“Stargazing” by Myles Smith for Solo Mandolin

[@TheCheermeister]

So pretty Neal and nice to see you on the Gretsch. I just replaced the strings on mine and it sounds so tinny, I had to put in back in the case and pull out another mando. You make me want to pull it back out and work in those strings. Thanks!

[@COMANDOLIN]

Hi Rick - Thanks so much as always! Yeah, I just took the Gretsch in for a pro set-up last week and it sings like the angels :) It had needed a truss rod adjustment and a few other things and getting it back was like getting a new instrument! It sounds great by itself, but here, it is amplified through my little Yamaha THR for a touch of reverb. Hey, have a great day - I hope that hurricane last month missed you!

[@Harpmando]

That's a really nice song Neal! It sounds great on your oval hole mandolin. I'm going to have to learn that one.

[@COMANDOLIN]

Thanks Jim, good to hear from you :) I do like this tune a lot. I have a 20 year old running around the house and he loves Myles Smith. I, of course, had never heard of him, but as soon as I heard this song, my ears perked right up and I could instantly hear it on the eight stringer. Hey, I’m hoping for another fun porch or campfire video up on the FB page - those are always awesome :) Hope you’re having a great day in the desert!

[@jsv438]

Always check in to each new one to contribute a thumbs up vote. That mandolin sounds pretty good on this clip. Last season I found that crazy deal on a 2004 Washburn w/an oval hole. That was the M4SW not the typical M3's, and it seems there weren't too many of those made w/the oval hole. I did a bit of restoration work and refretting to get it right though. I have this Washburn M3 I got a great deal on about a year and a half ago. It was a '97 so it's Korean not China. They really were made a little nicer. It needed considerable rescuing; heavy finish compounding, refretting, new tailpiece, etc, but I left the original bridge on it. The thing sounded "ok" and played superb. So Eventually I thought I'd fit a nicer new bridge on it. Well.. NOW this thing sounds closer to a Gibson than anything I own, I seriously can't believe the improvement! I put my Radius pickup on this one and it's all I've been playing for my Bach lately. I have fallen in love with the Washburn M3's. Couple of months ago I went to check out a 2011(?) Gibson that was priced below 4K, but I wasn't as impressed with that particular one as I thought I would be. I actually liked the Collings I played there even better. I onced played an Eastman there I liked just as much too. And I recently got to play a 1924 SIGNED LOAR! I never thought I'd get to see one in person let alone play one for about a half hour! I think there's only a little more than 250 or so accounted for right now, have I got that number right? I know there aren't 300 even know to still exist. Anyway always good to hear you sharing your chops and songs with us mandolinians! You gotta' love that electric Tele mandolin hanging up there. I think I've seen you w/that before? That looks awesome! Now I have to find one somewhere to go play it. And have a ~HaPPy~HaLLoWeeN~ Or.. _mandolinists_ , but the new declaration, for those of us who wish to remain snobby about it, my newly declared pronunciation is... *man-JOALen-ist*. Yes, that's now official. ~JSV

[@COMANDOLIN]

Hey there - good to hear from you! Of course, I always appreciate the thumbs up :) Funny you should say that about the bridge. I have that black Eastman that I love dearly, but when I first got it, I wasn’t a fan of the sound and that high E string was like glass. Just on a whim, I ordered an antler saddle for it to see if it would help and I was nothing short of amazed at the difference it made. It softened up that E string so much and everything about the sound changed. I think people really underestimate the difference a bridge can make. I certainly did. I’m jealous you played an actual Loar. I’ve played very few high end mandos and certainly nothing like that. Never laid hands on an actual Gibson or Collings. Unless I was making a living playing the mando - and I assure you I don’t - I just can’t imagine spending thousands of dollars on one. The little tele electric is super fun, but almost too noisy to play. I do have a review of it somewhere here on the channel. It’s a fun toy for $125, but too noisy to be practical. I drool over those Eastman electrics that I can’t think of the name at the moment, but in the back of my mind, I know that someday… Hey, thanks for checking in - always appreciate hearing from you. Have a great day!

[@jsv438]

​@@COMANDOLIN Hey, seriously, I thought I'd never even SEE ONE in person let alone get to play it and I still can hardly believe it. There's what, less than 300 of these things still known to exist? Maybe 270 something or so? At least half of those we guess must be owned by touring pro's, collectors, museums whatever? So there's likely just under or over a hundred at the most floating around the planet for sale? YES I consider myself very fortunate. At least I can say I really know what they feel like and sound like. truthfully, there are used older Gibson F5's out there you'll find for under 10K I'm sure that'll sound _really f*n close_ but the whole mystique of having the real thing is more like a preservation of historic importance than it is as actually "sounding" like it's worth the 135K they were asking LOL! If I had that kind of $$ where it wouldn't break me to own it, yeah I'd maybe think about actually buying one. But guys like us would be just as happy with a master build for under 20K if we could play a few and pick one out. Hey if it feels really good in your hands and you can execute cleanly and practice comfortably on it, who cares if it's worth even less than $1000! I may sell my oval-hole M4SW just to buy another 90's Washburn I love these so much. But definitely the bridge has A LOT do do with its response. You made that clear how much difference you noticed yourself with your Eastman. BTW, haven't posted any mando' clips yet (soon, I'm cleaning up a few Bach pieces), but here's a few songs from this prog-instrumental group I had before I retired from the business. My old bass player from that band though is still performing w/a couple different acts around Boston. The clips up there right now I actually produced as well. They're from a bunch of stuff that was mastered by a record company in Florida years ago. www.youtube.com/@jsv438/videos Nice chattin' my friend! Keep up the good work inspiring mando' players! I did a restoration of a 1930's heirloom A-style resonator mandolin for a friend recently, and I'm going to have him check out your channel to get some songs to play. I want him to graduate to mandolin from his long-time guitar hobby. Let him experience the instrument INTELLIGENT people play! ROFL!! ~JSV

[@COMANDOLIN]

@ - Unless I was making a living playing the eight stringer, I can’t imagine spending much more than 1K on one. I love my Eastman and Gretsch and it’ll be a good while before I buy another acoustic mando. Eastman makes those electric models -I forget what they’re called - and they’re sharp as hell. I think that’d be cool. And, I really want a mandola! That’d be tons of fun. Maybe an octave mando - something with some bottom end. Hey, sorry if I’ve asked before, but, what does JSV stand for?