9 Items to Keep in Your Mandolin Case

Just about the only time my mandolin is in its case is when I’m going somewhere with it. Otherwise it’s hanging on the wall, easy to take off and play whenever I want.

Sure, there are the times when I come home from a late gig and am too tired to unload. Then the instrument sits in its case for the night and probably lots of the next day. But that’s no good. It adds a roadblock to playing. It’s not easily accessible.

If I have a few minutes to kill, it’s not likely I’ll go search for my mandolin, take it out of it’s case, get all the miscellaneous items I need to play, then pluck a few notes before I’m running late to my next appointment. Much better if it’s on the wall where it typically is, and the pick and tuner, etc are where I expect them.

So here’s how to remove as many roadblocks as possible: make the transition for your mandolin in and out of its case as easy as possible.

To do this, I like to mess with my case as little as possible. Everything I need is in it, and I keep it all there. All there’s to do is take out my instrument when I return home, and place it on it’s stand. Also, when I do travel somewhere with my mando, I know everything I need is coming along too.

Here are the items I keep in my mandolin case:

Tuner

Being in tune is the most important thing. If your instrument isn’t in tune then there’s no way it’s going to sound beautiful. I always make sure I have a tuner handy. There are plenty of apps you can get on your phone, but clip on tuners are much more effective.

The only tuner I’ve really ever used is the blue Snark. It’s a fantastic tuner. It’s inexpensive and practical. At around 5″ long it’s compact enough to fit neatly in my case’s compartment. It works by detecting the vibrations made when a string is plucked to determine whether the note is in tune. This is awesome because it works even when there are a lot of other noises going on in the room.

For mandolin, the better tuner seems to be the black Snark. Its branded as the tuner for all instruments. Apparently it can work with a wider frequency range. The blue Snark is meant for just guitar and bass. I’ve never noticed any problems using the blue Snark though.

The battery lasts a long time as long as you remember to shut it off when it’s not working. But I also keep one or two full batteries too just in case. It takes 3 volt circle batteries.

Humidifier

If you live in a dry place, you might want to keep a humidifier in your case. I live in North Carolina, a notoriously humid locale, but I keep a humidifier in my case during the winter. It can get super dry inside during the winter while the heater runs.

So to keep the climate consistent for my instrument, I’m more likely to keep my mandolin in its case when I’m not using it during the winter. I place my homemade humidifier next to my extra set of stings in the headstock area of the case and my mandolin loves it.

Here’s how you make the homemade humidifier:

film canister for homemade mandolin humidifier — Plastic Canister on the right 🙂

Find an unused 35mm film canister
Poke some holes in the cap (in this case the green cap) with a needle or thin nail. Poke 10 – 15 or so holes.
Get a thin cloth or thick paper towel, damp it in some water. Squeeze the cloth so that it’s not dripping.
Place the damp cloth in the canister, close up the holey lid and you’ve made a homemade humidifier!

Picks

Picks can be a contention amongst stringed musicians, especially mandolinists.

“You can’t use a Tortex” or “Blue Chips are stupidly overpriced”. Those are common refrains. And to some extent they’re true. But the reality is, that doesn’t matter. You can use any pick you want to play your mandolin. You could even strum pickless if you’re brave enough. But it’s best to keep a couple picks in reach. They’re easy to lose.

Soon enough you’ll develop a favorite pick. It’s going to be the one you have handy. I have Golden Gate picks all over my house, and two or three in my case compartment as their permanent home. I like how they sound when I’m strumming and chopping.

When I’m doing a lot of picking, Dunlop Primetones are awesome. They’re the budget Blue Chip, which is another pick I really like, but they’re not that needed. Primetones are almost identical. I keep two in my case.

Picks don’t take up much space at all, so whichever are the kind you’re most used to, store a few in your case.

Strings

I remember one time, before a show we were playing at a vineyard way out in the country, one of my strings broke during our second song. I was out of tune right off the bat, but I tuned up quick mid song and kept going. After all, mandolin strings are opportunely doubled. But I wasn’t going to be able to tremolo on that string and it just felt weird on my fingers. Luckily I had extra strings in my case. After the song, I ripped out the fresh boxing, scrounged around for the needed string, and got it hooked up before the next song.

Moral of the story: having fresh sets of strings in your case is vital. You never know when one’s going to break, and if you have some time before a show you might as well replace your old strings. Its therapeutic once you develop a system.

The industry standard, and my favorite strings are the D’Addario EJ74s. Getting the set of three is going to make your life easier. You’ll always need them. I keep the fresh set near the headstock area of the case.

String Winder

Mentioned earlier, changing strings can be therapeutic. Emphesis on can, I should add. It also can be a total pain. Compared to guitar: Eight strings and a floating bridge don’t make it any easier. But having a string winder helps immensely. I couldn’t imagine what mandolin players did before these lil things were invented.

Instead of clamping your fingers around a tuning peg and twisting until your wrists are as strong as a climbers, you can just place the peg in the winder and spin, spin, spin.

With a little adjustments, you should be able to fit the winder in your case’s compartment.

Tip:

If you’ve got a wireless power drill handy, you should definitely get a tuner bit. Now your drill will do all of the spin, spin, spinning. No need to put the drill on full speed or anything, but as long as you’re careful not to get your strings too tight, this is an awesome option too.

Microfiber Cloth

Not only good for cleaning your sunglasses, but a microfiber cloth also cleans your mandolin wonderfully. It’s surprising how much dust can collect under the fretboard and florida. Even with ungrubby fingers, the top of your fretboard fills with grit after a few weeks of use. All of this compounded if you’re playing at dusty festivals or around a campfire.

I also use a cloth when I’m restringing. When I set the string through the hole of the tuning knob I double up the cloth on the headstock and lay the string I’m tightening on top of the cloth. This lets me keep the string low, near the headstock when I’m winding without having to worry about the headstock getting scratched.

Pen / Paper

It’s a real bummer to have an inspiration and be without something to record your thought. You’re picking along next to a quiet, peaceful river. Things make sense. A nice melody appears in your head. But you don’t have a notebook with you. There’s no way to document this beauty in the honesty of the moment. That’s why you’ve got to keep a pen and notepad in your case. They take up almost no room, and they’ll always come in handy.

Ear Plugs

Your ears are so valuable, just in general. Without being too obvious, they’re especially important a musician. However, as a musician you’re likely to really give your ears a beating. Amps and speakers do a great job of overindulging your body’s auditory system. To combat this, musician ear plugs exist.

You really can’t just use any ear plugs. The musician earplugs cut out the harmful sound frequencies, but still let you hear what’s going on. I don’t always feel the need for ear plugs, but I’m glad they’re in my case just in case.

Here are some good choices to check out:

The EAROS ONEs are apparently “the best earplugs” from what I read online. They’re made by MIT designers. They’re basically the same price as other top ear plugs, so they’re worth checking out. But going for the cheap classic foam ear plugs could be just as effective as the pricey musician earplugs.

Betteries

I mentioned batteries earlier on. The 3 volt batteries for your tuner. Keep those in your case, but also pack a few 9 volt batteries too. They’re the batteries that power all the other electronics you’ll be using – preamps and pedals. Plus they’re like the cigarettes in war equivalent at a show. If you have an extra battery for another musician in need you gain major karma points.

There you have it. Any case should have enough room for these 9 additional items. Each is going to be valuable. As long as they stay replenished in your case, you’ll forever feel prepared for anything!