Sorry to ask a question that, I'm sure has been asked and answered many times before, but...
I really need a bit more volume at sessions (bloody piano accodians!) and was interested to know what people's opinions on this would be. I'm not really after the banjo sound so the mandolin-banjo isn't really my thing and the resonator mandolin doesn't really cut it for ITM, I think. What's the thinking on octave mandolas. Would this get me substantially more volume? Are they a similar scale to short scale tenor banjos? I play a Lebeda F5, hand carved, solid woods, f-holes etc so, in terms of a better or more appropriate style of mandolin for volume I think I've covered all angles. Any ideas?
You're right. This has been discussed before but I'll try to find the thread.
The thing is, do you want to compete against "bloody piano acco(r)dians" etc? Fiddles have the same problem here too.
Anyway, as I've said before, your mandolin is much louder than you actually think and will "cut across" quite well. I have an octave mandola too but it's bassier(obviously) so I don't think it necessarily comes over as that much louder.
A lot of the volume comes from "picking technique" which you have to work on. I admit that I'm not the loudest player either. Raising the action will help too but too much will affect the tone/intonation etc and make it harder pick out the tunes.
You'll get a lot more advice, I'm sure, but as long as you can hear it yourself the sound carries much further than you realise.
Hello Tommy,
I play both Mandolin & Octave Mandola.
My instruments are both made by Oakwood & I would agree with J. J.
I find that my Mandolin is much louder in sessions than the larger Octave instrument, so I wouldn't think that'd be your best option if you are just looking for volume.
I've heard the Flatiron Mandolins are very loud, but then I don't know if you would like their tone?
Your best bet may be to seek out, &/or organise sessions which are actually Mandolin friendly, & so don't encourage the big heavy's like Accordions & Banjos.
You might be surprised by just how loud your Mandolin actually is though.
Often when you go out to the loo it's the Whistles & Mandolins that you can hear! - & no I'm not advocating that you hold your sessions in the loo!
I play a Romania mandolin, nowadays they are the cheap Ozark ones costing about £80. The modern ones are not quite as good as mine, but they are loud, louder than any mandolin I have heard.
Mind you, if you get a crowd of hooligans banging bodhrans, it doesn't really matter what you are playing.
I suppose you may be right re the notion that I can be heard better than I realise. It's a problem though, in respect of the fact that I can't necessarily hear myself so well!
I wasn't knocking the piano accordion by the way. The guy who plays it is excellent but it does cause me problems.
Purely as a matter of interest, not being an expert on these things, would a deep bodied instrument generally be louder than a shallow one? ie if I owned a mando with an unusually deep body would it be louder than the exact same model with a shallower one? The girl who plays the guitar at our session is very good and plays rhythm in standard tuning but when she has pcked melodies she doesn't come across very loud and, obviously the guitar has a much deeper, larger body than the mando.
Trinity College's "Folk of the Woods" sells nice Octave Mandolins / Short Scale Bouzoukis here in the states. I know this isn't top end, but may be appropriate for sessions.
I have been reluctant to try Octave Mandola, as I am not sure I want to go with the traditional Mandola tuning (preference being GDAE). Anyone using an Octave Mandola with GDAE tuning, and what would be the differences with an Octave Mandolin in tone?
octave mands are usually quieter because of the lower frequencies what about a metal dobroesque one old percy the perv plays one and its got a nice tight ring
Octave mandola is hard to pick out in a session. It seems to get lost.
Mandolin is fine and blends very well with piano accordion but you need to sit across from the accordion not near it. As long as that doesn't put you among the bodhran hooligans.
I've often wondered whether an earphone on an intellitouch-style clip would help mando players, as the mando is fairly unique in that almost all its sound projects forward from a soundhole that is far from the players ears.
Resonator instruments go well in a session - they lose a lot of their harsh overtones in the mix. I'm happy believing that anyway.
Remember though as it states in thread BEWARE there are some sessions where you wont be allowed to play one ha ha ha ha ha ha ! I think thats in the north west of that northern province that isn't really the Ireland that we know and love
Yes, in those unmentionable parts of the world where mandolins are not allowed in sessions, the definition of perfect pitch for a mandolin is to pitch in the dumpster without hitting the sides or making a sound.
