A New (to me) Mandolin

Its been much too long since I've posted, but here goes anyway.

While at a recent (back in October) car show put on by the national (international?) car club that I belong to, a friend had a surprise for me. I finally had the opportunity to meet my friend Ken in person. He and I had talked many times before via the internet and have much in common beyond just the marque of car we are both fans of.

When I finally got the chance to meet him and shake his hand, he tells me 'come over to my car before you leave, I have something for you'. I promised to do just that. Before I left, I made it a point to stop by his car and he pulled out a mandolin case from the back of his car. To say I was surprised is a gross understatement. He then said 'Its just a case' and grinned at me.

As I opened the case, I found a beautiful 2 point Aria mandolin inside. Ken me that he remembered that I played mandolin and since he did not play it anymore, he wanted me to have it. He also commented that maybe someday my son would play it. I know he is right about the last part!

Ken is a generous guy. He is always helping people on the car forum where we both regularly participate, and I know that he is like that in real life as well. That day, I must have shook his hand a million times and said thank you every time as well.

When I got it home, I cleaned up the case and glued down some of the vinyl. I then went to work on the Aria. I set the action the way I like it, and restrung it. I also polished it up and brought it to a wonderful shine. I also polished out the pickguard and glued it back in place.

The results are absolutely wonderful. It has great tone, plays well and I play it every evening after work.

 

I did some digging and found that the instrument is likely to be 35 -40 years old based on all the documentation I could find on the web. Below is a link to a catalog page from that era.

 

http://www.matsumoku.org/models/a-ap2_acou/mando_banjo.html

 



Cigar Box Mandos

I've been collecting a few things to build myself some Cigar Box mandolins. I have some neck blanks and some boxes.

While searching the web for more info about building one, I came across this website and this vid.... Pretty fun stuff.

Saturday Mornin Blues

This morning, I was getting things ready to do a recording of my wife an her sister. To check out the software and mics, I knocked this short little song out. I guess I oughtta make it a full song instead of a couple verses.

I guess its been too long for this blog to be up without putting up some actual acoustic blues.

Without further adieu......

This is based on the Gerry Hundt vids I linked to in my previous post.

Stella Amp

I've wanted a truly portable (tiny) amplifier to use with my BluesBird, so I began looking at the different cigar box amp circuits out there. The 386 chip setup seems pretty good, but I wanted something I actually had to build myself. The Ruby fit this bill, but I could not find a US supplier.

In the end, I found the 'Stella' amp circuit. It is a true kit. Runs off 6-12 volts and is pretty impressive overall with a gain, volume and trim pot.

I ordered my kit and found a good cigar box to house it. I think it will turn out pretty nicely.

I'll do my best to keep the blog updated with my progress on building the amp. Wish me luck!

So what do I play....?

So what am I trying to learn mandolin blues on? I've got several instruments which I've been using for some time now and some new ones.....

I started playing guitar when I was in my mid-teens. I learned on this Epiphone Strat copy. Over time, I modified it to run some genuine PAF Gibson Humbuckers that were given to me by a fraternity brother in college. I've since updated the pickguard and wiring. I still play it a fair bit....

I also happen to play blues harmonica. Have since I was 12. I am not very technically proficient, but I can make it wail....



But this is a Mandolin Blues Blog... So what mandolins do I play?

My first was a Kay Model 68. Was pretty rough when I bought it, so I restored it fully. It turned out pretty nice and I enjoy the loud sound. Not a tone monster... just a volume monster....

Next up is my oval hole mandolin. I purchased a Michael Kelly Legacy Oval. Another instrument which needed a pretty good bit of work to be playable... Nut job, Saddle adjustment and fitting, truss rod adjustment and fret filing in a couple areas. But it is a very nice instrument now.

For traveling, I have a travel mandolin. Fits in my carry-on and is fun on trips. I've enjoyed it. I also upgraded the tuners on it to Grovers, as well as adding pau abalone dots.

Finally, this fall, I built my first electric mandolin. I built a 4 string I called the Blues Bird. This one gets its own post.....