The story
This Mandolin from the late 1800’s was a wedding gift from my wife, so obviously there is some sentimentality involved! But that aside, it definitely has a certain rustic charm about it. I’ve recorded with it MANY times.
For this one however, I wanted to make an instrument that did not necessarily sound like a mandolin. I was working on a world music project and wanted something sounding more uh… worldly in nature. And ‘Eclectic Mandolin’ was born. I recorded the Mando multiple times with two velocity layers. I used a Telefunken Copperhead mic and an Avalon 737 Pre. I re-amped some of the recordings through an old Fender amp. I wanted to process each group slightly differently to created random unpredictability . It’s very raw, slightly out of tune (on purpose) and to me sounds more like a Kora at times, than a Mandolin. There is a muted version which is my favorite one, and also a sustained one. There are two pitched down versions that I combined into one multi called “Low And Wide” .
I also included an Ensemble Multi which features them all together! And last, I created a pad using multiple reversed loops from different groups.
I hope you enjoy this strange, little instrument!
Reviews for Eclectic Mandolin
- Sound
- Character
- Playability
- Inspiration
- GUI
Leave a review to let others know what you thought of the instrument!
My first Mandolin sound
Very well sampled, smooth patch, easy to use. I especially like the bass, which can give a sub-bass-like effect.
Love This
This is a great instrument with lots of potential. Very well put together. One that I will come back to and explore again in more detail.
Deep Detail
This is an extremely well made instrument. The pad is beautiful and evolves over time. It has a very slow attack so program accordingly. The actual solo mandolin sounds so realistic, it seems like alot of work was put into this. There seems to be alot of round robins or the pattern they are laid out in keeps switching up because there's alot of realism and nuance to this instrument. I don't use mandolins much in my music but if i ever need to im reaching for this one,
An Amazing Solo Mandolin!
I've got used to Joshua's pads and ambient combinations, so I was surprised to see such a well-done solo instrument. Everything about it is real nice. It is on the "muted" side, unless you hit it real hard. But again that's part of its personality and I really like it! I was also a big fan of the idea of having one additional patch set an octave down. I see lots of potential uses on this one, so I highly recommend it!
With that said, I was not that surprised by the pad sound. It's nice but it does well on its own, and not too well if you combine them together.
Wonderful!
This sounds wonderful, I liked the tapestry pad as well, nice touch. Not sure where it will live yet but I'm excited to find its first musical home.
