Taste Test

[Rooster59]

A month or so ago we had a bit of a mando taste test and I recorded it on a Zoom H2. Finally got around to attempting to post it.
Same guy playing Cherokee Shuffle on 5 different mando's and 1 'dola.
Recording settings should be the same for all.
I haven't posted much and have never tried to attach anything so I hope this works.
1: Loar era snakehead A jr.
2: 1919/1920 F4
3: Red Diamond standard F
4: Heiden F
5: Gilchrist F
6: Hester mandola

[DougC]

Audacity worked in interpreting the files but nothing else worked. My vote is a toss-up between the Gil and the Heiden followed by the Gib F4. Great fun hearing these. I hope others can hear these clips.
Thanks.

[delsbrother]

Worked fine in itunes; though it would've been more fun had we not known which was which from the start.

[Rooster59]

When clicked on the links to see how they turned out, my computer used the quick time player.
Sounded decent with headphones on (my speakers suck)

[Rick Albertson]

#1 Heiden
#2 Red Diamond
#3 Gilchrist
#4 Gibson F4

[Dfyngravity]

Well first off that Hester mandola sounded terrific, I would love to get my hand on that for a few hours.

Ok now to the mandolins. I lined em' up in itunes and played them all through one at a time at least twice each. I then would play each one for about 10 sec. and then start another until they all played through...they all sounded great.The Gilchrist and Heiden were very similar to my ears so placing them one before another would really be left up to a personal test drive.

Here's how I would have them:

1. Red Diamond: the bass isn't quite as strong as the Gilchrist and Heiden but the mid and up range was awesome. This is to be expected as Don is building his F5 mandolins as close to a Loar as just about anyone out there.

2&3. Gilchrist and Heiden: The sound coming from these two were a bit more tighter and more bassy compared to the Red Diamond to my ears. Good thing or bad thing....? well that depends on the sound you are looking for. To me they seem to be maybe a bit more restrained.

4. Gibson F4: I love F4s but they are definitely different from F5s so I almost have to put it in a different list just like the dola'.


I think this would be even cooler if each mandolin played a tune from several different genres, say: bluegrass, classical, jazz...That is kind of why I picked the Red Diamond (I am a bit biased as I have owned one), but I feel they are one of the best all around mandolin out there. And that is what I am looking for in a mandolin, versatility. Not to say the other don't make a great all around mandolin, but when you get into the classical side in particular you don't really want a mandolin that is very bass heavy and tight sounding though that makes an awesome bluegrass mandolin. Just my opinion.

[first string]

Well it would seem I'm pretty much alone, but the F4 was the winner for me, followed by the snake. But then, I am kinda an oval guy. Thanks for this. It was very entertaining/edifying.

[papawhisky]

What a great post--thanks for posting these clips. It is a great opportunity to hear some great mandolins and compare.
First, some great picking! I have to steal some licks from that version.

I pretty quickly got focused on the RD, Gil, Heiden. IMHO:
1. Gil
2. RD
3. Heiden

Granted I am listening to files on my Mac speakers, but I was surprised that there really isn't more difference between these mandolins. All three sound really great. The Gil has a voice and clarity that appeals to me, so I put it first, but I would be glad to be playing any of those mandolins.

[F-2 Dave]

I ranked the Gil and the RD very close. Both were great but the Gil, I thought, edged the RD out of first. The Heiden was a close third, being a great sounding mandolin as well. I couldn't really rank the ovals against the others because they're just a different critter. That said, I liked the F4 a little more than the Snakehead. And yes, the mandola sounded wonderful.

[Charley wild]

I like both ovals better than the 5's and another vote for the "mandola sounding great"!

[tburcham]

1. Red Diamond
2. Heiden F
3. Gilchrist

Love the dola!

[D C Blood]

To my ears it was the RD, then the Heiden, then the Gil...Loved the Hester too, of course...we must have the same ears, Tim...

[Rooster59]

I'm glad some of you are having a bit of fun with this post.
We took some pics of them all lined up but the ones on my camera didn't turn out too well. Maybe the guy who did the picking got better ones than I did and he can post them.
To be fair to the Red Diamond, it had been in transit and had just arrived. It was a month or so making it's way up here and maybe hadn't been played for a bit prior to that so I'm thinking it had possibly "gone to sleep" abit.
Strings on it might not have been played in either but I wasn't near as impressed with it at the start of that day's session as I was later in the day.
To my ear it even sounded better a couple of days later.
The Gil is just a flat out monster. The Heiden is a recent one and it's about all you could want in a mando.
The guy who did the playing (he's about 1000 times better than me) says he's never played an oval hole that comes close to that F4. It does sound awful good.

[JeffD]

They were all real close, but I would have to go with the A Jr. It had the "happiest" tone.

[hank]

Wow!!! 59 you fly with eagles. What a great gaggle of outstanding mandolins. Which was your favorite and which was your pal's playing so magnificently? The Heiden really had a beautiful treble voice to me and I really liked the Diamond but it did sound like it was slightly muted in comparison with the other beast in your stable. The Gil was a monster but sounded a little darker than the Heiden and Diamond. The ovals were top notch as well. The snake had that familiar old time tone but the F4 didn't. That F4 sounded very deep and rich, what strings were on it. I think it and the Heiden are my favorites.

[Rick Schmidlin]

Red Diamond,Heiden,Gilchrist.... Gibson.....what no Collings?

[Mark Seale]

1. Gil
2. RD
3. Heiden

I assume the placement of mic and player were the same for all. I only ask because the Gil sounded like it clipped the mic under normal play a couple of times. Sort of like the notes were coming together on the other side of the recorder a bit. The RD sounded a little tight, but fantastic. I was going to ask if it was new, but it sounds like it just had some time off. The Heiden sounded really good, but it sounded like some of the notes were struggling to get out of the box. I really liked the AJr and the F4 certainly filled up the space.

[mandopete]

Tastes great (less filling).
Tastes great (less filling).

Another vote for the Red Diamond.

[Mike Snyder]

Apples- Red Diamond
Oranges- F4

[Benski]

Mmm...I could listen to that F4 all day.....seems the sweetest to me. Thanks for sharing this little smorgasbord with us.

[Randy Smith]

Thanks for this mix of tastes. I enjoyed hearing and liked all the mandos.
It would have been nice to have heard a new oval hole or two to compare to the Gibsons; ditto for older f-holes. The Hester mandola sounds very good but is at a disadvantage as far as a "test" goes. But thanks again for letting us hear all of these. I'm going to listen to them for a third time. . . .

[Rooster59]

Which was your favorite and which was your pal's That F4 sounded very deep and rich, what strings were on it. I think it and the Heiden are my favorites.

I'd have a hard time picking a favorite. The F5's all have their own character.
My buddy says he spends all his picking time on the F4 and the Heiden.
As to strings on the 4 -- I think J74's --- not sure.

[Rooster59]

1. Gil
2. RD
3. Heiden

I assume the placement of mic and player were the same for all. I only ask because the Gil sounded like it clipped the mic under normal play a couple of times..

The mic was just a Zoom H2 recorder and it was the same for all. Player was sitting in a chair and the Zoom was on a footstool about 3 feet away.

Now I'm headed for the support page to learn how to do a "multi quote".
Can't figure it out for the life of me.

[Gary Alter]

Hmmm.....I was unable to play any of the files (I'm on a Mac if that makes a difference), they all downloaded as Mp3.html files. When I tried opening them the computer says they're a web application. Anyone have any suggestions?

[buckles]

Gary... delete the .html portion of the file name. You'll get a message asking if you want to use the .mp3 extension or keep the .html extension. Select the use .mp3 and you should be able to play them.