Subject: Mandolin for weak hands
Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 17:44:25 -0500

I'm coming back to you since you steered me in the right direction on my
Paul Beard reso purchase last summer.

Greetings Jeffery...good to hear from you again...

I have weakened hands due to myasthenia gravis. Thus, the mandolin will
take the place of conventional guitar for me. I am interested in buying
a decent mandolin with very good action as my fingers are somewhat weak.
I need your advice.

This would be more dependent on the set-up than the mandolin itself...hence, you can pretty much pick any mandolin you'd like, and we can set it up with an extremely low action for ease of playability. We would also install extra light gauge strings....

Should I get a 4-string electric as I will only be pushing down one
string instead of two?

This would be slightly easier to play...only, it will take away from the character of a mandolin...the 4-string electrics sound more like an electric guitar played past the 12th fret than they do a mandolin...hence, if you're looking for the mandolin voicing, my suggestion would be to stick to the traditional mandolin.

If the effort is about the same for 4-string and
8-string mandolins, which of the 8-string mandolins has the best action
(action takes priority over sound in my case).

Again, this is really dependent on our set-up process...you're welcome to discuss this with Tradd, our in-house mandolin expert and luthier...you can work with him directly on the set-up to ensure it suits your needs...call Tradd @ 888-209-8434...

There are many great imports available and, of course, many excellent American makes...you might also consider finding a mandolin with a radiused fingerboard...which would be more ergonomically friendly for your weakened hands...

Also, are there mandolin reviews anywhere out there on the web? This is
a whole different ball game compared to guitars!

The only reviews I know of are the ones I put together on our website under the FAQ section...where we compare mandolin to mandolin side by side...

Mickey

Thanks!!

Jeffery Smith

Subject: RE: Fwd: Mandolin for weak hands
Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 08:39:18 -0500

Mickey,

As always, you've been very helpful. I'll give them a call in the
morning and get something set up for my particular situation. I cannot
imagine buying a guitar, mandolin, or other folk instrument from anyone
other than FOTW. Your service before, during, and after the sale is
fabulous.

Jeffery Smith
New Orleans, LA