FNG from Calgary - mando player

[geekthegreek]

Hey dudes,

Dan here, from Calgary. Mostly playing mandolin these days. Glad to have found this forum, and I'm on the lookout for folks into acoustic/bluegrass/newgrass/folk-rock jamming (or even making a band) out in these parts. Seeyas.
:banana::rockon::food-smiley-004:

[Teleplucker]

Welcome from another Cowtown mando player. There aren't that many of us. I usually gig on electric, but lately have been doing more mando gigs (even though I don't really know how to play it "properly").

There are lots of good jamming opportunities on the acoustic side. The bluegrass club is a pretty good place to start. They have two weekly jams. Another good place to find people to jam with is FAMI - www.fami.ca. Their fall jam camp is a great place to meet acoustic musicians locally and around the province.

[Gilliangirl]

Welcome!

Do you know about the Foothills Bluegrass Society? They have weekly jams starting again in September. http://www.foothillsbluegrass.com/

Thanks for the link on FAMI, Teleplucker..... I did not know about that one! Will check it out. :banana:

[geekthegreek]

Right on - thanks for the head's up about FAMI. I'll try to check it out. I went to a couple Foothills jams a couple years ago, but then couldn't figure out when they were held (showed up a couple times and no one was there!). It sounds like they don't happen in the summer, but if they start again in September, I'll give it another shot.

[Teleplucker]

Right on - thanks for the head's up about FAMI. I'll try to check it out. I went to a couple Foothills jams a couple years ago, but then couldn't figure out when they were held (showed up a couple times and no one was there!). It sounds like they don't happen in the summer, but if they start again in September, I'll give it another shot.

September is safe for Foothills Bluegrass jams. I think one goes all summer and one doesn't, but I can't remember which is which (Monday downtown or Thursday in Bowness). They are a bit hit and miss in my experience. I've probably had the best luck at the jams that follow the Saturday concerts.

The FAMI camp in October is hard to beat. The jams are almost always good and I've met a number of people that I've become friends with and now jam with throughout the year.

[kat_]

Where's a good place in Calgary to buy a first mandolin? I've looked at Mothers and am pretty happy with the selection there but is there anywhere else I really need to check out first? I'm just a guitar player who wants something smaller for camping so it doesn't need to be anything really good.

[geekthegreek]

Hi kat,
I've only been around Calgary for a couple years and got my instruments from the US before coming here. I've seen some nice stuff at Mike McLeod's shop (he runs it from home - check out www.acousticguitar.net), but it's mostly mid- high end stuff (mandos are expensive - there's not much in the sub-$1000 market). His Eastman instruments are pretty nice for the money, with a few options around the $600 - $800 range. His stock is always changing, so give him a call.
I know L&M near Chinook sometimes has instruments, but I think it's hit and miss. The only mandolin they had when I went in there last was a Gibson A5L for about $4000, and I got a big dose of attitude just asking about it.
Cheaper options would include just about all the pac-rim stuff - Washburn, Oscar Schmidt, Morgan Monroe, Michael Kelly, JBovier, Fullerton, etc. I'm not familiar with Mother's, but if this is the type of instrument you want and they have them, just play them all and pick the best one from there. Pac-rim mandos are pretty hit and miss, and a good setup is ultra-important. I have a Michael Kelly that's pretty decent, but some of them are thin-sounding crap.
Another good starting option is a Big Muddy instrument (used to be called Mid-Missouri mandos). They are well-made simple flat-top instruments that just happen to have a beautiful sound. People say they're not the best choice for bluegrass-style music because they are flat-topped and have a round soundhole (the BG sound tends towards carved, f-hole tops), but for starting out they're great. They're also good value, at around $500 (or less) a pop. I'm not sure who the Canadian dealers are anymore, so it might be worth calling the company to find out. If you can make it up to Edmonton, Myhre's Music tends to have a good selection of mandos kicking around, although again, I'd call before heading up there.

[geekthegreek]

Oops - just reread your msg. If you just want a camping instrument, price is probably the main/only criterion. Get a good setup on it anyway - it'll make a big difference in playability. Good luck.

[kat_]

Hi kat,
I've only been around Calgary for a couple years and got my instruments from the US before coming here. I've seen some nice stuff at Mike McLeod's shop (he runs it from home - check out www.acousticguitar.net), but it's mostly mid- high end stuff (mandos are expensive - there's not much in the sub-$1000 market).

I'll ask Mike if he can get any cheap stuff next time I phone him for guitar strings but he does tend toward the high end and I'm just looking for a camper.

Right now I'm trying to decide between two that I've been looking at. One is made by Alabama and the other by Ibanez. They're both around $150 so I don't expect a lot for that price, just something I can play a few chords on. The Alabama one desperately needs new strings so it's hard to compare the two. I can't buy one until next Tuesday at the earliest so I'm just going to play them both as much as I can tomorrow and see which one wins.

Thanks for your advice. If I end up getting serious about it I'll come back to your post when I'm ready for a mid level instrument. :rockon2:

[F.M.G.]

Calgary for the win!