ErikForGod - Posted - 05/22/2013:  08:25:29

Hi folks, I am not new to the mandolin and once played the mandolin exclusively. I used to play in a group called "Jerry Sanders & Seminole Ridge, we we're out of the east coast of Florida and played several festivals and events every year. We had a gospel and secular demo of our songs. 

Anyways I went through several personal life changes, got saved, found Jesus and needless to say now I am living and married in Argentina serving on the mission field. Recently I am feeling the urge to play the mandolin again and since I have long sold my Weber Yellowstone and Summit F-100, I have found luthier Mr Eddie Blevins of "EBMWorks" whom I will be contracting with soon to build me my first actual custom mandolin.

I am really excited but a little nervous. A year ago when I traveled home to visit family, I stopped by a music store and picked up a mandolin and started to play and it sounded awful! I was stiff, bad tone, it was like going back to the drawing board. Has this happened to anyone else? There is another missionary here who plays folk type music and he wants to create a mandolin/guitar duo and asked me to accompany him. However I want to be able to play bluegrass again as well with lots of power and drive. Any advice on starting out again once I get my mandolin? Should I just go back to basics? I mean I remember all the scales and chords still...but maybe I should explore another style? I really like the styles of Adam Steffey and Chris Thile...but also the tremolo heavy simplicity of the Monroe style as well. All thoughts and pointers are welcome.

Edited by - ErikForGod on 05/22/2013 08:26:05

Mike Harrick - Posted - 05/22/2013:  09:34:08

Hi Eric: I'm sure that once you get playing again, it will all fall back into place. I've also had a couple of lapses of not playing throughout the years. One four year and another two years without playing. Pardon the adage, but it's like riding a bike. Your speed and smoothness will come back as you progress.
The very best to you and the Lord bless.......Mike

ErikForGod - Posted - 05/22/2013:  11:49:01

Thanks Mike...that's what everyone keeps telling me. However last year when I flew back to the states for a visit with my argentine wife it didn't seems that way. We stopped by one of the "Sam Ash Music centers in Orlando and I tried to play a mandolin there....it was "AWFUL"!!!

Mike Harrick - Posted - 05/22/2013:  12:29:52

Are you asking for help in buying a new mando?

ErikForGod - Posted - 05/23/2013:  07:50:37

No actually I have recently contracted to purchase a custom "F" style mandolin from a relatively new builder out of "Blountville" in Eastern Tennessee named "Eddie Blevins of "Eddie Blevins Mandolin Works"

He is an up and coming builder I believe and has a fantastic deal on an "F" style mandolin. Check out his website right here:



ebmworks.com/



He has a standard base price of U$S 1,800 for an F style mandolin. Adirondack Red Spruce Tops and Red Maple figured backs and sides.....parallel-tone-bar-bracing. Gosh can't beat that much mandolin for that price. He is also a believer and a super nice guy at that :)

Edited by - ErikForGod on 05/23/2013 07:52:19

ErikForGod - Posted - 05/28/2013:  05:50:04

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mike Harrick

 

Are you asking for help in buying a new mando?

---

Actually maybe I am....what can you tell me about "The Loar" mandolins? After my Eddie Blevins F mandolin is completed would, per say the Loar F-style model 600 or 700 be a decent sounding back-up mandolin? I don't mean in terms of tone....I think tone has more to do with playing technique, pickstyle/thickness etc...than so much the instrument itself. Would one of the Loar models hold up in a bluegrass jam if I wanted to cut loose on a nice break? Do they have a solid chop?

I think I'll start a new thread...about this.

Edited by - ErikForGod on 05/28/2013 05:51:03

m - Posted - 06/05/2013:  18:27:05

quote:

---

Originally posted by ErikForGod

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mike Harrick

 

Are you asking for help in buying a new mando?

---

.I think tone has more to do with playing technique, pickstyle/thickness etc...than so much the instrument itself. 

---

Really? Can your technique draw the same tone out of a $2/300 mando as out of a, oh say, a '23 Loar?

ErikForGod - Posted - 06/06/2013:  08:08:52

quote:

---

Originally posted by m

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by ErikForGod

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mike Harrick

 

Are you asking for help in buying a new mando?

---

.I think tone has more to do with playing technique, pickstyle/thickness etc...than so much the instrument itself. 

---

Really? Can your technique draw the same tone out of a $2/300 mando as out of a, oh say, a '23 Loar?

---

Everyone hears things differently so tone is kinda suggestive. In my experience the tone changes considerably between a think pick and a heavier pick or the pick material, also with the right-hand technique. I've heard some guys who play really really well that have solid technique pull some pretty good tone out of some pretty bad mandolins. The biggest difference I notice between cheaper models as opposed to better made/material wise expensive mandolins is volume and maybe "depth" and "timber" of tone. However I think tone itself is just rather subjective....that's all I'm saying. With regards to a Loar mandolin, never played one so I can't say.

And actually to be honest it's been about 7 or 8 years since I've even played a mandolin so I'm sure my "technique" is going to have to be worked on quite a bit. I haven't even touched or thought about a mandolin much since then. These are just my thoughts that I recall from back when I did play the mandolin. 

