Resonant Constellation

I have a peculiar disease that afflicts musicians, especially mandolin players. This is a kind of wasting disease, but instead of afflicting my body, it afflicts my wallet. Those of you who play the mando may have heard of this disease (and likely have it yourselves). I am, of course, referring to M.A.S., or Mandolin Acquisition Syndrome. In layman’s terms this means that mandolin players are never quite satisfied with the instrument they have, often lusting after other makes, models, designs, etcetera. Symptoms may include inordinate amounts of time spent perusing the internet to find another mando to gawk at, asking to play any instrument that comes into your sight, just to see if it plays better than yours, and ultimately a large collection of instruments usually known as “the herd.” As you may have guessed, this is expensive. The worst part: there is no cure.

There are effective treatments, however. Of course, getting a new mandolin staves off the effects for a while, though this length of time varies from person to person (I’ve seen guys get brand new mandos and start looking again right away. This is clearly the fatal stage of the disease).

I bought my most recent mando back in the summer of 2007 from Bill Bussmann in a complicated four-way trade that made my head spin. The fallout was that I got Old Wave #83, an A-model from 1995. The guy who traded it in got #412 or somesuch, an F style that I played when I was last down at Bill’s place. Let me just say this: I got the better end of the deal.

The weird part of this whole thing is that since I got OW #83, I haven’t wanted another mandolin. Oh, sure, I still have a wishlist for when I win the lottery and I’ve always coveted my friend Dave’s Nugget (but who wouldn’t?), but I haven’t had a serious desire to purchase another mandolin for quite some time.

“So what’s the problem?” you ask, “M.A.S. hasn’t shown up in a long time, you’re practically cured!” If only it were that simple.

You see, M.A.S. never goes away. Sometimes it is temporarily sated, sometimes it morphs into another form. In my case, it morphed into G.A.S. (not what you’re thinking), Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. This is precisely why, this past November, I purchased a Taylor 214-CE. Now, I’ve only ever owned two mandolins (and one mandola), so this is a rather quick transition. One would normally expect me to stick on guitars for a little while now.

This is where the bad news comes in.

Whilst surfing my usual mandolin-related websites, I discovered that “Zouk-Fest,” a New Mexico based festival for Bouzouki, Mandolin, Guitar, and other random instruments, had moved its summer festival from its usual Santa Fe residence to the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque. Since I’m from Albuquerque, I was very intrigued. Upon further inspection, I found out that this festival will be an “Irish Mandolin Weekend.” As a mandolin player who plays predominantly Irish traditional music, I often feel in the minority of mandolinists (and rightfully so, most play bluegrass), so a festival perfectly aligned with my interests, and in my hometown no less, is an opportunity not to be missed.

It was then I saw the instrument raffle. There’s 100 tickets, $30 each, and they enter you in a contest to win a beautiful Herb Taylor Bouzouki. I have long toyed with the idea of buying a cheap Zouk to try it out for myself, and I’ve played a few over the years, but this opportunity sent me over the edge. I now have full blown Bouzouki Acquisition Syndrome (B.A.S.). Oh my poor wallet.

Let’s hope I win the raffle.