoy your journey, use it to bridge the gags in your dreams with music of your making.


    Allan
    Allan Midgley
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    A good woman, fine wine and my mandolin, what else do I want............money would be nice.

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    Registered User Charles E.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome Scott! Enjoy the mandolin journey. This is the most welcoming and best run (thanks mods) site on the web. Looking forward to hearing about your progress.
    Charley

    A bunch of stuff with four strings

  9. #7
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Thank you for your service Scott. You will find this site is a great resource for music, inspiration to become a great musician, and a place to associate with so many knowledgeable people. Welcome aboard, enjoy the ride!
    Ratliff R5 2007, Capek A5 2003, Washburn M5S-SB Jethro Burns 1982, Mid-Mo M-2, Epiphone MM 30 Bk mandolins, Harmony Batwing 1970's, George Bauer bowlback early 1900's Philadelphia.


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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome to the Café! Thank you as well for your service. And I wish you well with your recovery and therapy. Music hath charms - it truly does. And spending as much time as possible with such a beautiful instrument as a mandolin will surely be that much more fruitful.

    Do yourself a world of good by reading through some threads about the first steps to take with a new instrument. And if you live in an area with wintry weather - PLEASE read some threads about how and when to open your package. You will save yourself from immense distress by doing this correctly.

    Good luck in your new adventures. Feel free to ask questions - some of the most knowledgeable mandolinists in the world hang out here. But take some spins through threads via the search engine - which is really good - and see what you'll learn, in just a few minutes. This is a remarkable resource. Glad you found it.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

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  11. #9
    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome to the Cafe, Scott. Enjoy your mandolin journey. You'll find a helpful and supportive community here.
    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
    "I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
    Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.

  12. #10
    I really look like that soliver's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome to the mandolin and welcome to the cafe! One of the greatest sites I know of on the web, and that's not because of a bias toward mandolin!

    As others have said, thank you for your service to our country and be blessed to find some peace and joy from picking!
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome to the Cafe. Enjoy your new mandolin and take pride in each new gain you make with it.

    Jamie
    There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946

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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome. Thank you for service also.

    Adam

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    Registered User Pappyrich's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome, and thanks for your service.
    Richard

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  16. #14

    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Thanks to everyone for your kind words. I already feel so welcome here. Would please expand on opening the mandolin if coming in from a cold climate. I am in Georgia but the mandolin was shipped from the midwest where the temperatures were considerably colder than here. Thanks in advance.

  17. #15
    Registered User Randi Gormley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    welcome to the mandolin and the cafe!

    i think the advice to wait on opening a new instrument is to make sure the inside of the package is the same temperature as the room (someone correct me if i'm wrong, please) so if the package has been sitting in a local facility for any time, it may already be the correct temperature or at least cut down on the time you'd leave it to acclimate.
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    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Mavicboss View Post
    Thanks to everyone for your kind words. I already feel so welcome here. Would please expand on opening the mandolin if coming in from a cold climate. I am in Georgia but the mandolin was shipped from the midwest where the temperatures were considerably colder than here. Thanks in advance.
    I can't describe adequately in detail what might befall the instrument, and how to avoid it, which is why I suggested looking at threads. Perhaps an advanced search with the term "crazing" will help. Mostly, it's if an instrument experiences a sudden change in temperature - usually going from cold to warm - the finish can crack, in many little pieces. That's crazing. I remember some people saying they watched this happen, bit by bit. Sounds horrible. So it's best to let it warm up gradually, in the unopened carton, till it gets to room temperature. But I'm trusting my memory here, which you shouldn't. An ounce of prevention would be worth three pounds of cure, this time.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

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

  19. #17

    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Thank you for your replies. I will do a search for "crazing" and "unboxing" and see what that comes up with.

  20. #18
    Play on FredK's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome to Mandolin Cafe! It's a great place to be and to learn. The general saying I've heard is to let the mandolin acclimate in your house for 24 hours before unpacking. I track my mandolins to see what the weather is like during its journey. Only once have I gone the full 24 because it came from up north during winter months. Otherwise, I've unpacked after about 6-8 hours with no problems. YMMV.
    "If your memories exceed your dreams, you have begun to die." - Anonymous

  21. #19

    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by FredK View Post
    The general saying I've heard is to let the mandolin acclimate in your house for 24 hours before unpacking.
    Eek! I'm waiting for my first mandolin too, and I am so glad I saw this thread. I had no idea.

  22. #20
    Orrig Onion HonketyHank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome Scott and neverenoughtea! There's good folks here. Even me, most of the time. I have learned a lot since I was a new Newbie. Now I am a not so new Newbie but still having fun.
    New to mando? Click this link -->Newbies to join us at the Newbies Social Group.

    Just send an email to rob.meldrum@gmail.com with "mandolin setup" in the subject line and he will email you a copy of his ebook for free (free to all mandolincafe members).

    My website and blog: honketyhank.com

  23. #21
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Simple, just bring in the box, don't unpack anything, and come back tomorrow. In the meantime go play all the other instruments in your menagerie. Don't tell me you don't have anything else to play!
    Ratliff R5 2007, Capek A5 2003, Washburn M5S-SB Jethro Burns 1982, Mid-Mo M-2, Epiphone MM 30 Bk mandolins, Harmony Batwing 1970's, George Bauer bowlback early 1900's Philadelphia.


    "Don't cloud the issue with facts!" Groucho Marx

  24. #22
    Registered User Isaac Revard's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome fellow Veteran and mandolin player. I didn’t know diddly squat about music before picking up the mandolin a long time ago. Have fun, enjoy the ride, we’re all “trying” to play music.

  25. #23
    Registered User Jcdraayer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Welcome to the Cafe! Such a great community to be a part of, I'm sure you'll find yourself right at home! Welcome!
    1924 Gibson A Snakehead
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  26. #24

    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    I am completely enamored with the Cafe already. You folks are such GREAT people. I was made to feel so welcome right from the git go and I truly appreciate it. I received my Kentucky yesterday and I have been working with it so much since then my fingers are sore. That's a good thing, right? I have my first lesson on Saturday with Erin Woolf if anyone is familiar with her. I am very impressed with her credentials and her method of teaching. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers that I succeed this time.

    By the way, I think when you purchase your first stringed instrument it is almost like catching a virus. I already have an itch for another mandolin, an "A" style and quite possibly would like to learn the tenor guitar. Oh my, what have I unleashed on myself...

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    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie to the Cafe and the Mandolin

    Glad that's working out for you. Sorry about the MAS - happens. I picked up a National Steel Triolian tenor guitar while I was in a jug band. I wanted a steel resonator mandolin, and one day my luthier had one in his shop - NFS - and also the Triolian, for which I plunked down my bucks without haggling and it was just the thing. Had that old-time real deal sound from the get-go. And tuned like a mandola, I could play it with ease. Had to stretch out my fingers a bit, being so used to the mandolin scrunch. But of course when I play it with a slide that's not an issue. I still hope to find a resonator, one of these days. And that's how it is with MAS - always there, somehow.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    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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