Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2004 20:30:23 EDT
Subject: Mandolin Technique...

Hi, I play a Epiphone MM-50 F style (24 frets) and I seemed to have developed this habit of picking up on the fretboard. This seemed to give the mandolin a much softer tone and it gave me greater dexterity, but I noticed after some time I was striking the fretboard with my pick, which created a clicking sound. I searched for an alternative. I started playing down closer towards the bridge which eliminated the clicking sound, but sacrificed the soft, crisp sound, and my dexterity. So I reverted back to playing on the fretboard... Is this clicking sound normal? Are there certain ways to avoid it?

Greetings,

Yes, I also play upwards towards the fingerboard whenever I'm looking for a softer sound...

Yes, it's quite common for mandolinists to hit the extended fingerboard of an f-style mandolin....this is one of the drawbacks of the extended fingerboard...it would be impossible to avoid this transient sound when using a flatpick over the extended fingerboard...sometimes, it can even add to the song...most of the time, it sounds somewhat intrusive. You can back off so that the pick isn't choking the string, unfortunately, this also tones down the volume and punch of the pick stroke.

If you like playing closer to the fingerboard, you might try the following alternatives:

1. try a smaller size pick
2. try raising your adjustable bridge slightly...the drawback: it will raise the action...
3. consider another mandolin...such as an A-style...which usually comes without the extended fingerboard...
4. or an f-style with a scalloped fingerboard...a scalloped fingerboard is essentially a carved out extended fingerboard...this allows for lots of picking depth without any clicking sounds...

Hope something here helps, Mickey