Hello all,
My father passed away this past March, and I inherited his mandolin. My dad was a fantastic guitar player, and he had many guitars but he bought this mandolin at a yard sale a few years back. I decided to start learning how to play.
It's a Gretsch New Yorker G9320. It's an A-style with f-holes. After playing it for a while, I realized it hadn't really been set up properly, so I took it to a local Luthier recommended to me by a friend (David Strait, Boiling Springs, PA) who replaced the plastic nut with a bone one, made sure the bridge was fitted properly, etc.
Mr. Strait's price was reasonable -- a bit over $200 -- and given that the instrument itself was free, I am more than pleased with the mandolin based on my limited experience. The tuners hold their tune well. Before the setup , I found pressing strings to the first fret to be very hard, but that's all fixed now. I like the tone it makes, and I'm having fun working through Brad Laird's lessons.
My question is: how does this mandolin compare to others? I thought I read somewhere that the neck is thicker than normal. Is that true?
Part of the reason I'm asking is that I just learned about the Northfield Calhoun flat top, and it sounds like a really good mandolin. It's billed as being easy to play, and geared toward beginner players. What about it would make it easy to play compared to an A-style like I have?
So, I'm interested in any thoughts Cafe members have on Gretsch mandos like I have and how they might compare to something like the Northfield Calhoun.
Thanks,
-Drew
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