Rouge rm100f f style

[LowGapBG]

This F style is in my price range!I'm thinking about getting one,just want to get some input on it and Rouge mandolins.Anyone played one?Sound good?Its only $149.00 dollers on a site i found on the net.I'm sure good strings and a good set up and it would be fine for a beginner.LMK guys thanks http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[LowGapBG]

Heres what it looks like,i would take the pic guard off. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Caleb]

cant comment on the quality of their mandos, but i do have a guitar made by rogue. it is actually a really nice instrument, structurally, but let me warn you.....where rogue saves their money is on the hardware. the tuners on my guitar are absolute junk. cant imagine them being much better on the mandos. from my very, very limited knowledge of mandolins, it seems like a smarter move would be to spend a bit more on a better quality instrument, rather than have to immediately start spending money to upgrade a lesser quality mando.

.02

[csstanley]

Donnie, compared to what you have. I'd play the Kalamazoo.

Somebody needs to turn you onto Mike Compton. He plays an A style in bluegrass. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[Eric F.]

Donnie, that is highly unlikely to approach your Kalamazoo. But if it makes you happy, it ain't for me to tell you otherwise.

[LowGapBG]

My kalamazoo is just old,but it stills sounds great chris!I guess i just want something new to play.The frets on my kalamazoo are wearing down some,i guess it will effect the sound of it sooner or later.I like the looks of a f style.I'll just keep playing my kalamazoo for another year or two till i can afford a kentucky f style. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[arbarnhart]

My mom's boyfriend has one of those plywood (laminated top) wonders. When I bought my Washburn M1SDL (A oval solid spruce carved top), he tried to convince me to get that F instead. He visited a few months later and played his and mine and then wrote down the model # of mine and the URL of where I bought it. That F doesn't sound terrible, but it isn't very loud and doesn't ring. He gets a surprisingly good chop out of it though.

[Richard Russell]

Just seems to me that buying a new f-style for this price is asking for a mandolin with poor sound quality. I just can't imagine this being a quality instrument at all. There are many A-style mandolins from $150-200 that probably will have decent sound quality. I played an Epiphone recently that was priced at $129 and I really was sold on it's sound for the price. I'd go that route over the rouge any day.

[Roydw3]

I have one...it isn't any good...that is putting it nicely

I now have a small builder A, an Eastman A, and a Breedlove A...the Rogue was first for me and I wish I hadn't wasted my money.

Denny

[LowGapBG]

I seen the rouge on the musicions friends.com Are the mandolins they sell new?or used?

[cooper4205]

it's like you're dead set on getting rid of the kalamazoo; don't take a step back from a solid-wood mando to a plywood one. you already have a american-made gibson instrument, that kalamazoo is almost the same as an old gibson A50, and it's no doubt good quality, so why do you want to get something you are not sure about and could possibly be a step down as far as instruments go. you see, most of these mandolins that you are asking about are pretty much the same, made in the same factory and will all sound about the same; at least not much different.

but, do what makes you happy-that's the main thing; i just figured by now you'd realize that for what you want to spend, odds are you won't find an F-style that will touch the mandolin you already have.

[allenhopkins]

IMHO, every mandolin you've asked about is worse than what you have now! There's been a lot of discussion about F-style (scroll & points) mandolins, and why they're more expensive to build than A-style instruments, like the Kalamazoo you have. Any F-style instrument selling for $150 has got to be near the bottom of the barrel. You have a solid wood vintage instrument, made by the most famous US mandolin manufacturer, albeit as a "budget line." It's taken all the depreciation it's going to take, and is probably increasing in value every day you own it. Your idea of playing what you have, while saving up to afford an instrument that would be a true step up over the K-zoo, seems to make the most sense to me.

I believe Rogue is a "house brand" for Musician's Friend, since they offer a wide range of acoustic and electric instruments with that nameplate. Almost certainly, they're all made in the Far East, probably in one of the large factories that produce a variety of labels for sale in the US.

Right now there are many Rogue mandolins (A-style) for sale on eBay with bids of less than one dollar. There are various F-style instruments with "Buy It Now" prices under $100. But, in the end, don't you get pretty much what you pay for?

[Caleb]

yes, rogue is musicians friend's "house" line. if someone has a gibson, or something else of quality, and simply wants something else...no harm. but i would not sell a gibson or something like that for something like a rogue. that'd be like selling a cadillac to get a yugo? **scratches head**

[cooper4205]

see if you can sell it and by a flatiron A5; that would be a better trade off, IMO

[Sandy Beckler]

What happened to the Kentucky 380S?
Spend the money ($300.00 from Musicians Friend) and be done with it.
I own one and love it....trust me you won't be sorry.

Sanchan

[LowGapBG]

I love my kalamazoo,i am playing it.It just that the frets are wearing down and i'm afraid later on it wont play right.Thats why i would want a new one later on.What mandolin thats new would compare to my kalamazoo? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[red7flag]

I would suggest you take the Kalamazoo to a good repair man and get refret job. You will end up with a better instrument than sinking 150 on a poor F style. As you have a higher quality instrument already, I don't think you will get any satifaction going down in quality. My guess is that you would feel like another poster and feel you wasted money. I love the look of the F style as you can see from my instruments, but I would never buy one with a limited budget when there is a better sounding and playing A model available. Just my opinion.
Tony

[arbarnhart]

I believe Rogue is a "house brand" for Musician's Friend, since they offer a wide range of acoustic and electric instruments with that nameplate. #Almost certainly, they're all made in the Far East, probably in one of the large factories that produce a variety of labels for sale in the US.
I have been told that they are Johnsons labeled as Rogue for MF. I know that some of the low end ones are twins and if you look for Johnsons at MF you will only find 4 models, 3 of which are resonators. So they are a Johnson dealer.

[arbarnhart]

I love my kalamazoo,i am playing it.It just that the frets are wearing down and i'm afraid later on it wont play right.Thats why i would want a new one later on.What mandolin thats new would compare to my kalamazoo? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif
A Gibson A9 is the modern version from the same maker.

[chipotle]

I just started playing a couple of years ago and I wasted a lot of money buying cheap "instruments".

My first purchase was a cheap Johnson from Ebay, my second was a more expensive cheap Johnson from Ebay. Finally after following the classifieds here I found a reasonable instrument (for me) a Morgan Monroe MMS-3, still not my ideal, but has a feel for a good instrument.

While I have been happy with the MM purchase, after I added up all the money I spent on two laminated wall hangers and one decent instrument I could have purchased what I really wanted which was a Breedlove AF or the comparable Rigel A model, both of which I have tried.

Personally I would be happy to have the Kalamazoo

JMHO