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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I recently purchased a Davy Stuart Indian Rosewood madolin out of NZ and am paitently awaiting its arrival.
This has given me pause to think about the relationship between guitar players and mandolins and the fact that I have noticed that many of our members have not only an impressive collection of guitars but also mandolins.
I am curious why so many guitar players own and play mandolins.
Was it because you wanted to play a certain song that required one?
Was it to increase or perfect your picking skills?
Was it out of curiosity (as is my case)?
I would really like to hear why mandolin owners started out playing one and how has if improved (if any) your guitar playing.
Thanks |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | I have a mandolin.
Years ago I decided I was going to get one of every stringed instrument. I had a violin,tenor and 5 string banjo, mandolin, electric, acoustic, nylon and 12 string guitar, dulcimer, mountain and appalachian, autoharp, zither, sitar, and probably a few that I can't think of right now. To top it off I had a flute and a sax.
After screwing around with all that stuff for a few years I decided that it was better to suck on one instrument than a whole pile of them. so they all went up for sale. |
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August 2003
Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | Why? Because they are there...
Mandos, ukes, etc. - guess I am a masochist. Was a lot easier when I used a capo on a 12-str and faked it. |
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May 2004
Posts: 295
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | I think if you play a stringed instrument it's just natural to be curious about other stringed instruments. At one time I was fiddling with (pun intended) the violin; it was stolen, and I never bothered to replace it.
If you're a studio musician, it probably helps bring in more bucks if you can play several kinds of instruments.
Although I am curious about other instruments, the guitar alone is enough of a challenge for me. |
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May 2004
Posts: 338
Location: Toronto | I always wanted to record something and play all the instruments - it's becoming a life long journey!!!
Dano |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Originally posted by stephent28:
I am curious why so many guitar players own and play mandolins.
Because Mandolins make a fantastic noise, and like guitar you can play thousands of songs with a handful of chords, or spend a lifetime going deeper should you want to |
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January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | My wife made me get a mando |
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June 2004
Posts: 365
Location: NC | My friend plays a mandolin..........the strings are too close and the instrument too small for me. I love to hear one however.... |
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April 2004
Posts: 71
Location: Charlotte NC | I played violin for many years. A mandolin is simply a violin with frets that you pluck instead of bow. Same GDAE tuning and same fingering. I suck at both equally! |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | I would guess that more double on bass than mando.
Am I right or wrong?
Maybe the reason we're drawn to them is it's a completely different instrument we can play the same way as guitar. Fiddle you have to know exactally where to put your fingers and how to bow and all that spoo.
That's my guess.
I have a couple of mandos and they are decoration. While I know a few chords on them I'd never attempt to show that to even the dog. |
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February 2004
Posts: 171
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma | I picked up mando because I thought I wanted to learn how to play "fiddle"... I soon learned that I've only got so muck time... I play mando because it sounds cool and the piano because i love it..... Mando is tuff... unless you know the structure behind it...
Gerald |
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August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | I would guess that more double on bass than mando.
Am I right or wrong?
Right, at least in the case of stonebobbo. I have both bass and mando, and while nowhere what would pass as competent on bass, I wouldn't hesitate to play behind folks and lay down the bottom. But mando? I'm struggling with it, and it's more of a technique thing rather than being able to find the notes. As with anything, the hard part is not getting one song to sound good, it's playing anything and it still sounds good. |
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February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Funnny but I guess I am guilty of needing a few odd instruments to accomplish a few songs. These songs just do not quite work unless I have these particular sounds.
I know I kind of explained this in another post. Just figured this was a good question.
I am also going to be guilty of converting a good "O" Ukulale (Or well at least giving it a good try) to a Tiple because the actual instrument/s I need are slightly pricey considering I do not plan to make them a regular part of my musical pursuits. And I love to experiment anyway.
Now this is my reason for wanting a Tiple and a Portugese Guitar.
As for the Mandolins, I have always liked them, and want to teach myself how to play one. I already know a little on the Violin so this will help. I plan to purchase a nice Ovation Mando sometime in the future.
I already have a Violin and can play it somewhat. I need it for a short intro to a piece but I never liked the feel of a Violin. Stange instrument actually.
I guess it's the fact that a violin can sound real bad in the hands of even a fair player. Where as a guitar can sound much better in the hands of a poor player. Violins seem to have NO TOLERANCE for mine, nor anyones, lack of talent!
Guess Al's point about being a "Jack of all trades and master of none" makes sense here but I have the benefit of only having to learn a minute or two worth of music on these other stringed instruments.
