Buying a 1942 a-50-- advice needed

[harihari]

Hey folks. I'm looking for a mando for my nephew who is a fiddler and is branching out into mando. His folks live out in the middle of nowhere, Canada, and don't have access to a store with tons of mando selection, so I am looking around here in Vancouver. They have ~$1000 (Canadian) to spend. The options:

a) Breedlove QUartz OF. $950. Brand new, basically (a 2001 owned by the local Breedlove rep who has only played it a few times-- I can only see a few scratches on the top udner where you strum the strings). Bright punchy top end, loud.

b) 1941 Gibson A-50. $1000 plus would need set-up and new strings so say $1050. A quieter mando than the Breedlove, but much cleaner sound and the bottom end seems more solid.

OK, so...the thing is the Gibson has wear and tear. it's 70 years old. Scratches and some varnish wear on front, on back (where it must have rested against somebody's belt buckle or something). No structural damage, though.

Two questions

1) WHich is better value? Which would you buy?
2) If you were going to eventually play live, which of these two mandos would be best able to have a pickup installed (or work best with a mic)?

[Santiago]

The Gibson's a good instrument if you know enough of how to evaluate it used, and I might lean toward that if your nephew's into BlueGrass. He likely knows how to care for it. If not into BG, I would lead toward the Breedlove which, if new, has a warranty and likely a nice sound. Will online stores in the US sell to you in Canada? If so, I'm a violin player who bought an Eastman 605 A from The Mandolin Store with the violin-like Classic finish for under $800 US, and I love it. The 505 is almost $200 less. You can mike either, and install a pickup in either.

[MandoSquirrel]

950(US) is just a tad under the lowest price I've seen for a new Breedlove, so if he's offering it as new, that is a good buy. You can get one used for anywhere from 600(recently in Cafe classifieds, gone now), more commonly 750, up. US $950 is in the neighborhood of used KF or new OF models. The Gibson, as stated above, would be good for a Bluegrass player, but depending on how much would be needed to get it right, may not be as affordable, especially given the budget stated. I had an A50 once upon a time, while a good mandolin, it never really impressed me, I keep forgetting I even had it. That may be because I had an A2 that blew away almost anything, though.

I'm thrilled with my Breedlove KO, and I've played with a new OF at Guitar Center that was definitely worth the price tag of $950? I think, though I don't know if that included case or not.

[allenhopkins]

From a resale point of view, based on the post above, you'll take a hit on the Breedlove, which is going for $200 less used than new. The Gibson, can probably be sold for what you pay for it. If you have it checked out by a trustworthy repair person, and there's no structural damage to it, it's more likely to hold its value. You didn't mention a case, but that's a consideration as well.