Re: Do I need a mandola?
I didn’t think I needed a mandola till I “accidentally” played an Eastman MDA315 at the store. The deep voice really grabbed me and I called my wife and asked if she wanted to buy it for my Christmas present, lol. I do like it every time I play it, BUT I don’t play it often. The need to rethink my chords makes it a bit harder to just jump into songs, and if I want to play fiddle tunes in the traditional keys, I either have to play part of the tune down an octave (which I don’t like), or play up the neck. Up the neck is easy on my mandolin, but less so on the mandola since I don’t practice it enough. Maybe I’ll have more time to devote to mandola when I retire in a couple of years. (I also have the problem of enjoying learning/playing too many instruments, so that makes it harder to give any particular instrument the time it needs.)
An energetic percussive style on the lower pitched strings does sound good and is fun, though, so that’s one thing you’ll get versus a regular mandolin.
So, to answer your question - YES, if you think you’ll have the time this instrument deserves. And YES, if the money isn’t an issue, even if you don’t have the time but just want to expand your horizons a bit.
Doug Brock
2018 Kimble 2 point (#259), Eastman MD315, Eastman MDA315, some guitars, banjos, and fiddles
Bookmarks