My GEAR
Gear is a way of caring even more about this instrument that we all love. And while you don’t need any of the specific stuff below to enjoy playing the mandolin, I do get a lot of questions about my personal rig. So if you’re curious, here’s a run down!
***Disclaimer: I am an endorsing artist of many of these things below, but I don’t get paid by anyone to promote them–I’m just a really big fan of everything here!
MY MANDOLINS
First up, let’s talk about mandolins! I’m incredibly fortunate to have an abundance of amazing instruments to play–I probably have too many! But out of all of the mandolins in my collection, these are my primary axes.
APITIUS CUSTOM CLASSIC LS
My dream mandolin is this drop-dead gorgeous Apitius Custom Classic LS F5 that I got back in 2024. I got to work with Canadian luthier Oliver Apitius from the very start on this build to dial in all the specs and it turned out incredible! It’s got x-bracing with Loar specs for a more vintage, woody mid-range tone and it has an immaculate “torch & wire” headstock inlay to boot!
APITIUS VANGUARD
Since 2016 I’ve also played this Apitius Vanguard F5 that Oliver made as well. This thing has been my trusty companion touring around the world for around 10 years, and it still has a huge place in my heart. This Vanguard has scalloped tone bars for incredible bass response and sparkling high end, and it absolutely cuts through anything when playing in loud jam or band settings.
1923 GIBSON A
I’ve also been spoiled to have this 1923 Lloyd Loar Era “Snakehead” Gibson A Model that I love playing for the Irish music I demonstrate and teach on the channel. The vintage wood and oval sound hole on this one make for some incredible dark tone and huge sustain that works well with the thinner picks I use for those quick Irish triplet embellishments.
OCTOLINDO S MODEL DELUXE
And for my work with The Foreign Landers as well as bouzouki style accompaniment for Irish lessons on the channel, I use this beautiful Octolindo S Model Deluxe octave mandolin made by KR Strings. I think these octaves are some of the best value on the market right now.
MY ACCESORIES
Next, here’s all the fun little stuff that goes in my mandolin case or gear bag that help make the picking experience complete.
TONESLABS SIGNATURE PICK
Back in 2024 the folks over at ToneSlabs offered to make me a Signature Pick—such a cool opportunity! We spent months prototyping, testing, and comparing picks to create something special that in my opinion has the perfect blend of tone, volume and accuracy. It’s still my favorite pick to play with, and it’s available in 1.3 mm which is my everyday use pick, as well as .9 mm which I prefer for playing Irish music as well as octave mandolin.
TONEGARD
I’ve been called a skeptic of this somewhat conspiratorial mandolin accessory, but truth be told, I’ve played with with a ToneGard for over 15 years and still do to this day. They do offer a bit more volume from the player’s perspective and they add more weight to the body of the mandolin to make neck-dive less of an issue.
PINEGROVE STRAP
My friend and amazing mandolin player Ethan Setiawan first told me about these great straps made in Shropshire, England. I bought a Pingrove back in 2019 and I haven’t looked back. I’m a big fan of how efficient the design is, yet the thick strap still offers so much support. They also include strap button locks to avoid any of those mandolin strap horror stories we all have heard.
VOIGHT ARMREST
These Dan Voight Custom Arm Rests are honestly the best I’ve found on the market. They’re designed and built by a real mandolin player, so they look good AND they feel good.
D’ADDARIO MICRO TUNER
In the long run, I think you’re better off learning to tune your mandolin by ear, but when you’re at a loud jam or need a quick reference the D’Addario Micro Tuners do the trick. I love how small and discrete they are on the headstock compared to the bigger strobe tuners like the one in this video.
D’ADDARIO XS CM STRINGS
Lately I’ve been liking these coated D’Addario XS CM Mandolin Strings. It’s a medium set with slightly thicker A and E strings which feels more balanced to me. You always make compromises in string selections, but this set feels fairly natural, while still having better intonation and longevity with the coating.
MY SOUND GEAR
Whether on the stage or in the studio, it’s important to have the right tools for the best tone.
PELUSO P84 MICS
I use a variety of mics when I’m making videos, but whenever I’m tracking mandolin in a studio setting I really enjoy these small diaphragm condenser Peluso P84s. These pencil mics are modeled after the legendary vintage Neumann KM84s and hold up to the comparison without breaking the bank. I typically use two of these mics in an xy stereo configuration.
K&K TWIN PICKUP
It’s really nice using a good mic on stage for a natural mandolin tone, but over the years I’ve experienced so many issues with mics feeding back and not being able to hear myself that now I mostly use a pickup. Kind of taboo, but it’s so worth it to have more consistent sound from show to show! I use the K&K Twin Internal Pickup on both of my Apitius mandolins, and when paired with a good preamp this pick up sounds surprisingly natural after a few eq tweaks.
GRACE FELIX PREAMP
I got the Grace Designs Felix Preamp nearly 10 years ago, and I think it’s still one of the best options for direct input these days. It has some pretty robust EQ controls, a boost pedal, and even has two inputs and outputs if you want to blend a pickup with a clip on mic or even a mic on a stand. With our Foreign Landers setup, I use one channel for my mandolin and another for my octave so I can keep separate gain and EQ levels for each. Then I can just toggle between the instruments as needed on the same line.
MORE VIDEOS
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