Don't know what kentucky i have ?

[brudford]

Just bought what I thought was a Discontinued Kentucky
KM 250S at Acoustic Music works. Paid $250.00. It is the A-model with the dark brown nitro cellulose finish.The neck
joins the body at the 14th or 15th fret,and the fret board
is slightly radiused.I thought this was the one that the
Dawg liked with the thinner and more radiused neck ? Patterened after the old Loar A-5 /Gibson. After looking inside the f-hole 250 is written not 250S. After checking
the Saga site they only make the 250 now with the sunburst finish only, what do I have ?? Did they just forget to add the S ??

[12 fret]

Does the label say made in Japan or China?

[Jim Broyles]

"S" just meant that it was all solid woods. You got what you paid for, as that one is still made with all solid woods. I don't recall ever hearing about Grisman liking a Kentucky A model. There is a Kentucky Dawg model, but it is a modified F style, Made in Japan by Sumi, and are desirable as collectors' and players' instruments. This is from the Folk of the Woods web site:

The Dawg was a Monteleone copy with a somewhat elongated body scroll, what I'll call a reverse direction cutaway, a radical fingerboard extension, a Monteleone-style tailpiece and a two-point headstock with a lovely and distinctive flowerpot underneath the Kentucky logo. All of the Dawgs were made by Sumi, who, as some already know, has completed 8 Kentucky 25th Anniversary models with original hardware saved from that era. The MSRP was $2500 in 1983.

[Jim Broyles]

I had one of those 250's and it was a great mandolin. It was nice and loud with a good woody tone. Oh yeah, that one is the model previous to the one they offer now in sunburst - last year's, in other words.

[cooper4205]

they also had an A-style KH-Dawg mandola and mandocello (KK-DAWG) from back in the Sumi days, and a high-end A-model called the KM-900 (http://www.harryandjeaniewest.com/item158273.ctlg), but I don't know if Grisman ever played it or if it has a radiused board, or if Sumi made those models.

The only A-style Kentucky I have seen him pictured with was one of the A-style KH-DAWG 'dolas (i think, I could be mistaken and it might be a real Monte), and I've seen him playing the KM-DAWG too in old pics

Kentucky Mandolin article (http://www.vintagemandolin.com/kentuckyarticlepage3.html)


I think when they talk about making the radius fretboard for Grisman on the Saga website, they are talking about back when he was playing the Monteleone designed models from the Japan-era, and not that particular model (the 250s)

[MikeEdgerton]

The old catalog for Saga said that the KM-250 was developed with Grisman's help if I recall. I'm assuming that was when he had a relationship with the company. I recall seeing that in the late 80's and early 90's when I bought a KM-250.

[cooper4205]

Here's what it used to say in the Saga description

The radiused fretboard of the KM-250S was developed by Kentucky and mandolin virtuoso David Grisman to ease the wrist strain he was suffering from. Now, this feature that greatly enhances the instrument's playability is available at a lower price point.

Sounds to me like it was originally intended for the higher end models, but its kinda confusing. the line "Now, this feature.....is available at a lower price point" is why i think that he didn't originally design it for the 250. the Japanese made ones had flat-boards didn't they?

[Jim Broyles]

I didn't know that, but I would take that to mean he designed the radiused board, not that model of mandolin.

[cooper4205]

I didn't know that, but I would take that to mean he designed the radiused board, not that model of mandolin.
me too

[MikeEdgerton]

It was a marketing thing that he had helped design it, other than offering input I really doubt he designed anything. They were decent mandolins when they were first introduced but I can't imagine Grisman popping one out of a case and playing a gig.

[Givson]

Grisman was one of the popularizers of arched fingerboards. He requested it on his Monteleone, and the Kentucky Dawg (a copy of his Monteleone) also had this feature. The arched fingerboard used to be found only on the higher end models of various manufacturers (such as Flatiron), and I believe that Saga ad copy is touting this feature as now being available on a midline model.