So I’ve been posting questions lately about one model vs. another and one tone wood vs. another because I’m ready to step up to the next level mandolin and have no opportunity to play any; I live in a higher end acoustic instrument desert. I would literally have to fly half way across the country to find stores with any kind of selection and even then I’d be limited to whatever they happen to have in inventory that day. So I’ll have buy online sight unseen just as I have with every Martin dread I’ve ever bought. So asking questions of all you knowledgeable pickers is the only due dilligence I can do, along with watching vids.
I play in a trio with a bass player and acoustic guitar player. When he solos I have to hold down a decent rhythm “wall” for him to play against. We play some fiddle tunes but also a lot of sweet, melodic singer/songwriter ballads. So on the more uptempo tunes I try to deliver a thick, beefy chop. But on the more delicate songs I try to play more textured things like arpeggios, crosspicked chords and melodic fill lines.
So I need a mando that can swing both ways. From watching some Mike Marshall vids, I’m intrigued by the Big Mon Engelman top Mandolins. They seem to be able to deliver a good chop when called for but also have sort of a rich overtone-y higher end for the sweeter more delicate tunes. Thoughts about this or alternate suggestions? If I were only playing bluegrass I might lean more toward the adi top Big Mon or a Gibson F5G but there are only a small handful of bluegrass-ish tunes in our repertoire.
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