MAndolin advice(the next step)

[xian112]

Hello,
I"m new to the board and i'm sure this is a common question but hear goes...
I've grown out of my "Rover" and am looking for a F-style in the 500-750ish range. I've been recommended to look at MOrgan Monroes and Micheal Kelly. THe local shop only carries Epiphones and the MM50 is nice looking but i'm thinking I could get better value for the money. Any help would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Christian

[Coy Wylie]

I've played the Epi's but in my experience the MK's sound better, especially with the allen tailpiece. I now have a Weber as well but I still like the sound of my pacrim MK.

[Michael H Geimer]

xian,
Sounds all too familiar. My first mandolin was a Rover. I traded it up for an Epi MM-50. That was a mistake, as I gained so little overall - though the MM-50 played real nice.

Personally, I made a hearty commitment and upgraded to Weber, and am quite happy. Especially after I traded up the MM-50 up for a Mid-mo M-11 which offers so much more ... except looks.

If I had started on a Mid-mo, I might still be waiting to upgrade. (Except for that darned MAS) But, my guess is you're looking for a F-style at your price point. Since I haven't played either the MM's or the MK's, I'll have to leave it to others to offer more info.

Happy Hunting!

- Benignus

[JDSmith]

xian,
I have a Morgan Monroe MCM-TB and really like it. It's about 6 mos. old and is starting to open up nicely. I bought it from Mark at LoneHandWestern and was pleased. Had a Washburn F model a few years back but didn't like the tone. My advise is to play as many different brands and models you can and if you buy online be sure to get a 48 hour (or longer) test drive policy. Cheers!