mandolin magpie i bought an old mandolin on ebay the other night my first ebay item a fairly good deal, i think contacted the lady to finalize turns out she lives not far from me a couple towns away, over a few hills and surprisingly, she's going to be in my town on monday so i get to pay her cash, no shipping yay! i've always wanted one 040528 ... magpie it's from czechoslovakia originally so it will match my fiddle, from prague 040528 ... notme $30 later it's quite cute but needs new_strings has a small crack, not too bad will take it to the local repair guy 040624 ... newme got another a black one cheap but good amazingly like a fiddle only different like a guitar and fiddle mixed together only different i know lots of fiddle songs in my head and most i can play on the mando now which totally rocks for midnight hours when a fiddle might wake the house the mandolin can be played quietly or loudly if one desires it's a bit odd though, picking a jig i'm so used to bowing i'm gonna get real good yeah i hope so watch me on the opry someday maybe no i'm just kidding really i'd be too nervous to play i'd just stand there shaking and they'd go throwin me off the stage with boos and hollers of "learn to play" and i'd never be invited back which might be fine with me 'cause i'd be too nervous to play unless i was whacked out of my brain but that's a different story anyway i like this lil black beauty so very lovely yeah like a fiddle and guitar mixed together only different totally different 040706 ... raze mine was a birthday present a little over ten years ago. still going strong today. it developed a bit of a buzz a few years back. i was concerned it was a setup issue, but a friend wedged a cut up piece of sponge underneath the floating pickguard, and it hasn't buzzed since. who knew something you use to wash the dishes could be so versatile? took me a while to realize i've never played the mandolin the conventional way, whatever that is. it's almost always been used as more of a rhythm instrument. there's something appealing about the sound of chords strummed in that higher register. 140323 what's it to you? who go blather from