Mandolin pickers are a bit more nerdy about their instrument. I don't think there is as much division on mandolins either.

A friend of mine who now lives in Boulder, invited me to travel to Nashville to find the holy grail. On Valentines of all days and my wife said, "GO" and so we did. We toured private luthiers, Gruhns, Carter's and a few other places. He/we played some many Mandos during this trip. At Carters, he was not given permission to touch the Loyds but after returning the second day, he was able to pick on a $250K mandolin. Talk about nerding out! lol. We also got to hold the famous broken Bill Monroe fingerboard from his Gibson. In the end, he settle with a Northfield Artist series.

In the old time scene there are more fiddlers than anything else by a large margin, and around 2 to 3 mandolin players. But in the bluegrass scene fiddlers are pretty rare.

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Originally posted by screecher

In the old time scene there are more fiddlers than anything else by a large margin, and around 2 to 3 mandolin players. But in the bluegrass scene fiddlers are pretty rare.

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That's super true. When you find a a fiddle player, they are usually in 4-5 bands. 

Holy cow, a $250k mandolin?! Sounds like a fun trip though!

Yea FHO is less active lately…there haven’t been many people popping in to ask questions…also I think a lot of younger folks are asking/posting/discussing fiddling in social media, on Reddit, etc…spaces where they tend to be hanging out anyway…

About being more talky, the 3 mando players I know are pretty quiet! maybe they save it all for the forum :-D

Here is the guy I was talking about. And the mandolin he's holding there was stolen on a set break at a huge club they were playing in Baltimore. But in the end, it was found at a pawn shop and he got it back!   https://www.brettkretzer.com/music

He is a pro!
That is a crazy story!! That must be so extremely stressful…stolen during a break in a big performance, I can’t even imagine how I’d deal with that. So great that he got it back.
 

(And yea, the few times I went to the laid-back BG jam, I was freaked out because they treated me like royalty! A chair was produced and set up, right by the Main Guys...somebody lent me their tuner for an A...somebody asked me if I wanted a bottle of water...I was like, Uh I have no idea what I'm doing and I would actually prefer to slink around quietly at the back of your jam...anyway the few times I went, I was always the ONLY fiddler there and when I asked about it, they said, they get poached by BG bands...So yes, BG fiddlers seem to be Precious.)

Wait a minute. None of youz have a mandolin sitting in the corner?
Tuned like a fiddle, but it's better to sing and play with than a fiddle.
You can play two double-stops at once!

I’m actually considering a tenor banjo! If I find a cheap good one, I’m in! :-D
All the better to torture the session mates with…

I always keep a mando handy for figuring out tunes etc, but those cheese slicer strings! I play it for like 15 minutes.

NCnotes - It may not be as bad tuned Irish style, but you may find the string tension on a tenor banjo is hard on your hands. Also, although its tuned in fifths like a violin (viola) or mandolin (mandola) the scale is much longer, even on a 17 fret neck, so stretches may be hard. Don't mean to discourage you (I have two tenors) but I'd try before you buy.

I think Irish Tb's are short scale and weird string gauges. And even then often capo-ed. Still considerably longer scale than fiddle. More shifting.

Darn, yeah…thanks for the heads-up, guys…

Just love that TB punchy quirky rhythmic sound! For some unknown reason it’s the “other instrument” I most enjoy playing along with.

But yea, I might be better off physically keeping to my ‘small’ instruments…fiddle and shortscale guitar. Also I didn’t like the callouses from steelstring guitar — and I guess banjos probably also cause callouses (ouch).

NCnotes - Since we've strayed into TB territory, have you ever heard the Flanagan Brothers: youtu.be/31FgbNxZ1pk?si=7O2Dci4O141ewGkA
I think this is probably as far removed from a contemporary "ITM" session as Earl Johnson is from a usual "Old Time" jam!

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Originally posted by NCnotes

Darn, yeah…thanks for the heads-up, guys…

Just love that TB punchy quirky rhythmic sound! For some unknown reason it’s the “other instrument” I most enjoy playing along with.

But yea, I might be better off physically keeping to my ‘small’ instruments…fiddle and shortscale guitar. Also I didn’t like the callouses from steelstring guitar — and I guess banjos probably also cause callouses (ouch).

