Assuming I know nothing about mandolin's (not very hard) what do I look for when buying one? I like getting instruments from all of my travels, and the misses and I are going to paris and italy in a few weeks. We are looking to spend only a few hundred on this instrument. I was thinking an accordian at first, but those seem bulky and expensive. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, this question is for a live performance. I play a mandolin and am interested in a high-endmountable condensor such as a DPA 4099. Planning to use a wireless body pack, which I'd plug into a stage mixer. Here's my question - I'd like a foot switch to attenuate the signal depending when I'm not taking a lead. I guess I can buy stuff and patch it together, is that what I should do?

I'd like some suggestion for Micing a mandolin live. The mando player in our praise band has been using an Ovation mandolin that has a pretty usable pickup system. Unfortunately he likes to jam with people down by the New River and ... well to make a long story short we are going to have to mic another mando on Sunday.

Hi,
I am tracking a mandolin. All I have is a RODE NT1A condensor with my PreSonus Eureka. Any advice as to best Micing practices? Any suggested eq sweet spots? I am thinking of using the conventional "neck meets the body" technique used with a acoustic guitar.
The song is a folk rock type sound.
Thanks
Rich O