The Bass was a complete fluke for me? I never even tried a Bass before this year! Honest to God, It just never appealed to me at all???? This is completely Chris Squires fault. I fell in love with the sounds and complexity of his Solo work on Fish out of Water and decided to try a bass to see if I could work some of his songs out! Man Did I! I found my calling on the big strings. Everything else is now a secondary instrument for me.
Randy |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | When I lived in Poway, CA back in the late 60's and early 70's, I was a fair rythym guitar player as my brother was a fiddle player who was good enough to win a category in a Canadian National fiddle contest and had made a pretty good bluegrass album at a Canadian record company which I used to play for some of my jammin friends who were into a folk rock type of music and came to my house to jam and started getting into bluegrass. one of the folk types bought a Mexican mandolin and the sound just sounded right to me although he just strummed it. I bought a cheap A type one and a Mel Bay book of fiddle tunes and started going to folk festivals etc. and graduated from strumming rythym with my friends to taking breaks on fiddle tunes and soon we were a bluegrass band and Poway Bluegrass Club sponsored by Poway Music Store.
Back then we spent all our spare time jamming, learning new songs and playing gigs. My two sons got involved on guitar and bass when they were about 15 or 16 years old.
Why do I play mandolin? I liked it and everybody else wanted to play guitar, only me and the banjo players at that time were willing to spend the time learning to play an instrumental break that would carry the band, every body else was happy to sing and play rythym.
Was it worth it, Hell No, to paraphrase the Redneck Woman, who in this world has ever remembered the mandolin break over the vocals. The vocalists got all the women, we had to tear down and pack up!!
Bailey (I finally wised up and spend countless hours practicing the "Indian Love Call". When I'm calling YOU-OOO-OO-OO-OOOH-OO-OO-OOOOH somebody else can tear down and pack up.) |
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January 2002
Posts: 386
Location: nyc area | i just love em cause they dont hit the drivers side window when yer steering with yer knee.... |
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March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | Ha! That image, Matt, is very familier. I've done surveillance playing my small Applesause travel guitar. It's small enough not to stick out the window, but still easy to practice, quietly, on. |
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February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Hey I want to die like my Grandfather! He crashed into a tree Driving down the road about 90 MPH while Playing his Ovation!
Rather go like him, than Die like the five screaming passengers who were in the car with him did!
Ohh man that was bad! :D |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | Originally posted by stephent28:
I recently purchased a Davy Stuart Indian Rosewood madolin out of NZ and am paitently awaiting its arrival.
This has given me pause to think about the relationship between guitar players and mandolins and the fact that I have noticed that many of our members have not only an impressive collection of guitars but also mandolins.
I am curious why so many guitar players own and play mandolins.
Was it because you wanted to play a certain song that required one?
Was it to increase or perfect your picking skills?
Was it out of curiosity (as is my case)?
I would really like to hear why mandolin owners started out playing one and how has if improved (if any) your guitar playing.
Thanks
check out this thread for an interesting same tuning option.
http://www.ovationfanclub.com/cgi-bin/ubb/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=005167 |
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February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Russ Interesting indeed! This Gringo would be interested in try a few of these out? could you throw some of these instruments names at me?
That way I can try and do some internet searches to find something like the Tiple or the Portugese 12 string I am looking for?
Thanks Randy |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 1614
Location: Converse, Texas | I wanted my own mando because I started playing Paul Wag's Applesauce mando, and I got hooked! Thanks to Miles, I was able to get a USA-made Ovation mando at a great price. Now I'm hooked on mando... |
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March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | Originally posted by northcountry:
Russ Interesting indeed! This Gringo would be interested in try a few of these out? could you throw some of these instruments names at me?
That way I can try and do some internet searches to find something like the Tiple or the Portugese 12 string I am looking for?
Thanks Randy
these are a few of the instruments i had custom built in paracho many moons ago. i use them in several configurations of equal pairs and in standard 12 string configuration. mostly tuned as a guitar so no new fingerings are necessary. they sound quite unique but are not to replace a mandolin. the tuning makes allot of difference. the idea was to get at at least an octave to the body and a playable fret spacing for more comfortable possibilities for a guitar player.
i am pretty sure you will never see anything like this on ebay, unless the guy who made them for me made more. |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Russ
That was a great thread, and those were awesome instruments. I was trying to remember it as I was posting. |
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Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Aghhhh I see ... Yes this guy could make himself a few bucks with no trouble if his prices were good, a lot of guy's would like to mess around with a new sound or two?
Thanks for the posts Fun looking stuff.
Randy |
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Guitar players and manolins
