Sierra Hull's Gibson Mandolin and Weber Octave Mandolin | Reverb Interview

Sierra Hull, the talented mandolinist and singer/songwriter, stopped by the Reverb office to talk mandolins. Sierra discusses her Gibson mandolin, her Weber octave mandolin and how she uses each to craft multi-dimensional sounds with minimal accompaniment.
Check out more on Sierra Hull at bit.ly/2nZoAEw.
New album "Weighted Mind" available on New Rounder.
www.sierrahull.com/

[@willmarona4188]

Watching her playing the “Black River”segment was a treat. Sierra is such a great musician. Don’t EVER miss her live. Not EVER!!!!

[@AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf]

There is nothing more awesome than listening to someone geek out about an instrument.

[@cowsongs]

For years I have listened to Alison Krauss and thought, "Only once in a lifetime does somebody this sincere and beautifully musical come along". And then came Sierra Hull. Thank you, Ms. Hull, for who you are and what you do. It is very comforting to know that there are people like you (and Alison Krauss, and Dan Tyminski, and Ron Block) in this world.

[@kitthearty]

"weeell it's tuned like a fiddle so if you get one....." Where would the world be without dads. Making those giant leaps of logic. I bet he is so proud.

[@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer]

It worked for me

[@libertynindependence]

Weeelll it is tuned to the same notes as a fiddle. Not a giant leap really.

[@priteshugrankar6815]

Such amazing talent should be aired more on the music channels. This young woman has truckload of talent and is so down to earth, a true sign of a masterful genius. Loads of love and respect from India.

[@Rick_Cleland]

MTV doesn't play music anymore.

[@priteshugrankar6815]

@@Rick_Cleland indeed.

[@rigelloar7474]

All of her musical skills are wonderful, but her picking is RIDICULOUSLY GREAT, so clean and precise, with amazing control of dynamics and tone color, really extraordinary!

[@JeffHochberg]

I saw her play at 9 years old with Allison Kraus, Dr. Stanley, and so many others I can’t even remember who was there. It was the music of O Brother Where Art Thou tour at The Fox Theater in Atlanta. Sierra made such an impression on me and I’ve been listening to her ever since. She just continues to get better and better!

[@morazdaful]

Love her accent! And she so kicks ass on Mandolin.

[@stevegrooms1142]

When a performer this talented comes along, we should all fall down on our knees in gratitude. She is a gift to us all. But she seems to be as good as a human being as she is as a musician. Someone like Sierra can restore our faith in people.

[@christophergowin1767]

Steve Grooms several years ago I started a small nonprofit teaching high school students how to produce concerts for their community. Sierra was the same age as many of the students so we booked her first. You are right. She is every bit as good a human as she is a musician. She took the time to bring joy and educate the entire community. Great, great talent and SO wise beyond her years!

[@garyharris1932]

Jerry Byrd commented about musicians in general keep their day jobs.. Singing is where the money is. Out of all the numerous recordings over the years he only had two to break the 100 mark. On the side he painted houses and other jobs. During this time he was the number one steel guitar musician in the world.

[@WysteriaGuitar]

Octave mando has such a cool sound.

[@lt1caprice57l]

Like a guitar and a regular mando got together and made a glorious love child. Actually, many octive mandos *are* guitar-bodied, soooo...

[@ThinWhiteAxe]

I want one 😩

[@rabendranath]

Love her playing. Great interview!

[@Coopdog1911]

Falling in love with the octave mandolin from your videos. Loved the baritone mandolin too. Wow

[@everonlyallforthee]

Heck of a player!

[@johnhall6945]

Yea she is very very well up there with the best

[@stealthyBLK]

she plays Beautifully

[@richardprince5758]

Just one of those Fantastic Ladies of our time,She's AWESOME

[@81kentboy]

She has an incredible gift

[@davidg1612]

Sierra is a fantastic talent and quite a looker as well.

[@NSResponder]

First time I saw this lady play with Sam Bush, I thought "that's a very talented little girl. Hope she keeps it up." I'm thrilled to see how her career has developed.

[@bobaldo2339]

Two great sounding instruments!

[@mood103201]

i really love the melody starts at 3:19 ! emotional stuff

[@jaythizzle1969]

Such a talent

[@joshuaestrada6042]

My favorite song of hers is smash oh my goodness so beautiful

[@rockstar86tey7]

Tune she teases at 4:50 is girl I left behind me amazing tune

[@erichooper247]

I have a Loar LM-520 , it plays very well

[@patrickbly4170]

Enjoyed your presentation very much 👍

[@ised-5239]

The octave mando is the tenor mando which is a variant of the GDAE tuned instrument that is tuned just like the Irish tenor banjo whereas normal mando is the alto ones.

