I just bought up my very first mando last night ... not nearly as nice as yours, though. I played until the wee hours (I'm feeling like it now, too, and have a set to play tonight ... not mandolin, though ... ).
Careful now. I jumped in whole hog and ended up with blisters under my calluses after 2 days. Lay off the pulloffs to start with
Not to worry, my fingertips on my left hand have VERY thick calous pads on 'em. I can't feel anything I touch with my fingertips, and I'm accustomed to playing for long stints. I've been lovin' the mando, mostly just simple chords. I need to practice the G/C/D "chop" chords ... who'd think it would be such s-t-r-e-t-c-h on such a teenie fretboard ... LOL! I'll need to really concentrate on some scales until I get used to the tuning in 5ths. I've already added mando tracks to a couple of things I recorded previously. But they ain't anything to write home about!
Those chop chords are fun aren't they? They say switch between em 50 times each a day to get where you need to be. The G is my personal favorite. Check out the back
That's a beauty! I don't think anything except beautiful instruments ever comes out of that shop. As to the chords, well ... the C/G switch isn't difficult, but the D switch is tough for me. Fifty repetitions a day just might do the trick ... in a month!
