More prep work for an upcoming album.

I'll personally be doing quite a bit of mandolin. Only recorded that once before (very down and dirty at that) and wanting to do my homework on getting a presentable and rather conventional mandolin presentation. This batch of originals are a mix of bluegrass, folk, and alt-country.

Here are some good reference tracks for the sort of sound I'd like to approximate:

The Seldom Scene - City of New Orleans: cue 0:53 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG3jI4yYRkc

Led Zeppelin - Going to California https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ty_WlmIKvY

Grateful Dead - Friend of the Devil: cue 0:32 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9SKxL9CnW0

If I could at all avoid certain sounds, I want to downplay pick noise and general icy-brightness. I know this MOSTLY has to do with my pick choice, where I hit the strings, and string choice; I'd still like to help out with good mic tech, mix tech, etc.

What would you do as the engineer to aim for the above references?