ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Sept 24, 2018 22:20:34 GMT
............. I'm being confined to my office by two large men wielding power sanders.... Amazing the lengths some people will go to to get their nails properly shaped. Keith |
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Post by bleatoid on Sept 24, 2018 22:59:45 GMT
Nails, ocarolan? After the discussion about donating one of his bridges, I'd assumed Onechordtrick was having his nuts buffed. You have to admire his dedication to his craft. |
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Post by Onechordtrick on Sept 25, 2018 5:26:46 GMT
Nails, ocarolan ? After the discussion about donating one of his bridges, I'd assumed Onechordtrick was having his nuts buffed. You have to admire his dedication to his craft. I was  to be be honest I didn’t enjoy the experience as much as I’d anticipated. I put it down to the power tools  On the plus side, if the bandages are off in time, I shoul be able to sing soprano at the Christmas service |
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Post by Onechordtrick on Sept 25, 2018 5:28:04 GMT
............. I'm being confined to my office by two large men wielding power sanders.... Amazing the lengths some people will go to to get their nails properly shaped. Keith They were for my nails!?! i really wish you’d told me sooner |
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Post by martinrowe on Sept 25, 2018 8:47:24 GMT
Well buff my nuts, who'd have thought it.
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Welshruss
C.O.G. 
Posts: 500
My main instrument is: Turnstone, Wandering Boy & Santa Cruz
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Post by Welshruss on Oct 5, 2018 23:27:32 GMT
My first Mandolin was an Eastman 515 F style. It had a big scratch on the back so I got it for a good price. 6 years ago I traded up to a Collings MTO A style. I found a Mandolin builder last year in Brisbane who did a great set up on it. Of all my instruments if I get the Mandolin out my 2 kids drop everything and want a go. I play with a wegen pick.
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Post by evan47 on Nov 2, 2018 19:01:41 GMT
I decided to try the mandolin recently and wanted to avoid buying a poorly set up nightmare so I picked up a Seagull s8 on the used market, not a bad starter mandolin but it sounded a little harsh and the body was quite small so I found myself a used Paul Hathway and love it.
The neck is a bit wider than most so it is less of a transition from guitar and it is made in the UK from solid woods.
At £450 it was cheaper than a lot of more inferior far eastern made items and its tone and intonation is spot on.
They do not seem to come up used that often but Paul still builds them and has quite a range of acoustic instruments all hand built by himself and at surprisingly realistic prices.
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andrewjw
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Post by andrewjw on Nov 2, 2018 23:14:38 GMT
Gary Nava's "standard mandolin" at £800 has to be a bargain for an individually built instrument...well worth considering when he starts taking commissions again.  www.navaguitars.co.uk/standard.html |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2018 21:40:27 GMT
Michael Kelly mandos. Dollar to pound ratio isn't too good to this Yorkishireman but they look like lovely instruments. Would like to buy a nice playing mando. Second hand even.
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Post by dobro on Dec 30, 2018 1:42:05 GMT
I have played quite a few pac-rim mandos, and I would prefer Eastman, Kentucky or The Loar (no, not the real ones  ) over most Michael Kellys. Just my opinion, of course. That said, a Gary Nava at £800 sounds like a very good idea. |
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Post by Onechordtrick on Dec 30, 2018 9:45:31 GMT
Michael Kelly mandos. Dollar to pound ratio isn't too good to this Yorkishireman but they look like lovely instruments. Would like to buy a nice playing mando. Second hand even. @stanleyaccrington What’s your budget? As a rule of thumb to get to the same quality level you have to pay about twice as much for a mandolin as you would have to pay for a guitar. I agree with what dobro says about Eastman and Kentucky, I haven’t tried The Loar. I was looking this time last year for a new mandolin and tried Eastman, Kentucky and Ashbury. I was less impressed with the Ashbury, although the Ashbury octave that I’m selling does have a lovely tone so that may have been those specific instruments. The type of music that you want to play is also relevant; I found the Eastman and Kentucky were both lovely but had a more bluegrass tone than I was looking for. Finally you’ll get better value for money with an A style than an F as they’re simpler to build. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2018 22:44:01 GMT
Michael Kelly mandos. Dollar to pound ratio isn't too good to this Yorkishireman but they look like lovely instruments. Would like to buy a nice playing mando. Second hand even. @stanleyaccrington What’s your budget? As a rule of thumb to get to the same quality level you have to pay about twice as much for a mandolin as you would have to pay for a guitar. I agree with what dobro says about Eastman and Kentucky, I haven’t tried The Loar. I was looking this time last year for a new mandolin and tried Eastman, Kentucky and Ashbury. I was less impressed with the Ashbury, although the Ashbury octave that I’m selling does have a lovely tone so that may have been those specific instruments. The type of music that you want to play is also relevant; I found the Eastman and Kentucky were both lovely but had a more bluegrass tone than I was looking for. Finally you’ll get better value for money with an A style than an F as they’re simpler to build. Thank you for your post and mando related advice. The more that I look around for mandos on internet search the more I realise that my £200 initial budget is looking rather paltry. I just want to initially test the water and see if I enjoy learning to play a mando. So it looks like I'll be looking for a (hopefully) playable one on the bay or Gummytree.......or maybe hire one for a few months....kinda try before you buy. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2019 21:13:25 GMT
Ok.....so I'm currently in discussion with a local (to me) retailer. They have an Ashbury *** ***** mandolin to hire . It's at the £750 range of rental. If I try to buy......I can purchase said mandolin at price offered.....But at this price...I would probs go for a bespoke job...with a 18 month waiting list and would pay a grand.....grand plus for a nice mando.