Edited by - ErikForGod on 06/06/2013 08:12:11

m - Posted - 06/06/2013:  08:22:25

.I think tone has more to do with playing technique, pickstyle/thickness etc...than so much the instrument itself. 

---

Really? Can your technique draw the same tone out of a $2/300 mando as out of a, oh say, a '23 Loar?

---

Everyone hears things differently so tone is kinda suggestive. In my experience the tone changes considerably between a think pick and a heavier pick or the pick material, also with the right-hand technique. I've heard some guys who play really really well that have solid technique pull some pretty good tone out of some pretty bad mandolins. The biggest difference I notice between cheaper models as opposed to better made/material wise expensive mandolins is volume and maybe "depth" and "timber" of tone. However I think tone itself is just rather subjective....that's all I'm saying. With regards to a Loar mandolin, never played one so I can't say.

---

Timbre is tone, thwere is no timbre OF tone. 

ErikForGod - Posted - 06/06/2013:  10:16:49

quote:

---

Originally posted by m

 

.I think tone has more to do with playing technique, pickstyle/thickness etc...than so much the instrument itself. 

---

Really? Can your technique draw the same tone out of a $2/300 mando as out of a, oh say, a '23 Loar?

---

Everyone hears things differently so tone is kinda suggestive. In my experience the tone changes considerably between a think pick and a heavier pick or the pick material, also with the right-hand technique. I've heard some guys who play really really well that have solid technique pull some pretty good tone out of some pretty bad mandolins. The biggest difference I notice between cheaper models as opposed to better made/material wise expensive mandolins is volume and maybe "depth" and "timber" of tone. However I think tone itself is just rather subjective....that's all I'm saying. With regards to a Loar mandolin, never played one so I can't say.

---

Timbre is tone, thwere is no timbre OF tone. 

tim·bre

 static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/d...03700.mp3" default="dictionary.reference.com/audio.../T0303700"> [tam-ber, tim-; French tan-bruh]  Show IPA

noun

1.

Acoustics, Phonetics . the characteristic quality of a sound, independent of pitch and loudness,from which its source or manner of production can be inferred. Timbre depends on the relativestrengths of the components of different frequencies, which are determined by resonance.

2.

Music. the characteristic quality of sound produced by a particular instrument or voice; tonecolor.

BTW, When I say Loar, I am not referring to a The Loar mandolin, a student instrument but a Gibson mandolin of the time that Lloyd Loar was the acoustic engineer of the company.

---

BTW I know who LLoyd Loar is....I have been out of the mandolin loop for 7 or 8 years but I know you were referring to a real Loar signed mandolin from the 20's that cost like $500,000 let's put it this way, NO mandolin on the planet is worth that kind of money and the price tags they put on these things, heck not even Bill's which I have read was an "exceptional" mandolin even by Loars standards. Actually as a matter of fact I have heard that not all of the Loar signed mandolins that he oversaw during his tenure with Gibson sounded really that good and some weren't that good sounding at all...some have even remarked that some of them are only "average" at best, so once again it depends. So paying for a name doesn't always guarantee an exceptional mandolin....just because Bill made the Loar mandolins a legacy just means,,,exactly that, if he hadn't made them famous nobody would care who Lloyd Loar is nor anything about him. 

And of course there are the subtle affects of the "tone" and "sound" that are different with every mandolin and vary with quality. However, I have found that right-hand technique, pick.size thickness and material in my opinion have an overall greater affect on tone that just the differences in the instruments themselves. Having an exceptional sounding instrument doesn't mean that "one" necessarily has good technique to bring the tone out of an instrument and maximize it, so that's why I shared my opinion the way I did.

Edited by - ErikForGod on 06/06/2013 10:23:04

ErikForGod - Posted - 06/06/2013:  10:30:09

Here is a good thread over at the mandolin cafe where alot of the discussion about Mike Marshall's tone boils down to his technique and choice of picks, it's a good read: mandolincafe.com/forum/showthr...olin-Tone.

I like the quote here that "AlmeriaStrings" left in that thread that I think sums up the Loars pretty well:



When you are talking about Loars (or prewar Gibson Flathead banjos, or Martin guitars), somewhere around 85-90% of the value is primarily down to 'collectability'. It's not that they are 10X better sound-wise than say, a Gilchrist or other very expensive mandolin, or, in some cases, better than a considerably lower priced instrument. The 'collectability' factor is huge. The smallest thing, something that has zero effect on tone or playability, can make a difference of thousands... tens of thousands sometimes. Originality rules.

Oddly enough, some of THE most revered instruments in the history of bluegrass are way, way below normal collector standards. Think "Hippie Sanding", and Tony Rice's D-28..... if it did not belong to Tony, it would pretty much rate train-wreck status from most vintage dealers.

So you have to keep $200K instruments in perspective. You can sound very fine indeed on something vastly less expensive, and in any event, a high proportion of that tone comes from the skill of the player. You don't need a $200K Loar or $60K pre-war Martin to sound good. Not disputing they are nice things to have, however....

Edited by - ErikForGod on 06/06/2013 10:30:58