The Mandolin

The Great Mandolin Adventure

I've never played an instrument, but there seems to be a perfect storm of events and people that has led me to trying my hand at playing mandolin.

My younger son Josh is 18 years old, and started playing guitar this past summer. He's self teaching (the internet is good for this kind of stuff). He's playing an acoustic guitar, and recently added a hybrid... he's having a ball! The thought of playing along with him is very attractive.

When I was ruminating over which instrument to attempt, I considered a guitar, but anyone who knows me, knows that I tend to do things just a little bit out of the norm... so the mandolin seems like a great place to start.

I did some preliminary research and thought that something along the lines of a Kentucky 254 would be a good start for me.

So on January 19, 2007 Josh and I took a ride down to Mandolin Brothers on Staten Island... I did warn him not to drool over the guitars there too much.

When we got there, I immediately felt comfortable with the shop and the people. They were very patient with this absolute novice (or sub-novice). I don't have a particular type of music in mind, my tastes are eclectic and wide ranging... it will be interesting to see how the mandolin fits in.

I held and picked a bit at several A style mandolins, but most of them sounded very bright to me (perhaps that's a good thing for playing in public, but it doesn't sit quite right for me). Then I looked at a couple of Big Muddy mandolins and thought their sound was much much more to my liking. So a Big Muddy M-0W followed me home (mahogany back and sides, sitka spruce front, round hole, virtually unadorned). Click on the small photo above for a larger image.

I picked up some extra strings, a tuner, leather mandolin strap, and an assortment of different pick style/sizes. While I was handling the bookkeeping, my son was delighted to be playing a 1969 C.F. Martin acoustic... not something he could do at our local guitar store.

I know some folk who have been playing mandolin for years, and I'll start picking their brains soon enough. There's a great community of mandolin players and builders at www.madolincafe.com, and there are lots of other online sources for mandolin information and events.

I'll update this page from time to time as the Great Mandolin Adventure unfolds. For the moment, I've got nowhere to go but up!

Revised: July 14, 2008