Members Terry Allan Hall Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Last night, a young guy came up to the "band stand" where my band and I were gigging (a holiday party) and wanted to know if he could sit in for "just one song"...usually, I try to diplomatically say "Are you crazy?", but as he was the son of the couple who hired us, I decided to say, "Sure...why not?"...and called him up for the last song before we took a break, figuring if he wasn't very good, we'd just smile and hope it'd be forgotten after the break... When the time came, her walked up with a really nice looking F-style mandolin, outfitted w/ a small 'bucker (relax, it was a Johnson, it turns out!), in one hand and a Fender Blues Jr. in the other (those of you who occasionally walk on the Dark Side likely know what I refer to)... I ask him what he would like to play, and he says, "Oh, just something bluesy...I'll do my best not to embarrass you guys or myself..." So, we started into B.B. Kings's "The Thrill Is Gone" and the kid is keeping up just fine, so I holler out "Want take a lead?" and he does...VERY nicely, I'm pleased to add...we jammed that tune for about 15 minutes, swapping leads. Got a great response, too. Asked him to come back up again, next set, as he obviously knew what he was about, and he finally agreed that he's play our last tune of the night, but didn't want to take advantage of the invite...very polite kid! Last song of the night, we did "Walking In A Winter Wonderland/It's Xmas and I Wonder Where I Am" (same melody/different words), and we jazzed it up in the middle...kid hung w/o any hesitation. Got another great response from the crowd, and a NICE tip from the "patrons" for allowing their kid to play...Dad said, "He's been playing the mandolin for almost a year..." ( ) I said, "He plays that well after only about a year? Seriously?" Dad says, "Well, he studied classical violin from age 6 'til age 17, but dropped playing anything until he picked up the mandolin at age 30...I think they're tuned the same, so maybe that helped..." So, anyway, the kid comes over to talk while I'm loading gear and the subject of mandolins again get discussed, and I mention that my mandolin was stolen a few months ago and that I'm looking for another, but haven't spent the $$$, due to other expenses, and hoped to get something in the spring...he excuses himself and comes back in a few minutes w/ a small gig-bag, saying "Mr. Hall, this isn't anything like what you lost, but I no longer play it, and would like to give it to you, because, while it's a beginner-grade instrument, someone screwed up at the plant that day and let a pretty good one slip out!" It's a Rogue F-hole, one of the ones MF sells for around $75, but he's right...it really does play great and sounds surprisingly good for what it is! He put a pretty decent bridge-pickup on it (a Fishman M-100) and it sounds very good plugged-in. So, I now have a "gigging" mandolin, again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philo426 Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 See Terry ,being a good guy sometimes does result in a reward! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Cool story Terry. Sounds like very classy people, parents included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 'Tis the Season. Happy NMD! I've been on a clearing-out-the-closet tear recently. Gave my Rover RM-50 to a Nephew, and gifted the Wurly 200a to a talented, young friend who needed some keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Starrshine Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Nice story Terry! Good things come to good people!Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bridgepin Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Well, I've always said good things happen to good people. Great story TAH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Sounds to me like two good people did two good deeds last night. Good for you, Terry. Glad to hear it. BTW, it was only a couple of weeks ago that I came very close to buying one of those Rogues since I wanted another mandolin and didn't want to spend much for one. I ended up buying this little Ibanez instead. It's still pretty cheap, but to my old ears it sounds pretty good. At least it sounds as good as the Rover RM-75 "F" style I sold about 8 months ago. I've got less than $200 in this one (including the case) and I'm having a ball with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members acousticdepot Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Nice story Terry! Happy Holidays! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neal Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 And that's a Merry Christmas story! A good one, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Sometimes good things happen to good people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Great story. Thanks for sharing and Happy New Mandolin Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted December 19, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 19, 2011 We got together to jam some more last night and I got to examine his instrument closely...he explained that, even though it looked pretty fancy, that it had a laminated top, which he chose intentionally, because he intended to make it into an electric mandolin from the get-go. Also, he, at the same time he installed the humbucker (a Randy Taylor custom job), put a block of wood directly below the bridge, to (A) keep the face from caviing in, as he had to cut through the twin bracing to install the p/u, and (B) to deaded the instrument further, so it wouldn't feedback when he cranked up his amp (same basic idea as a Gibson 335)...pretty cool idea! I've decided to track myself down a laminated-top "F5" model of similar modest origin and create myself an electric mandolin, too...have wanted one for several years, but it's very hard to find one w/ 8 strings, unless you want to drop BIG $$$...most electric mandolins these days have either 4 or 5, for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted December 19, 2011 Members Share Posted December 19, 2011 Now that's a cool way to aquire a new instrument! Way to go TAH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted December 19, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 19, 2011 My evil plan commences...look what I just found, bought off of Ebay! those p/us were founed on these Gibson mandolins...If I buy a F5-clone to put it in, the combination'll look a bit like this:But I may well install it in the Rogue, as I like it's neck a lot...and I already have the Rogue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Verne Andru Posted December 19, 2011 Members Share Posted December 19, 2011 Great xmas story. May you get many years from your new mando. I had one of those Johnson F-5's as my first mando. Got it on a MF blowout for $79 with a featherlight case. While I finally did get it playing and sounding nice, it was a tough turd to polish. There are lots and lots of laminate F-5's out there cheap so be sure to get one that really plays well. Once upon a time I had a really nice mountain bike. Somebody stole it. So I bought another really nice mountain bike, and somebody stole that. An acquaintance gave me a fugly mountain bike that rides well. Nobody wants to steal my fugly mountain bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 0rbitz9 Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 Musicians Friend has a Rouge mandolin on sale today 12/20, as their stupid deal of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 I've decided to track myself down a laminated-top "F5" model of similar modest origin and create myself an electric mandolin, too...have wanted one for several years, but it's very hard to find one w/ 8 strings, unless you want to drop BIG $$$...most electric mandolins these days have either 4 or 5, for some reason. I think one reason players gravitate to 4 and 5 string mandos is that double-course strings don't lend themselves that well to effects. I played that Epiphone Mandobird VIII for a couple of years and sold it thinking that, if I ever bought another electric, it would have to be a five-string. But then I started thinking that if I played electric music again, I'd rather go all in and use my Tele. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members irishstu Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 Great story, Terry. Seems like a lot of people had a great night for various different reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltan Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 Awesome sequence of events! You must have done something really good in a previous life... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 I think one reason players gravitate to 4 and 5 string mandos is that double-course strings don't lend themselves that well to effects. Yeah, two nearly-in-tune strings, heavily overdriven, make a very special sound that is not often the sound a player is looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Verne Andru Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 I've been playing 8-stringers for a number of years now. A deal came along for a 5-string Fender thinline so I figured, "no problem, just treat it like a low B on my bass." Not! What I'm discovering is it requires a completely different playing style. I love hammering out chords on a regular mandolin, but that 5th string always seems to get in the way and I don't have quite enough fingers to make it work. I'm currently trying a jazz finger-style approach but admit it's a work-in-process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted December 24, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 24, 2011 My "Poorman's EM-150"...the "P-90" is a Soares reproduction.Turned out pretty nice, tonally, I'm pleased to announce, but I'm still lusting after a 1906 F-2 Gibson for acoustic work (one of these days ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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