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Still like you say, a TB and a Box are my fav instruments to play with also. Stick a Guitar and Bass underneath them and you have a really powerful rhythmic ACC

Sheila Coyles springs to mind with that sort of line up (About 3:10)

I've already mentioned the Flanagan Brothers, accordion and tenor banjo, and with their brother Louis sometimes on harp guitar providing bass and chords. If the originals are too rough here's a nice tribute in their hometown of Waterford (even though they seem to be playing that obscure ancient Irish song "Casey Jones") - maybe right up the Flanagan's alley!
youtu.be/b1U0rrn1wW0?si=XdgPh0OIV7ricZUz

NCnotes - If you watch the great tenor players in that video you'll see the stretches involved with this instrument. Don't know how they're tuned. Louis Flanagan sometimes played 2nd banjo, so this makes sense.

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Originally posted by wrench13

I always keep a mando handy for figuring out tunes etc, but those cheese slicer strings! I play it for like 15 minutes.

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SAME! I came from Mandolin to fiddle so I had a head start. 

Doug, I watch/play along with a lot of Enda Scahill / Karen Dolan TB videos and they make it look so easy, hahaha. They do look like they have long fingers! They tilt their banjos up steep, like a classical guitar hold…I always struggled with that hold, but it must be the most ergonomic. ( As an older short-fingered small-handed lady, I may ask to try out somebody’s TB at sesh but yea, I will probably abstain from learning it!)

Thanks for the info about Flanagan Brothers! I did not know what a big piece of music history they were. Apparently the banjo went from USA to Ireland, and got “adopted” into their music tradition, so that’s our American contribution…:-)

Hmm, re Why TB is a favored “other instrument” for me and Pete……I think cuz the TB players usually play rock-steady, like human metronomes…subdividing the beats so cleanly, so it’s a perfect backdrop to play with. It’s an octave lower, with little sustain, so you each have your own sonic space to play in.

When I play with flute, we both are in the same sonic space, so it becomes important to blend with each other. No clashing versions - matching ornaments if possible - and it has to be clear who’s leading. With banjo, I feel more free because it’s like you play to complement eachother, but don't need to ”double” eachother. Boxes: so loud that not much of your playing is heard…I get a little lazy if a box is leading, hahaha!

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Originally posted by Erockin

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Originally posted by screecher

In the old time scene there are more fiddlers than anything else by a large margin, and around 2 to 3 mandolin players. But in the bluegrass scene fiddlers are pretty rare.

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That's super true. When you find a a fiddle player, they are usually in 4-5 bands. 

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That's me. Two BG band and an old time band (that hasn't gotten together since I bought a G&L ASAT telecaster, and the dance venue got yanked out from under everyone).

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Originally posted by NCnotes

Doug, I watch/play along with a lot of Enda Scahill / Karen Dolan TB videos and they make it look so easy, hahaha. They do look like they have long fingers! They tilt their banjos up steep, like a classical guitar hold…I always struggled with that hold, but it must be the most ergonomic. ( As an older short-fingered small-handed lady, I may ask to try out somebody’s TB at sesh but yea, I will probably abstain from learning it!)

Thanks for the info about Flanagan Brothers! I did not know what a big piece of music history they were. Apparently the banjo went from USA to Ireland, and got “adopted” into their music tradition, so that’s our American contribution…:-)

Hmm, re Why TB is a favored “other instrument” for me and Pete……I think cuz the TB players usually play rock-steady, like human metronomes…subdividing the beats so cleanly, so it’s a perfect backdrop to play with. It’s an octave lower, with little sustain, so you each have your own sonic space to play in.

When I play with flute, we both are in the same sonic space, so it becomes important to blend with each other. No clashing versions - matching ornaments if possible - and it has to be clear who’s leading. With banjo, I feel more free because it’s like you play to complement eachother, but don't need to ”double” eachother. Boxes: so loud that not much of your playing is heard…I get a little lazy if a box is leading, hahaha!

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Yeah Boxes need to be "Dry tuned" and a maximum of 2 sets of reeds and a good bass sound. Open backed banjo, DADG guitar, or someone who understands modal harmony, And a "Not too busy" bass player.....Sit in with them and the fiddle and/or flute play themselves....Bliss

There's another reason a DG box and banjo sound good and its that the box is happiest with pentatonic harmonies and the banjo likes chromatic harmonies due to it's long scale length. Earthy And Fancy, their limitations become their asset.