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Post by martinrowe on Jan 5, 2019 22:15:32 GMT
@stanleyaccrington Stan I was in your situation about three years ago. This is what I found; the UK makers are roughly rated like this: Top of the range = Stefan Sobell, Mike Vanden, Phil Davidson, Paul Shippey, Fylde after that comes Jimmy Moon from Glasgow and Thomas Buchanan. Phil Davidson designed the higher end Ashbury's. Any of those are worth spending some time on. That's my take. I got a second hand, although it was like new, Jimmy Moon for £400 from eBay) that I still have. I wasn't really happy until I got a top of the range and managed to get a Phil Davidson for a quarter of the list price at an auction. That meant I could take it to him to get it modified (I'm left handed) and still be 'quids in'. I don't really like giving advice but this is my two pence worth. There are a lot of bad cheap mandolins out there and it is easy to be impatient. There are good ones out there but you just have to put in some time and keep looking. I'd just about given up and then the Davidson came up at an auction and there were only two people bidding - one of them was me. If you're looking at f holes then the Czech makers have a very good reputation although I've not tried any. Take a look here The Acoustic Music Company - it's a bit of an education in itself. That's just my take. Some others may take a slightly different view but it's roughly correct. There's a quote from Simon Mayor that I remember that goes something like this 'buy a mandolin because of the sound not because of the name' - that's easy for a second mandolin but doesn't really work when you are in the early stages. hey ho Hope it helps Martin |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2019 23:39:56 GMT
@stanleyaccrington Stan I was in your situation about three years ago. This is what I found; the UK makers are roughly rated like this: Top of the range = Stefan Sobell, Mike Vanden, Phil Davidson, Paul Shippey, Fylde after that comes Jimmy Moon from Glasgow and Thomas Buchanan. Phil Davidson designed the higher end Ashbury's. Any of those are worth spending some time on. That's my take. I got a second hand, although it was like new, Jimmy Moon for £400 from eBay) that I still have. I wasn't really happy until I got a top of the range and managed to get a Phil Davidson for a quarter of the list price at an auction. That meant I could take it to him to get it modified (I'm left handed) and still be 'quids in'. I don't really like giving advice but this is my two pence worth. There are a lot of bad cheap mandolins out there and it is easy to be impatient. There are good ones out there but you just have to put in some time and keep looking. I'd just about given up and then the Davidson came up at an auction and there were only two people bidding - one of them was me. If you're looking at f holes then the Czech makers have a very good reputation although I've not tried any. Take a look here The Acoustic Music Company - it's a bit of an education in itself. That's just my take. Some others may take a slightly different view but it's roughly correct. There's a quote from Simon Mayor that I remember that goes something like this 'buy a mandolin because of the sound not because of the name' - that's easy for a second mandolin but doesn't really work when you are in the early stages. hey ho Hope it helps Martin Thank you for your post Martin. Interesting views regarding all things mandoliin. My mando journey may prove in the end that the difference in playability and sound between a £500 and a bespoke £1,300 instrument is indeed a gnat's b*block. But there are many parameters to go between my limited playing ability and the mando hardware that I eventually choose.. |
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) over most Michael Kellys. Just my opinion, of course. That said, a Gary Nava at £800 sounds like a very good idea.
Jo whoever he is.
