G'DAE, Mate

So I sold my mandolin.

It was a gift from a dear friend, who bought it for me a couple years ago. It was a used beginner model (a black Epiphone, worth only $200 new), with okay-ish sound, stiff fretboard action, and tuners that wouldn't quite stay put. I wasn't too attached to the instrument itself, but it meant a lot to me as a gift.

So I sold it. I almost got back how much I spent on it, too.

Then I took what little spending money I had left from New York, added in various graduation present money from family, a chunk of my (meager) savings, and my used mandolin money... And I bought a brand new, high-end mandolin. An Eastman. Made in China, yes, but all by hand. It has a beautiful matte finish. There's no paint, and under the right light the rich pattern of the warm wood grain looks like it's glowing. There's a fine white stripe on the contours. The strings press down nicely.

Of course, I researched the model to death before I even tried it out. The reviews were consistent: it's a great quality instrument for a (relatively) modest price, that will be a great companion for beginners and intermediates. It's even alright for advanced players too. Sounds right up my alley, right?

Well, I tried it out in the store and it sounded pretty good. But then I tried the other mandolins, which impressed me far more. Alas, I didn't have the $1200 or more to spend on those and I felt confident in my research, so with a little bit of hesitation I pulled the trigger on the Eastman. I even had an unopened one brought in from another branch, so I didn't end up with the showroom model.

Upon getting home with it and taking my first strum, though... All my doubts vanished. Away from the other customers trying out guitars and ukuleles, I could hear the lush tones of the Eastman. The highs were higher, the lows were lower, and the mids were... Middletastic. Seriously, it makes a glorious sound. What bums me out is that I'm going to get used to that sound before long. I wish I could hold on to that sense of wonder I got from truly hearing it for the first time.

The mandolin is the one instrument I've wanted to really know how to play well for quite some time now, so it seems appropriate to spend all my gift money on something like this that I'll hopefully have for the rest of my life. I even bought Mandolin for Dummies, which I'm slowly working my way through in lieu of actual (and even more expensive) lessons. I'm trying to take things seriously by playing at least 20 mins every day.

I'm feeling good about it it. I've been slowly learning how to do some basic picking, and it's a truly odd mix of frustration and fascination. One moment I'll put all my effort into playing, only to receive slow and clunky results. A day late (or sometimes even just an hour), my speed and accuracy has noticeably increased. It's not great, mind you, but it's improvement. I think everyone at some point should learn a difficult physical activity like that. It's pretty amazing to fight your body to make it do what you want only to get mixed results, and then unexpectedly find success almost as if it was always there, lurking out of the corner of your eye.

And then you show your wonderful instrument that you've been labouring over to a friend who doesn't even know a single mandolin chord but is a pretty kickass guitar player, and inside of five minutes he's become more proficient at it than you are. Maddening and amusing at the same time.

Anyways, here's to finding a new companion, learning something new, and making music. All at the same time.
-Cril

Here comes the man with the mandolin
He'll cheer you up 'till your ship comes in
Lovable old fellow playing an old tune
He comes 'round every afternoon
Raggedy old minstrel, wearing a big grin
You'll love the man with the mandolin

Glenn Miller Orchestra - The Man With The Mandolin