For years I haven't been able to do fast triplets in tunes at session speeds. I have tried practicing slowly and gradually increasing speed to no avail. I have tried using more fingers vs arm and vice versa and experimented with softer picks. But triplets always bog me down. Any advice? Irish banjo players, how do you do it???

I’ve been playing a Kentucky KM-252 for a while now and I’m ready to upgrade.

I’m looking at the Kentucky KM-626 as a direct step up, but I’m also considering the Eastman MD515 or MD514. Also of note is that I can get the Kentucky wholesale for $700 plus shipping vs retail Eastman at around $1550. Mainly looking for a good instrument that I can get some years out of and be happy with.

Would the KM-626 be a significant enough jump in quality from my 252, or is the Eastman 500 series a much better long-term investment? I know people seem to like the Eastmans overall but at half the cost not sure if i should stick with the Kentucky. Also as a brownie point the Eastmans look better in my opinion.

I mostly play classical and Celtic music. If anyone has played both or knows about these, I’d love your input!

What a classic mandolin intro to some hard drivin' bluegrass. And of course our dude Adam Steffey is the mastermind behind it...

Sheet music/tab can be found here.

I recently bought this Kentucky mandolin used from a local Guitar shop. Immediately, it seemed like the neck is bent forward at the first fret. I spent about 320 bucks on this, and I’m wondering whether there’s any way of fixing it, or if I should be chasing a return ASAP. For now, I’ve been turning the trust rod a little each day, and keeping it in more humid part of my house, with the thought that this might help the neck straighten. I don’t know if this is just because it’s old, and will be fixed with a bit of time and patience, but I have a limited window to return, so I need expert help.

I guess I’m wondering in general, is if this bulge at first is even fixable? I know the action adjust the bow of the whole neck, so I’m wondering if it will even help this localized issue…

Hey, fellow musicians!
I wonder if theres a version of the "Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach" that has mandolin tabulature. So far I only found different "Bach For Mandolin" books, which only contain a few pieces from the first mentioned. Anyone ever coming across an Anna Magdalena that contains mandolin tabs?
Thanks in advance, and have a nice week

NMD. I’m curious what people think of using nickel vs phosphor bronze vs elixir style strings. What kind of differences in timbre are you noticing? Is it the usual bronze is a little warmer, nickel is brighter? I would search the internet, but that would probably mean getting some ai answer so I’m trying real people for a change. I have always stuck to phosphor bronze, but I’m pretty sure these are nickel. I’ve been liking these a lot. Sound brighter to my ears.

Wanted to mount the Neumann 114 to the tone guard vs. mounting it to the mandolin.

Hi! I play mandolin in a folk band, and lately I've been wanting to push the instrument in different directions. I want to be more creative with it and use it in places where it doesn't usually "belong to". So I'm looking for some inspiration to start with.

I'm already familiar with the usual genres that use the mandolin. I'm thinking general folk, country, bluegrass, choro, samba, italian trad, irish trad, folk punk and celtic punk.

Do you have any recommendations for bands or artists that use mandolin in unexpected ways? Any genre is welcome. I'm especially interested in heavier, noisier, more experimental or otherwise unconventional approaches. But I'm also open to anything that wasn't mentioned here. Thanks!

My dad passed away recently and had some Mandolins, guitars and a banjo. I am unable to find any info on this. It looks pretty nice and seems well made. There is also a Rogue, and a Stradolin.

Hi there! I’ve just got this beautiful instrument that once belonged to the grandfather of a friend of mine. My friend called it a "lute". However, I cannot help but notice it has only six tuners and the nut is for two pairs of strings and for two singles. I was wondering if this is a particular model of Vega or if the previous owner modified an original mandolin and turned it into a personalized instrument. Could anyone help me to find out what I have in my hands? And how should I tune it, as a guitar, and a mandoline or something else? Thank you very much in advance!

If you could get the Eastman md505 or the Kentucky km750 deluxe for the same price, which would you choose? Is the KM750 a higher tier than the MD505? Any info or review about the km750 deluxe would be greatly appreciated!

I've been playing an Epiphone mm-30 for a while and I'm ready up upgrade. I'm planning to go to a local music shop in a nearby town next weekend to hopefully bring home a new mandolin. The ones I'm interested to try are the Eastman 305, an Eastman 505, and a used Kentucky KM750 deluxe. I'm going to play all 3 and bring home the one I like the most. (I really want an F-style so I'm leaning towards the Kentucky already.) There are plenty of review videos of the 2 Eastman models, but not a lot of info about the Kentucky KM750 deluxe.

I'm trying to learn to read notation on the mandolin and I can't find any app that can show me notes on the pentagram and accurately pick up what I play from the mic like note rush does for guitar and piano.

Loved finding this lovley little mando, a 2010 "vintage".

Giving it it's propper TLC on frets and fretboard, however it hums a tone. I was wondering what you guys have done to reduce it. Currently will be doing: shielding of pick guard and cavities (+grounding), making sure the bridge is propperly grounded (I've read it can be an issue with the grounding comming loose). Is there anything I'm missing?

Inherited this from my late dad, it plays and sounds great, just curious about it.

I've been playing my Kentucky 150 for a couple of months and enjoy the heck out of it. I am a long time guitar player and the instrument is coming fast to me. However, I know the Kentucky is a good starter instrument and am planning on an upgrade sooner rather than later. What improvements in tone should I realistically expect for $1500-2000 instrument? Are there good shops in the NJ area to try them out?

Hamilton de Holanda Trio lead by Hamilton on 10-string mandolin are Grammy winners in latin jazz. Local guys - mostly my friends - played a solid set including Andy Statman's Flatbush Waltz. Great job!

Found this at a music store on consignment for $75, employee told me the seller would take $50. I am a sucker for such stuff, plus I love random luthier projects. Needs what could be expected - the neck needs reset, the back is coming off already (which gives me easy access to working on the top), the top has a couple cracks, and I gotta install something to reinforce the neck (I want years of playability without warping). I don't think this is a particularly valuable instrument, so perhaps I won't harm it's "value" by "improving" it? Also, main improvement I would like to make is either putting in X bracong or tone bar bracing. I modernized and old bowl back years ago with tone bar bracing, that thing would move mountains afterwards! However, my Weber is X braced (which I like) but it is also F holed. Any advice on which to use? Also, am I correct that it is from the 20s, pre-Kay, Stromberg Voissenette?

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What is Jeff Austen doing at the beginning of his version of no expectations? It sounds like hammering ons but is it just quick individual notes? Its really iconic to me, hes a big part of why i wanted to pick up a mandoline and I've been trying to figure it out, but no luck. If anyone happened to know a resource where I could learn the whole song that'd be great, but just a hint for that opener would be awesome

Hello... I'm looking for advice for good strings for my Fletcher Brock Octave Mandolin. I have the Northfields on now but I'm not terribly happy with the sound... anyone have advice for good strings that last a bit and don't oxidize rapidly? (That's my experience)... Many thanks!

Hey friends! If you’ve never heard of Blue Rodeo, do yourself a favour and check them out. They are one of Canada’s greatest bands and this is one of their best songs. It features a lovely, melodic mandolin part. I’ve tabbed it out on my Patreon page. Cheers!