If you are a mandolin player, or lover, here is a great opportunity for you. SoundArt Recordings is giving away several Apple iPods along with your choice of five CDs of mandolin music from the SoundArt Catalog as part of a giveaway hosted by the Mandolin Cafe.

SoundArt Recordings is the mandolin focused recording label of Butch Baldassari in Nashville, TN. Butch and Mandolin Cafe are giving away one iPod each to three lucky winners, including a 4GB iPod nano (retail $199.00, pictured here) and two iPod Shuffles (retail $75.00 each).

Starting February 1, 2007 visitors to the Mandolin Cafe will be able to sign up for a chance to win. The winning entries will be selected randomly on February 15, 2007. No purchase is necessary to register.

Butch says the idea for the give away originated with Mandolin Cafe’s owner Scott Tichenor.

The i-pod idea was Scott Tichenor’s….we gave away cd’s last year….so this year it’s something different.

Butch added that he didn’t have much experience with the iPod, but had thought about the device and had several significant questions about it.

I wonder how many mandolin notes it would take to fill up an iPod?

Do they make a BlueGrass iPod…..you know, one that only plays songs in B? (that’s what i hear walking the halls @ RBW)

Or maybe a DAWG iPod….only plays tunes in a Minor Key….back in the day i used to tell some of my old girlfriends that my car radio only picked-up Country Music…..some of them believed me!!!

Hmm…maybe we should suggest these things to Apple!