busy weekend...
As I said, I got a new mandolin! I have been lusting after an old F-4 since I used to go to an Irish session where John Treacy would play the one he bought from Grisman. It was simply the sweetest sounding instrument I have ever heard. Of course it didn't hurt that John's a heck of a player! As soon as I could I picked up an old (1917) Gibson A style oval hole mandolin, which I love to play, but feel uncomfortable about dragging around with me on my motorcycle. If something happened to it, I wouldn't forgive myself, so I started looking around for a contemporary F-4 copy and eventually got an Eastman MD-914 from The 5th String in Berkeley. I was there when the company rep delivered them, and I'm VERY happy with the sound.(My teacher says he likes it better than the Gibson.) Eastmans are made in Beijing by luthiers who also make violins, which is apparent when you see the angle at which the body drops away from the neck. The bridge was set at its' very highest setting, right on top of the screws to compensate. I wasn't comfortable with this, and had a friend add some wood strips to the base of the bridge, which seems to work just fine. From the four instruments I tried while I was at the shop and my experience since with mine, I would recommend this maker. I would expect them to get even better, since mine was labelled #013. (In that particular model) After all, practice makes perfect...