Yeah, I got another (used) mandolin. Yeah, my mandolin playing is still…sub-optimal. Yeah, I need another mandolin like I need a hole in my head.

But I really want to quit beating up my Morris luthier-made mando (look back a few posts), and I got a good deal on this Gretsch Park Avenue. It sounds nice, it looks like a mandolin is supposed to look, it has an oval hole to help with sustain (better for the rootsy stuff I play vs. the sharper, more percussive tone of a mandolin with ‘f’ holes), it’s surprisingly loud, it has a built-in pickup and it won’t kill me if it gets accidentally booted over on stage. It also should be relatively easy to re-sell.

I now own three mandolins, which is about two mandos more than I really need, but at least I can fund this sickness by getting gigs that pay. And honestly, this thing is worth only about a third of the value of the harps I bring to a gig, so what’s the harm?