[@garyharris1932]

The Gibson mandoline was built in Nashville on lower Broadway by Tut Taylor. Knowing him for a few years on more than one occasion I watched him working on t;he Gibson.

[@garyharris1932]

Gibson mandolin was probably made by Tut Taylor for Gibson. Tut played the Dobow type of instrument.Tut's shop was located on or about fifth and Broadway, Nashville. My nephew. Ben Cooper works at Gibson.

[@daved4215]

My uncle Merle played the mandolin and you do it just right. If you could yodel you could be my grampa. Liv Ya.

[@CORNPOP24]

I wish she could demonstrate how to play along with a guitar and tips of how to tune for accompaniment.

[@warrenwhite6159]

she is soo beautiful

[@mrcbs9692]

Essa moça é muito boa com os seus instrumentos.

[@Singhsingh-gx9kw]

Beautiful

[@slothnoises]

The 15seconds intro is so Rock-Metal riff style!

[@andt1994]

I'm a trumpet/guitar player and she's amazing

[@tommanserable]

Is that part trumpet, part guitar? Sounds like an interesting instrument. Toot toot.

[@whirlybird3189]

Talk about some fast hands! Have to admire that!

[@sprugian]

so beautiful and talented!!

[@DeadWhiteButterflies]

I love the idea of a solid body electric octave mandolin. That would definitely get into playing mandolin in a big way. Somone make it a thing!

[@justradar]

Oliver Cant Enjoy! www.manndolins.com/electric-octaves.html

[@RadityoPramAdi]

any idea what song is she playing?

[@musket-hc1fc]

I like the warmth of that octave mandolin.

[@davidjeffrey5902]

THE GROOVE AT 3:19

[@EzyoMusic]

Check out Black River off her Weighted Mind album. ;)

[@trippstewartm4a1]

From her song "Black River," probably my favorite from that album

[@skummelkatt]

Nice playing Sierra!

[@allegrafrost1668]

Did she ever get the fiddle?

[@catkeys6911]

This is a great video, and I love Sierra Hull, but this comment is about thinking I had just dropped into an alternative universe: Sierra's talking about her old mandolin, and how she was talking to an engineer in a Nashville studio who had an octave mandolin. As Sierra continues to speak about the octave mandolin, suddenly it's a new camera angle and there's one in her hands and her old one is gone - without skipping a beat. It's just funny because she sound's as though she's just continuing her sentence without pause when- boom - it's a new angle and a different instrument.

[@jackpops3613]

That octave Mandolin looks awesome to play. My fat fingers struggle with the frets on my 'A' shape Mandolin

[@rorycarter6567]

whats that intro song she plays called

[@TheHappynot]

I would love to have a Gibson Mandolin, but very expensive.

[@AmosTheTalented]

I am just starting out learning the mandolin, but it always seems my hands are too big. Would an octave mandolin be better?

[@Amorous578]

I wonder if you got the octave one after year. :D

[@Rick_Cleland]

She's the best.

[@MonoYMonoRecords]

That's a Beyer M160 mic... right?

[@Isaaceells]

What song is she playing at 3:20 on the octave mandolin?

[@RequiemRedemption]

Did you find out what song she was playing? I really like it too!

[@samholaday3678]

What Mic is that?

[@Reverb]

On Sierra's mandolin, we're using a Beyerdynamic M160 Hypercardioid Ribbon Microphone. Find one on Reverb--- bit.ly/2dbplTR

[@RamesesNiblickIII]

Who's on bass?

[@notsam_flagdirt]

RamesesNiblickIII ethan jodziewicz

[@WWS322]

i bought a CD of Sierra's and was surprised at how somber her compositions are.

[@froter1]

The octave mandolin goes to 11 !

[@alanhusband9422]

she's a treasure

[@NIKONGUY1960]

She’s up there with Mr. Skaggs! Quite the talent.

[@anthonyruda2021]

Is Sierra's mandolin larger than a standard F style mandolin? Also the neck on her instrument looks to be wider than a regular F style mandolin.

[@tawondasmooth4817]

@anthonyruda2021 Nah, she’s just very petite. Tiny yet mighty gal!

[@NorthTexasEagle1989]

Wow

[@jighead81]

Good grief she's awesome

[@hiroprotagonitis]

holy shit dem skills

[@coconejococonejo]

Her accent is so dreamy

[@hauboutno7691]

her music is even dreamier

[@flufferface307]

@discorperted intolerant hate-filled bigot. You must be a liberal.

[@SharpEdgeStandardOfficial]

What's the name of the tune she plays at 3:20???

[@colehuntley4600]

I believe It's one of her originals called Black River

[@SharpEdgeStandardOfficial]

Cole Huntley thanks man!!!

