“Darren Nicholson is a wonderfully talented bluegrass artist and check out his fan pages. Become a fan
like us. DarrenNicholson.net”
– Indie Music Lounge
“Darren Nicholson is one of the finest talents in blue grass today. His outstanding performance along with
the band’s was one of the main reason we were able to raise $30,000.00 to help provide health care for so
many needy folks here in Henderson County. ”
– D. Durham (Entertainment/Benefit Coordinator Free Medical Clinics of Hendersonville)
“Darren Nicholson is the Jimmi Hendrix of Mandolin!”
– J. Massie (Fan)
“I have two mandolins that I play regularly. I have a Gibson F5-G that Steve Sutton purchased for me
when I first started playing the mandolin in about 2003. I had been playing about a year but it was my
first legitimate working instrument and is still one of the best mandolins I have ever played. This mandolin means a lot to me personally; because it was also the one I played first on the Grand Ole Opry and
most of my traveling and recording. Ed Weber created my great Truss Rod Cover. This mandolin was
made in 2001. I also have had JBovier mandolins and Jeff Cowherd at JBovier was nice enough to build
a mandolin specifically for me. After several talks and meetings we came up with the A5-X, which he
called the Darren Nicholson Model. But I am currently playing at Metcalf Mandolin. Rick Metcalfe is a
master Luthier from Morganton NC. Danny Bishop and Jack Dillen have exclusively done the repair and
maintenance for my instruments the past several years.
“Since early 2008, I have been using Blue Chip Picks. And I also use Wegen picks. And I exclusively use
GHS mandolin strings. I switch back and forth between the silk series occasionally and the custom set I
get from their custom shop. My custom set favors extra heavy E strings. GHS has a quality and tone that
consistently withstands my heavy playing schedule (www.ghsstrings.com). David Schenck from Dogwood Designs and Kimberlie of Rulien’s Lost Mus created the straps I use. Strains of Music takes care of
the rest of my musical supplies and needs. I owe a huge thanks to all these folks.”
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