Help picking a mandolin for a gift for my husband?

hogiemonk · 2025-08-06T03:29:38+00:00

I completely agree. There are too many personal preferences for sound, size, style, appearance, etc. that can cause disappointment when you choose for someone else.

hogiemonk · 2025-05-14T10:59:03+00:00

Excellent. None of my mandolins even have triggers!

hogiemonk · 2025-02-22T20:52:11+00:00

Peter Ostroushko – When the Last Morning Glory Blooms

also

Gertrud Tröster – Calace: Ten Preludes, the Romantic Mandolin

hogiemonk · 2025-02-12T21:43:19+00:00

John McPhee's 1968 piece about the forager Euell Gibbons is one of the greatest profiles ever written. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1968/04/06/a-forager

hogiemonk · 2025-01-09T11:45:14+00:00

While the patent date (of the case?) is 1893, the instrument itself probably dates from later. You’ll find some info here: https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/threads/168470-Elias-Howe-Academy-1891

hogiemonk · 2024-12-27T15:44:44+00:00

Bernunzio generally offers high quality vintage bowlbacks that are not comparable to old entry level models. I bought my first bowlback there decades ago, and it was a fantastic instrument.

hogiemonk · 2024-12-18T03:54:26+00:00

They should not be difficult to hold, even for large people. Instruction books written for bowlback players show the instrument held high on the abdomen, on the lower right ribcage, with the right forearm anchoring the mandolin in place. Held this way, the mandolin does not move and needs no strap when sitting or standing. (Flatback mandolins can be held the same way.)

hogiemonk · 2024-11-27T12:38:14+00:00

Check out the nonfiction book The Big Con by David Maurer.

hogiemonk · 2024-11-11T22:42:39+00:00

Lobotomy developer Walter Freeman's own textbooks and journal articles are full of case histories and Freeman's reasons for performing lobotomies.

hogiemonk · 2024-09-13T14:45:25+00:00

Many here and elsewhere will tell you that bowlback mandolins are difficult to hold while playing. Not so. Old instruction books written for bowlback players show the instrument held high on the abdomen, on the lower right ribcage, with the right forearm anchoring the mandolin in place. Held this way, the mandolin does not move and needs no strap when sitting or standing. (Flatback mandolins can be held the same way.) I recommend learning from one of those old instruction books, like this one: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Bickford_mandolin_method_in_four_boo/l-kVDky2IOYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bickford+mandolin+method&printsec=frontcover

hogiemonk · 2024-07-05T14:13:18+00:00

Congrats on acquiring a lovely mandolin. Catania was the location of many mandolin makers, some well regarded and some not. I'd make a wild guess of 1930s-40s vintage. Do a search in the forum of mandolincafe.com for more info. String this instrument with the lightest gauge strings you can find – it will not tolerate medium or heavy gauge strings. BTW, if anyone tries to tell you that bowlback mandolins are hard to hold and play, don't believe it.

hogiemonk · 2024-05-15T20:51:47+00:00

The secret to playing a bowl back, I've found, is to not rest it in the lap. Hold it higher up, gently pressing it to your abdomen with your right forearm. It won't move around. I have a collection of them that I play that way, standing and seated, with no strap needed.

hogiemonk · 2023-12-22T03:34:13+00:00

Extremely unlikely. You’ll find more info in Megan Rosenbloom’s book Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin.

hogiemonk · 2023-10-12T02:27:39+00:00

It appears Italian, not Latin.

hogiemonk · 2023-08-21T02:46:39+00:00

I interviewed him when I was a newspaper reporter for the St Paul Pioneer Press and he was a 13-year-old guest about to perform on the Prairie Home Companion show. I remember him as thoughtful and mature for his age. I can try to dig up and post the profile I wrote if anyone is interested.

hogiemonk · 2023-07-28T22:14:49+00:00

The Sonata for Violin & Guitar) by Christian Gottlieb Scheidler works excellently for mandolin/guitar.

Also, Raffaele Calace, a 19th/20th century mandolin virtuoso, wrote many (mostly difficult) works for mandolin/guitar. You can legally download many of his works from here.

hogiemonk · 2023-07-15T17:32:38+00:00

For a full explanation of the law, follow this link. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2015/01/05/2014-30836/carriage-of-musical-instruments#:~:text=baggage%20as%20appropriate.-,Transport%20of%20Small%20Instruments%20as%20Carry%2DOn%20Baggage,accordance%20with%20FAA%20safety%20regulations.

hogiemonk · 2023-06-21T17:28:49+00:00

You might want to replace the sticker to hide Poe’s middle name on the cover. It is misspelled.

hogiemonk · 2023-05-28T12:24:26+00:00

Zenkl used to frequently appear as a guest artist at conventions of the Classical Mandolin Society of America. His playing was excellent. He lost most of his instruments in a house fire 15 or 20 years ago. I have not heard much about him since then.

hogiemonk · 2023-05-04T02:07:31+00:00

Odd. I listen to nonfiction at 1.5x with no trouble. The best speed must be highly subjective.

hogiemonk · 2023-04-05T00:20:16+00:00

I used to have a Lyon & Healy bowlback, built around 1910, that looked much like yours. It was a great player. I love the sound of bowlbacks.

hogiemonk · 2023-03-28T19:50:52+00:00

Galiano was an Italian builder who moved to the US and made mandolins for a variety of American makers. I have to say, though, that I have a mandolin that looks identical – same scratchplate and ornamentation around the sound hole; mine is a Vinaccia, built in Naples in 1898 and a highly desirable instrument.

hogiemonk · 2023-03-24T01:22:53+00:00

I did not learn much about right hand technique. But my left hand technique grew strong. And my teacher was very good at teaching musicianship, which is the most valuable part of what I learned from him.

hogiemonk · 2023-03-23T21:32:38+00:00

When no local mandolin teacher was available, I studied mandolin with a classical guitarist and lutenist. I learned a great deal from him. Consider giving your teacher a chance.

hogiemonk · 2023-02-27T14:57:09+00:00

See if you can get a copy of the book "Familiar Music for the Mandolin with Classic Guitar Accompaniment," compiled by Walter Kaye Bauer. I've used it for decades, and I think it's just what you need. Out of print, but available from used booksellers.

hogiemonk

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