[@KunchangLeeMusic]

🤯

[@drummerboy1390]

Look at that iceberg on her ring finger. You can't even see where the Titanic hit it.

[@kitano0]

Not marrying a musician, obviously...

[@piedmonttemperancemovement7601]

But she did. And he's also a badass bluegrasstoday.com/congratulations-sierra-and-justin/

[@kitano0]

Well, then I stand corrected thank you. Bluegrass picking is much more lucrative than I thought!

[@piedmonttemperancemovement7601]

Only if you're as talented as those two. Check them playing together. Its unbelievable!

[@powbobs]

Piedmont Temperance Movement I can’t imagine having Alison Krauss sing at my wedding.

[@jellosapiens7261]

Huh, I never knew there was an instrument between a mandola and a mandocello

[@1930Granada]

That's a part of somethin' right there, I'll tell you what.

[@exdemocrat9038]

Very cute.

[@datkinson31]

Thought she was drunk but turns out I was still on .75 speed from trying to learn her licks… d’oh!

[@aaronbourbonnais2555]

about to take the test on this humble pie packing literature

[@RSTI191]

She's a great player, great all around musician. (nice on the eyes to boot).. =)

[@fiddlesticksbessette398]

I Think I Hear Master Lesson's,And See An $$$$$-Mando for sure..Way Ta Go*

[@zdcyclops1lickley190]

Your octave mando needs a setup. Fret buzz on the bass side.

[@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer]

Never heard a lower register fifths instrument without buzz tbh. I associate it so much I've come to like it lol

[@daved4215]

Master Model. No shit. Only with a Master!

[@aaronbourbonnais2555]

it's sweet brother top notch but gotta get out of here we got Tommy Watership playing this very yeard

[@garyholdsworth53]

no slight to Sierra. Love her. but no love for her bass player accompanist?

[@walterbailey2936]

It's about her

[@JacobHeadMusic]

I’m sure Ethan doesn’t mind ;)

[@leebrowning7956]

A1pp

[@richardprince5758]

I think She got her Music Degree from Burklee,I was always surprised by that since She's from down South and they have Colleges down there that teach music ?

[@tedtso]

Burklee College of Music is known for having a lot of courses and professors that focus on contemporary styles. This is in contrast with conservatories like Julliard that are much more focused on classical music. (And then there are schools like Longy School of Music which specialize in Early Music.) So it makes a lot of sense that some of the top-notch Bluegrass and Celtic musicians that intend to go into that field as a career will study at Burklee. Hanneke Cassel is another example of a young musical prodigy, whose specialty is Celtic Fiddle, who studied at Burklee and now teaches there. Of course there are counter-examples to this. For example Natalie Haas studied at Julliard, but she is famous for her traditional Scottish music playing alongside Alasdair Fraser. Natalie Hass does teach at Burklee now, though. :-) The other counter-example is that occasionally Sierra Hull will play Baroque music in her performances: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6exZ5KYgZqkopo

[@revolutionday1]

Great music for people with ADHD. 👍

[@Roro-rg9mf]

Terry Hesticles Haha, that made me chuckle. Why??

[@buddyollie7400]

Terry Hesticles Hehehehe

[@dyanechung6948]

Um.. is it me or does her mandolin sound better than Thile’s? 🙄 hahaha jk but it sounds just like it. Fuck she can play. Okay, I gotta get back to listening to her music 👍

[@dyanechung6948]

Does anyone know what songs she’s playing in the beginning of the video?

[@pfander63]

Wow, beautiful girl plays wonderful Mandoline. ...love her😍

[@hansdumbf7608]

she has that red-glowing nose of a real moonshiner. :-)

[@kevinpaul1719]

Very good my darling.

[@WaghRules]

I think an "octave-mandolin" is called a mandola.... Both instruments sound sooo good and she plays them amazingly!

[@johnetone]

Wagh_Rules think again.

[@johnetone]

You guys are making it too easy on him. There is such a thing as Google.

[@WaghRules]

Interestingly enough, the german wikipedia says "mandola or octave-mandolin is tuned GDAE" while the english one says its CGDA. Maybe it is a language issue? My mandolin teacher says a mandola is tuned an octave down. All the german sites I checked say a mandola is tuned GDAE. Some distinguish between a tenor-mandola (CGDA) and octave-mandola (GDAE)....

[@WaghRules]

Edit: Wikipedia also states that in the english language, a german mandola is an octave mandolin. An english mandola would and Alt-Mandoline in german. Problem solved :)

[@johnetone]

Wagh_Rules thanks for helping us break the language barrier bro! I just thought it was ironic that someone would try to correct someone who was a "great player" but clearly didn't understand what instrument they were playing. It all makes sense now.

[@jaysoneubanks579]

Don't hold your accent back Sierra

[@gregcrites7712]

My future ex wife