It's unlikely now that you haven't heard a song that doesn't feature a mandolin. From the solo on Rod Stewart's Maggie May, the repeating hook in R.E.M's Losing My Religion or even the film "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", they've been slowly creeping into popular culture for the past few years. So what's all the fuss about?
The Rocket/Stagg M50E and the M20
They can make a great cost effective gift for the guitarist who has everything. They look good and they can add an extra dimension, with a bit of fiddling, to their back catalogue of songs.
They're normally tuned the same as a violin - so the 8 strings operate in pairs of GDAE. Numerous alternative tunings exist however - some guitarists tune it to ADGB or other combinations to allow for similar fretwork to a guitar. Jethro Tull used a mandolin tuned FCFC on the entire "Stand Up" album. To help make it easy, why not consider a Rocket RT40V tuner. At only £4.49 it's a cost effective way to avoid worrying about keeping it in tune!
The Rocket/Stagg M20 is a fantastic entry level Mandolin, perfect for the musically curious. The M20S is the same design but features a solid spruce top, which really helps to improve the sound.
The Rocket/Stagg M50E takes this versatility further with volume/tone controls and a 1/4" output jack, allowing for connection to an amplifier or audio interface for recording.
Led Zeppelin's Battle of Evermore which relies heavily on the Mandolin
As seen above - whether you play pop, rock or folk music, the Mandolin is a perfect accompaniment to any genre of music. All it needs is you!
Why not go the extra mile and look at some of our accessories? Finish off that professional look with new strings and a case!