  |
|
Current Issue | Home | Back Issues | Other Mel Bay Sites | Purchase Mandolin Products Jazz Mandology | Latin Mandolin | What's In Your Case? | Staten Island Hornpipe Building A Traditional Tune Repertoire | Celtic Mandolin | Sequences-Part 2 Interview with Kyle Alt | Tunes for Mandola | Introductions or Kickoffs | |
What's In Your Case?by Bobby Clark
This month we're talking to versatile mandolinist Butch Baldassari to find out what equipment a jazz/classical/bluegrass player like himself might need. Enjoy. What is your main mandolin right now? How long have you been playing it? My main mandolin for most of the last 20yrs. has been my 1925 Gibson F-5....some folks call it an un-signed Loar. I bought it at the McDonald's in Barstow, CA. from Randy Snoddy for $6,700 and an old Gibson A model...so I've got $7,000 in it!!! Everybody thought I was absolutely crazy in 1984 for paying that much...the funny thing was that I tried to buy one about a year and a half earlier for $6,000 and let my father talk me out of that one...nobody bought instruments back then for an investment...times have sure changed. I used my 1984 Blonde Nugget almost exclusively from around 1999 - 2002 mainly because it was SO LOUD and I was doing alot of playing on one mic. I also have a 1994 Gilchrist 5C that I use for playing Classical and Mandolin Orchestra work. What are the things you like most about that particular mandolin ? My '25 Gibson F-5 has incredible tone and a narrowV-shaped neck that I've really grown accustomed to. Any special setup? Who does it for you? I think my setup is pretty average...as far as action goes, my strings are at a medium height. Not TOO high, but not TOO low either. I have been using a bone overlay on my bridge saddle since about '98...I think What type of case are you carrying it in? I use shaped F-5 cases and Small Dog case covers...I found that Caltons were TOO HEAVY...also with the shaped case I hardly ever have to check my instruments. What type of pick do you use? What advantages does it provide? I've been using the DAWG shaped pick since I first heard about them in the early '80's...I've used different materials over the years made by Golden Gate, Clayton, Clown Barf....but tortoise shell by far sounds the best. What strings do you use and why? I've been using D'Addario's since about 1991 when I became an endorser...I use the J-74 set with an .016 on the A-string. The .015 could never seem to take the beating that I gave it, nor did they want to stay in tune. I also use the Flattops, EXP's and the new Stainless Steel strings that they make for various situations. What kind of strap do you use? I had some straps made in Houston by John May around 1988/89 and I still use the same 3 straps on my main instruments... Any pickups, amps or effects? Not yet, but I'm thinking I need a solid body mandolin to MIDI info into my Finale program, also I might play a bit with a new trio that has electric guitar, bass and drums, so I would need an electric instrument. Any microphone preferences for stage or studio? I use a vintage Neumann KM-84 as much as possible...but I have played on all kinds of mics in live situations. Depending on the type of music we might be doing in a studio, I am open to what the engineer thinks sounds good from where he is sitting and what he is hearing. Any other equipment you can't do without? I don't really know....What does interest me are new instruments that are being built by Will Kimble, Sim Daley, Dave Cohen, Peter Sawchyn and others...I guess I'm always looking for somebody to build us a better mousetrap...more volume, better tone, incredibly figured woods and gorgeous colored stains. I also like odd-ball mando-family instruments like my Vega 4-string mandolin-banjo, Blue Comet resonator mandolin, Sobell Big-Body Octave Mandolin and my Spruce top Paramount mandolin-banjo. To learn more about Butch and his musical endeavors visit: Clarktd58tn@yahoo.com www.williamsandclarkexpedition.com |
|
Contact Webmaster | Visit our main web site - www.melbay.com |
|
