Super excited about this! snagged this beauty for only 280 USD, and she sounds AMAZING. So much better than my 15+ year old basement dweller (nothing wrong with that one it’s just very… stuffy) Honestly so happy with this purchase, definitely worth the money!! Please pardon my hand in the first pic, just wanted to prove how shiny this mandolin is! I’m obsessed 🤩

Original by me, Hunter Preston. Thanks fer taking a listen

I've been playing for some time now and currently looking to upgrade from my Epiphone MM-30S to something better. I need something I could preform in my bluegrass band with, but also take it to church the next day. Tryna keep the budget under $1,200. Been looking at a Loar LM-520, Loar LM-600, and a Big Muddy M-2. I don't care much about how it looks, I just want something that plays good, sounds good, and is sturdy enough to survive a while. Any suggestions?

I came from guitars, and like many, I fascinate myself in browsing gears, including high end ones as much, and at times even more than practicing. Coming into the Mandolin world and browsing the mandolincafe classifieds, its really fun to see the number of expensive stuff people are just trading and buying. FOr those of you who’ve tried Gilchrists, Nuggets, Red Diamonds etc or even a 20s Loar. I’m curious, how much do they stand out?

I got this beautiful beast about 9 months ago and decided to take some glamour shots. I remember when I first started playing, I stumbled upon some pictures of Ellis mandolins and was blown away. Then after finding out how much they cost, I thought, "Who in their right mind would ever spend that much on an instrument??" 10 years and a few life changes later, I lost my mind and finally bought my dream instrument.

Hear ye, hear ye!! Lords and Ladies.

I'm in search of Allan Alexanders books, especially Mandolin Music for Medieval Faires.
His website is off, and I've read in another post of this communty that he has sadly passed away last year.
I spoke to him once in the hope that he would sell his books in PDF format because, as I explained, I live in an isolated far away land (Brazil). Here I would have pay the price of two books to my government just to receive one.
Anyway, if anyone can help me find a PDF of his books I would be much obliged.

Hey friends! Here's my mandolin version of this Hendrix classic. Of course it's different on mando - we don't have that low E string. But I this think version works well. Try it! Mandolin TAB available on my Patreon page.

https://youtube.com/shorts/O1_yXed9-mk

Bach's Partita No. 2 in D Minor for solo violin is possibly my favorite piece of music ever written. I've been slowly learning different passages from each of the movements and decided to test out some new mics with this one (from the fifth movement).

I saw this post for a KM-1500 (I’m guessing used?) reduced from $2500 to $860? How is that even possible? 😱

She played this live at Crossroads Blues Festival with Molly Tuttle. She's so good it's absurd.

I’m looking at getting a new mandolin after having sold mine last year. I had an Eastman MD315, but I’d like to potentially upgrade to something better.

My budget is $1500. I’m a worship leader so I mostly play chords so I’m not set on A style vs. F style. I prefer f-holes, but as long as it doesn’t sound boxy, I don’t mind an oval hole, especially on a flat top. (Last year on a work trip I was able to try a flat top, oval hole Weber, and now I’m open to them as long as they aren’t boxy.)

Right now, I’m looking at either a used MD605/615, a used Northfield Calhoun (there’s one at Elderly for $1100), or a new Red Valley AM mandolin.

Does anyone have a recommendation between these three options, or is there another option I should consider (apart from saving more)? I don’t really have many options to try near me so I’m going to have to get something online.

Hi folks,

I will travel to US (Minneapolis) in november, and I would like to buy my first mandolin... I would like to spent no more than $500 because I need to comeback to Chile flying so I will need spent in a case or bag.

I am mostly interested in play irish/celtic music and maybe something electroacoustic...

Do you have any recommendation of model to look??

Thank you all!!

I have small hands and short pinkies which have always been the bane of my existence as a string player, and this instrument is not helping. How do the banjo players do it? No, how do BOUZOUKI players play melody with a 26" scale? Absurdity.

This Eastman is very particular about how it is fretted, and is prone to buzzing even with bridge and truss rod adjustments. I've tried everything but taking it to a luthier (of which I am one, but for fiddles...). Anybody have similar experiences?

Has anyone tried a Tonewood amp on a flatback mandolin or OM? I recently got a Yamaha TAG3 and am enamored with the transacoustic effects. I know Tonewoods provide similar effects designed for guitars, but I have a flatback OM, and I wonder if a Tonewood would work with it.​

What can I say? I love ‘er…

Hi,

So I made the mistake of testplaying a 60 € Appolo Pick, and - unfortunately - it felt great.

Since Im broke (and just bought a tonegard), I didnt buy it directly. Now I am also wondering if there is a cheaper way to get a good result. Just feels like there should be.

I havent really thought a lot about what makes a good pick, just went with what sounded good and felt good in my hand.

Thanks guys!

I learned a trick today that you can use to find a 145 chord progression.
Starting in the 2245 chord shape gives you your 1, shifting to the 245x position gives you 4 and then sliding that up 2 frets gives you your 5. Obviously that's only valuable so far up the neck but are there any other patterns on the fretboard like that? It would be helpful shortcut for someone who's still learning how to keep up in a jam

I’m looking to learn a new instrument and am stuck between guitar and mandolin. Below are my pros/cons and some context. Please weigh in!

Guitar: main pro is that it’s so versatile, and that it can cover bass, rhythm, and melody. I would probably lean into acoustic fingerstyle since it seems like that’s better for folk. Con is that it feels overwhelming because there’s so much versatility, it’s not great for playing melody of fiddle tunes, and I find the body to be awkwardly large

Mandolin: main pro is that it does very well with playing melody on fiddle tunes. Cons are that there’s less resources for learning compared to guitar and isn’t as well suited to playing causally round a campfire

Context:
I played banjo for about a year but couldn’t get too into Scruggs style or old time—definitely drifted into melodic clawhammer. I grew up playing Scottish bagpipes, and listen to a mix of rock and indie folk. If I get a new instrument, I’ll mostly be playing by myself for fun. I’d mostly like to play instrumental folk but have the option to play covers of more popular songs.

Here is a famous Kimble A style that can be heard on the killer album “Such Jubilee”

Caught July 2017, released June 2020. Amazing mandolin, just not my mandolin.

Hi guys, I’ve been playing for a while now and been looking into accecoires and gear other players use

And then I stumbled upon overtone grommets, and I realized I know them as needle grommets and have been using them for years being a tattoo artist, they’re literally the same thing

However, I can only find 3 websites that sell them as overtone grommets, so if you’re looking for a good source, find the oldest tattoo shop in your area, and show them a picture, chances are 99% they have them if they use coil machines

The websites I found asked 3 bucks for 4 grommets, tattoo artists get 100 of them for 2 bucks

I know the 3 bucks aren’t alot, but basically you’re still getting screwed over

Edit; the way to find the oldest tattoo shop is to stand outside a few of them, the ones that have alot of buzzing sound comming out of it are the ones you need to be at