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Thread: New Octave Mandolin Day!

  1. #1
    Registered User McIrish's Avatar
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    Default New Octave Mandolin Day!

    I'm kind of excited. I got two things this week. One was Covid (not good) and the other was a new octave mandolin. It's a Weber Bitterroot A20-F. I had to wait a few days till I had the energy to open the box. I've had a couple different Weber's in the past. I think this is the nicest one I've had.

    I have a Eastman MDO305 and it plays super great. They did a wonderful job on the build quality. But still, I wanted something a little deeper in tone. The Eastman has plenty of volume, cut and punch (with heavier strings on it) but for the music I'm doing, I needed just a bit more body. I think the Eastman is built on a mandola body. An extra inch in depth and width would have made it perfect, but that's not what it is. They made it to a price point and I respect that. But, I needed to upgrade and that came at 5x the price of the Eastman, but I'm happy with the purchase.

    It came to me with EJ80 Octave Mandolin strings. Too thin and not enough pop. I contacted Ryan Fish over at Weber and he said it would be fine to use a heavier set. I put on a set of EJ72 mandola strings. That made it come to life. Very nice sound. I think I'm good for now.
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  2. #2
    Registered User urobouros's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    I think Weber OMs definitely do best with heavy strings. Congrats on the NMD!!
    2020 Northfield Big Mon
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  4. #3
    Registered User meow-n-dolin's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    Quote Originally Posted by McIrish View Post
    I

    It came to me with EJ80 Octave Mandolin strings. Too thin and not enough pop. I contacted Ryan Fish over at Weber and he said it would be fine to use a heavier set. I put on a set of EJ72 mandola strings. That made it come to life. Very nice sound. I think I'm good for now.
    Congratulations on your Weber!!! And here is hoping for speedy recovery!! I put the EJ72's on my Eastman Octave -- a bit more punch. And I'll bet they DO work wonders on the Weber!
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  5. #4
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    Sweet!
    I love my Weber Octaves and actually have been playing them more lately
    I do like the Curt Mangan Octave set.
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  6. #5
    Registered User Marcus CA's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    Glad that you were able to afford 5X the cost of the Eastman! You'll probably enjoy the Weber 5X as long.

    I think that the Eastman MDO-305 is definitely the best OM at its price point, but my ear agrees that it will only take you so far. I'm curious to see how the MDO-605 fares.
    still trying to turn dreams into memories

  7. #6

    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    Cool, enjoy that ew Octave!

  8. #7
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    Congrats! Love my Bitterroot with EJ-72s. I don’t play a ton of OM, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel the need for something else. I may someday want something else (maybe a GBOM), but the Weber does everything I need. Congrats!
    Chuck

  9. #8
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    Nice....Glad different strings made it even better.
    You can't get there from here.

  10. #9
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    I play an F20-F octave. There has been some other discussions here on the cafe about the best strings to use with these Weber OMs with a 20" scale length. A heavier 'G' than standard octave mandolin strings like the EJ-70s will help. Someone here recommended the John Pearse Octave Mandola (#2265). I put a set on and was immediately impressed with the difference. Much stronger low end and very nice balance. It's all I use at this point.
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  11. #10
    Registered User 5Guitars's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    I too replaced the stock EJ-80's with the very slightly heavier EJ-72's on my Eastman MDO305 OM and experienced improved sound with minimal impact on playability. (I also use the same strings on my Eastman MDA315 Mandola.)

  12. #11
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    Congrats on the new Weber.
    I have a Gallatin F22 OM that Bruce recommends Pearse 2265 14-48 strings.
    Changed to these and it's different instrument.

  13. #12
    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    Congrats - on the Weber, not the Covid (though it comes with free shipping, I hear). Homing in on the best strings always takes time with a new instrument, but it keeps you busy while waiting for full health.
    the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world

  14. #13
    Registered User McIrish's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Octave Mandolin Day!

    <Removed by Moderator. Please limit commerce to the classifieds>
    Last edited by MikeEdgerton; Jan-24-2023 at 3:28pm.
    Gibson 2016 "Harvey" Fern
    Collings MT Mandola
    Weber 2017 Bitterroot A20-F Octave Mandolin
    Crump BIII Irish Bouzouki
    Petersen Level 2 Irish Bouzouki
    Eastman MDC805 Mandocello
    Collings 0002H
    Five & Six String Banjos
    Lots of other Guitars
    http://www.shadowfields.com

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