cupples Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 I've been playing mandolin for a year or two, as well as fretless bass. I use it when leading the music in church (much easier from the mando than the bass...). I started on a cheap one that my uncle had, which didn't play above the 10th fret, and then moved onto a really nice Fylde Octavius, which sounds gorgeous! I run it through my Behringer BDI21 bass pedal into the PA. I love this wee thing - it's dead easy to play chords on (generally 2 fingers for the basic ones), and it makes a change from playing the bass. Mandolin Cafe is a fantastic resource, with loads of chord fingerings and tabs for all occasions. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 [quote name='cupples' timestamp='1334417481' post='1615987'] I've been playing mandolin for a year or two, as well as fretless bass. I use it when leading the music in church (much easier from the mando than the bass...). I started on a cheap one that my uncle had, which didn't play above the 10th fret, and then moved onto a really nice Fylde Octavius, which sounds gorgeous! I run it through my Behringer BDI21 bass pedal into the PA. I love this wee thing - it's dead easy to play chords on (generally 2 fingers for the basic ones), and it makes a change from playing the bass. Mandolin Cafe is a fantastic resource, with loads of chord fingerings and tabs for all occasions. Andrew [/quote] I love the build quality of the Fyldes but I just can't get on with them to play. I think it's because Roger puts heavier gauge strings on than I use on my mandolins but at the price I've never had the nerve (or spare cash) to buy one and see what would happen if I restrung one. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cupples Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Yeah, it's a beautifully made instrument, although I got it somewhat preloved. I did play another secondhand one in a Cash Convertors, and it was the weirdest thing - I just couldn't get it tuned. It wasn't the original strings, but everything else looked just fine. I did see a note on a forum somewhere that the Fylde instruments are very sensitive to strings, I don't know if that's true. In terms of string gauge, as long as it's lighter than my bass, I don't mind! Whenever I was restringing my Octavius, I just played safe and got a replacement set from Roger. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goblin Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Only a few of the Fyldes are sensitive to strings as far as I'm aware, notably the Touchstones, neither of my dad's are Touchstones (Mandolin and Mandola) but they don't appear to be sensitive to strings as far as I'm aware. I'm not a mandolin player myself (I leave that to my dad), but I've recently been tempted to learn. Somehow I doubt I will be getting very far down the street with either of my dad's Fyldes or his new Eastman. I'm lucky enough to be able to get my mitts on the Wal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 I've since got a new bridge for my 19th century mandolin and have spent a few days learning some bits and bobs. Mandolin chords are tough! Going back to bass after those tiny frets is such a relief! Still, fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 (edited) I bought Pete's Mandobird, it's great, I have learnt Losing My Religion which is fun, any other songs that are fun to play ? Edited May 23, 2012 by waynepunkdude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShergoldSnickers Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Played and lost badly here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 (edited) Glad you're having fun Wayne! Heres a sad story with a happy ending. I bought a really nice Eko mandolin off the bay a few weeks ago, one of the new-old-stock instruments that Roberto Brandoni is assembling. I took it to a gig where we had a request for 'Maggie May'. I opened the boot of the car, the mandolin case fell out onto my foot. When I'd stopped hopping about in agony, I opened the case to find that the headstock had broken off , the same way that Les Pauls with mahogany necks do. Turns out that the OK-looking case was (a) chipboard and ( b ) not supporting the neck of the mandolin, so that even a small impact transmitted the shock right to the weak point of the instrument. The happy ending - I took the broken bits to the local luthier and guitar genius, Colin Fulton, who has done an incredible job of fixing it. If you know where to look you can see the repair, but it's stronger than ever and I think it looks pretty good. It's been strung up for a week now with no apparent signs of moving so I think it's going to be OK. Photos, some before, some after the repair, can be found here: [url="http://photobucket.com/ekobrokenheadstock"]http://photobucket.c...brokenheadstock[/url], not for the faint of hearted! A new case is on order. The old one will probably be made into a pedal board! Edited May 23, 2012 by pete.young Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 (edited) I had a tenor/4 string Mandobird (sunburst) that I played for a bit. Thinking of getting one of those Fender electro-acoustic ones and taking it up again. Matt Freeman is a great mando player (he does a bit on Lars' second solo album) Edited May 23, 2012 by basshead56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.