JMalmsteen - Posted - 12/23/2011:  17:04:25

I really like old instruments and of course I would love a Loar, but I'm not willing to sell my house to buy one. I could buy an F-2 or an F-4 Gibson but I'm wondering if these are actually loud enough to use at a bluegrass jam. Does anyone have any experience with an oval hole mandolin at a bluegrass jam with a lot of banjos and guitars etc? My F-5 seems quite at the jam unless I play much harder than I do in my house. 

-JEN

TI_USER - Posted - 12/23/2011:  19:44:38

I played the first 11 years of my journey with the mandolin with a 1924 Gibson A model Snakehead. I played in a band and learned how to play by going to as many bluegrass festivals as I could (which I could do when I was 16 years old). I didn't know any different. I just played and enjoyed it. I was 25 when I played my first F model. A lot of it has to do with the other players in the jam or band. Our banjo player, like many banjo players, liked to drive the banjo pretty hard. I had to play pretty hard to keep up. It was good for me because I am now 51 years old and still drive rhythm pretty hard. If you have a light touch on the mandolin, you will most likely get buried in a strong jam if you are using a oval hole mandolin. Of course, much of it has to do with the instrument itself. Just like any mandolin, some are louder than others and ovals are no different. I was lucky that my '24 Gibson was pretty loud for a oval hole. F2's or F4's can certainly work at a jam, you just have to find the right one. I've heard some that were louder than a few f-hole mandolins I've seen. Let us know if you get one. Looking forward to hearing that F5G sometime also.

Larry

Ben Venuti - Posted - 12/24/2011:  09:48:21

Depends----if you find yourself in jams where the players play over each other and really are only there to hear themselves anyway you might find yourself drowned out with the 4 as opposed to the 5------ but then again -----in that situation since the 4 is an oval hole you could probably hear YOURSELF better........ and since no one is actually listening to you...........
. I you play with people that are particularly mindful on how the whole thing sounds then you should be fine with whatever you play.

JMalmsteen - Posted - 12/26/2011:  18:57:05

(I'll post something with the F5...I'm too busy posting banjo stuff on BHO :)

I have been to the one jam that we have on Long Island and I can't even here the F5. When it gets to the end and people start to leave then I might be one of two instead of one of seven mandolins

TI_USER - Posted - 12/26/2011:  19:15:25

If you have that many mandolins in one jam then that jam is too big.  A good jam session shouldn't be much bigger than the average band.  Maybe a extra of an instrument or two, but generally a jam with that many of just mandolin players is just too big to sound like anything decent.  Maybe they should be encouraged to break up into a few smaller groups.  I, personally wouldn't get involved in a jam of more than 8 or 9 people, total.  But, I could see where the average F4 would be completely lost in that crowd.

Ben has a good point about the sound dispersion of the F4.  F-hole mandolins project the sound much more forward than a oval hole mandolin.  Therefore, you probably would hear the oval hole mandolin better from your playing position than you would the F5.  Others would probably hear the F5 better.

Edited by - TI_USER on 12/26/2011 19:20:09

Andy B - Posted - 12/26/2011:  20:35:41

Try to find compatible people to play with if possible.  Good musicians who listen will play to the level of the mandolin and a 4 should work fine.  Nobody can play at his or her best when slamming the instrument just to be heard.

PaulR - Posted - 12/28/2011:  10:02:45

Seems more a problem with the dynamics of the jam than simply the choice of mandolin. Personally, my first concern would be getting a mandilin that has the tone I like.

JMalmsteen - Posted - 01/01/2012:  20:52:50

I'm in NY. This IS the only bluegrass jam. It meets once a month. I'm on Long Island and can't get to NYC during the week. We do go to PA on the weekends so I need to check out the jams there. Since I am new to jams, I am okay with hiding out with the mandolin army for now :)

Ben Venuti - Posted - 01/01/2012:  21:07:20

It's too bad that you can't make it to the city there are quite a few things that go on in NYC. I live on the West Coast but get to NY a couple of times a year and will be there in a few days actually. There is always something going on. Andy Statman on Charles Street or a jam some place. I'll be there to see Steve Earle and to make my pilgrimage to Mandolin Bros.

dmiller - Posted - 01/02/2012:  14:30:39

quote:

---

Originally posted by JMalmsteen

I really like old instruments and of course I would love a Loar, but I'm not willing to sell my house to buy one. I could buy an F-2 or an F-4 Gibson but I'm wondering if these are actually loud enough to use at a bluegrass jam. Does anyone have any experience with an oval hole mandolin at a bluegrass jam with a lot of banjos and guitars etc? My F-5 seems quite at the jam unless I play much harder than I do in my house. 

-JEN

---

Mine is a 1916 Gibson F-2 - - - oval sound hole and PLENTY loud at a jam.  

Maybe it's the Handel tuners that adds the volume?  Nawwwww.  

As they say about banjo/ guitar/ fiddle/ and mandolin - - it's all in the right hand.

I've picked on three different Loars before.  2 of them didn't sound as good as my F-2.

I guess it depends on the instrument.  Some are good, and some aren't.

Regardless of the "label" on them.  My oval hole F-2 holds it's own - -  easily.  

 

Edited by - dmiller on 01/02/2012 14:33:28

horngreg - Posted - 02/02/2012:  07:40:04

I have to echo most of what's being said here. Sure, there are instruments that are louder than others, but in the end being heard is all about the ethics of the people you're jamming with. Good players pay attention to dynamics. You just have to know when to lay off and let the other guy take his break. When I'm playing with people who really know what they're doing, I never feel like my instrument isn't loud enough. You have to know when there's a hole for you to fill and when you need to lay back and let somebody else do their thing. Even when you're jamming with a banjo player, which is usually the loudest and busiest instrument, a good banjo picker always knows when to lay back and vamp tastefully so a mandolin, guitar, or singer can be heard. Who cares if you're "good"--if you're drowning out everyone else you're not making music, just headaches.