Thinking about something different

GrandmaShreds

GrandmaShreds

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I have a love for bluegrass music and I've been playing and learning bluegrass on my acoustic and it has me thinking, it would be cool to break into something different like either a mandolin or a banjo and I'm torn between which one. I could get both eventually but I want to break the ice into a new instrument with something a little easier to handle which has me leaning towards a mandolin. Ibanez makes a decent entry level one with a solid spruce top.
Ibanez Mandolin
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Mandolin was the first non-guitar instrument I learned, and I still play on occasion. In my opinion, a mandolin is a bit more versatile than banjo (unless you're Bela Fleck...), I like the sound of them much better as well. I've had "A", "F" and flat-top mandolins, as well as open-back and resonator banjos- in four and five string versions and various ukes over the years, and my 70's harmony flat-top mandolin is my favorite non-guitar to play, it just sounds so sweet and plays so easy.
Everything is fun, but mandolin is my fav.
 
I’d like to get a Banjo. I watch a lot of Tom T. Hall and Roy Clark videos.
 
If you’re going to get a banjo, you may as well get bagpipes and a kazoo. They’re cheaper as a set.

I’d be a bit leery of the Ibanez mandolin, simply because Ibanez isn’t a name you see in the Bluegrass world. But I endorse the mandolin concept. They sound very nice, and they’re fun to play. There’s a whole mandolin forum out there where someone can direct you to a good intro mandolin. https://www.mandolincafe.com/
 
I’m sure the Ibanez mandolin will play just fine,after all they are a well known brand and they could figure out how to make a decent product.
 
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