MacThewife - "I think thats in the north west of that northern province that isn't really the Ireland that we know and love" - are you talking about Canada?
whatever ok !!! they are banned and thats that ok along with
bodhran
guitar 6 and 12 string
mandolin
mandola
bouzouki
cittern
banjo 4 and 5 string
accordeon
spoons
bones
concertina
melodeon B/C C#/D D/D#
whistle
dulcimer
only leaving room for the specially gifted rare breeds on
harp
pipes
violin
flute
I've got a nice (debatable) loud banjo mandolin, old and unlabelled but a bit like a Vega Little Wonder - you can certainly hear it, but I haven't taken it to a session yet. Maybe I'll try it tonight! - I know it's an authentic ITM instrument because there's one in the Chinese ceili band in the Father Ted "racist" episode.
Mandolins. More volume please!
Mandolins. More volume please!
Sorry to ask a question that, I'm sure has been asked and answered many times before, but...
I really need a bit more volume at sessions (bloody piano accodians!) and was interested to know what people's opinions on this would be. I'm not really after the banjo sound so the mandolin-banjo isn't really my thing and the resonator mandolin doesn't really cut it for ITM, I think. What's the thinking on octave mandolas. Would this get me substantially more volume? Are they a similar scale to short scale tenor banjos? I play a Lebeda F5, hand carved, solid woods, f-holes etc so, in terms of a better or more appropriate style of mandolin for volume I think I've covered all angles. Any ideas?
# Posted on November 5th 2005 by tommy_wintle
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
You're right. This has been discussed before but I'll try to find the thread.
The thing is, do you want to compete against "bloody piano acco(r)dians" etc? Fiddles have the same problem here too.
Anyway, as I've said before, your mandolin is much louder than you actually think and will "cut across" quite well. I have an octave mandola too but it's bassier(obviously) so I don't think it necessarily comes over as that much louder.
A lot of the volume comes from "picking technique" which you have to work on. I admit that I'm not the loudest player either. Raising the action will help too but too much will affect the tone/intonation etc and make it harder pick out the tunes.
You'll get a lot more advice, I'm sure, but as long as you can hear it yourself the sound carries much further than you realise.
# Posted on November 5th 2005 by Johannes J
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
I found that the Breedlove Quartz mandolin is quite loud for sessions, also recommend installing a ToneGard... I have one on both my mandos:
http://www.tone-gard.com/
# Posted on November 5th 2005 by Michael Eskin
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
Hello Tommy,
I play both Mandolin & Octave Mandola.
My instruments are both made by Oakwood & I would agree with J. J.
I find that my Mandolin is much louder in sessions than the larger Octave instrument, so I wouldn't think that'd be your best option if you are just looking for volume.
I've heard the Flatiron Mandolins are very loud, but then I don't know if you would like their tone?
Your best bet may be to seek out, &/or organise sessions which are actually Mandolin friendly, & so don't encourage the big heavy's like Accordions & Banjos.
You might be surprised by just how loud your Mandolin actually is though.
Often when you go out to the loo it's the Whistles & Mandolins that you can hear! - & no I'm not advocating that you hold your sessions in the loo!
# Posted on November 5th 2005 by Ptarmigan
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
get a joe foley mandolin and you will be heard!!
# Posted on November 5th 2005 by fused
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
I play a Romania mandolin, nowadays they are the cheap Ozark ones costing about £80. The modern ones are not quite as good as mine, but they are loud, louder than any mandolin I have heard.
Mind you, if you get a crowd of hooligans banging bodhrans, it doesn't really matter what you are playing.
# Posted on November 5th 2005 by bodhran bliss
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
I suppose you may be right re the notion that I can be heard better than I realise. It's a problem though, in respect of the fact that I can't necessarily hear myself so well!
I wasn't knocking the piano accordion by the way. The guy who plays it is excellent but it does cause me problems.
