Mooh - The Brentrup has a really lush sound - I asked it to be voiced that way - so I tend to use it for ballads and folkier stuff. The Fern is a little louder and tends to be used for stuff that needs more bark and chop. Like when we attempt to sound like a bluegrass band. I rarely get to use the mandola in the trio and the octave mandolin is just for fun. I'll do ballads at home with it. With two guitar players in our trio {and one of them doubles on 12 string and banjo} it gets lost in the mix. So it stays at home unless it's a Christmas concert.