Purely as a matter of interest, not being an expert on these things, would a deep bodied instrument generally be louder than a shallow one? ie if I owned a mando with an unusually deep body would it be louder than the exact same model with a shallower one? The girl who plays the guitar at our session is very good and plays rhythm in standard tuning but when she has pcked melodies she doesn't come across very loud and, obviously the guitar has a much deeper, larger body than the mando.
# Posted on November 5th 2005 by tommy_wintle
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
Hey, if you have plenty of 'Cash to Splash', here's a site you might like to explore Tommy:
http://www.theacousticmusicco.co.uk/erol.html#4042x0&&http%3A%252F%252Fwww.google.co.uk%252Fsearch%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dloudest+Mandolins%26btnG%3DSearch%26meta%3D
# Posted on November 5th 2005 by Ptarmigan
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
Trinity College's "Folk of the Woods" sells nice Octave Mandolins / Short Scale Bouzoukis here in the states. I know this isn't top end, but may be appropriate for sessions.
I have been reluctant to try Octave Mandola, as I am not sure I want to go with the traditional Mandola tuning (preference being GDAE). Anyone using an Octave Mandola with GDAE tuning, and what would be the differences with an Octave Mandolin in tone?
# Posted on November 6th 2005 by CeolCairdeas
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
octave mands are usually quieter because of the lower frequencies what about a metal dobroesque one old percy the perv plays one and its got a nice tight ring
# Posted on November 6th 2005 by Ripthecalico
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
woops that was nice bright ring
# Posted on November 6th 2005 by Ripthecalico
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
Octave mandola is hard to pick out in a session. It seems to get lost.
Mandolin is fine and blends very well with piano accordion but you need to sit across from the accordion not near it. As long as that doesn't put you among the bodhran hooligans.
I've often wondered whether an earphone on an intellitouch-style clip would help mando players, as the mando is fairly unique in that almost all its sound projects forward from a soundhole that is far from the players ears.
Resonator instruments go well in a session - they lose a lot of their harsh overtones in the mix. I'm happy believing that anyway.
# Posted on November 6th 2005 by Bren
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
Remember though as it states in thread BEWARE there are some sessions where you wont be allowed to play one ha ha ha ha ha ha ! I think thats in the north west of that northern province that isn't really the Ireland that we know and love
# Posted on November 6th 2005 by Ripthecalico
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
Yes, in those unmentionable parts of the world where mandolins are not allowed in sessions, the definition of perfect pitch for a mandolin is to pitch in the dumpster without hitting the sides or making a sound.
# Posted on November 6th 2005 by CeolCairdeas
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
MacThewife - "I think thats in the north west of that northern province that isn't really the Ireland that we know and love" - are you talking about Canada?
# Posted on November 6th 2005 by Ptarmigan
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
whatever ok !!! they are banned and thats that ok along with
bodhran
guitar 6 and 12 string
mandolin
mandola
bouzouki
cittern
banjo 4 and 5 string
accordeon
spoons
bones
concertina
melodeon B/C C#/D D/D#
whistle
dulcimer
only leaving room for the specially gifted rare breeds on
harp
pipes
violin
flute
# Posted on November 6th 2005 by Ripthecalico
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
Then there would be a fight over the pipes being too loud sitting next to the harp
You forgot to mention Kazoo players, Pizza Box players and various and sundry eggy thangs players.
# Posted on November 7th 2005 by CeolCairdeas
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
This has been mentioned before, but check out this web site.
http://www.murphymethod.com/redbridge.html
You can buy a bridge blank directly from hm and have it professionally fitted or you can build it yourself from the plans on the site.
# Posted on November 7th 2005 by Craymcla
Re: Mandolins. More volume please!
I've got a nice (debatable) loud banjo mandolin, old and unlabelled but a bit like a Vega Little Wonder - you can certainly hear it, but I haven't taken it to a session yet. Maybe I'll try it tonight! - I know it's an authentic ITM instrument because there's one in the Chinese ceili band in the Father Ted "racist" episode.
# Posted on November 7th 2005 by RichardB