hangblague
Aug-10-2007, 6:54pm
I just thought I would relay my recent mandolin purchase experience. I recently bought a second hand (but pretty new) Kentucky 250 mandolin, on the strength of one photo and the the enthusiasm of several Kentuckyites on this board. I'm brand new to mandolins but not to fretted instruments.
I was very happy to see this long-distance transaction through. I didn't know enough to recognize or find out about its problems ahead of time or when I got it. I could play the thing, but I was a little discouraged at how hard it was for my daughter to fret. I took it to Larry Muth, a great luthier who lives in my city, just to see whether any set-up adjustments might help. Did he open my eyes and help me out!
The action was waaaaay high and the bridge was misaligned and already screwed down as far as it would go. He re-shaped the bridge for me, sanding it down as much as possible without seriously compromising the volume to a "medium" action (it can't screw down any lower) and the difference was like night and day.
Larry explained to me that the fundamental flaw is the neck angle on my sucker which is off, affecting the proper range of bridge height adjustment. Also, he pointed out that the top wood appeared too weak in that it was beginning a small bubble to the rear, evidenced by its touching the tail-piece. Finally, the neck has a slight concaveness, length-wise to it, which is like the opposite of a radiused neck, making it slightly less easy to play. There isn't much to do about those sorts of problems on a cheaper instrument, but he sure made a disaster a lot better for me. He also calmly talked me out of other adjustment ideas I had (like re-nutting), explaining how the results would not be worth the expense. Larry wasn't all negative. He played it and demonstrated the instrument's good points as well, assuring me that it was an adequate starting instrument (especially after he fixed it).
Larry is a real gentleman who knows mandolins intimately. He chatted with me for at least a couple of hours, showing me his shop, tools, work-in-progress, etc. answering in detail all my questions about his one-at-a-time custom building technique. He invited me into his house to try out three of his own high quality f-style creations just so that I could get a taste of the difference between what I had and a quality hand-made instrument. Even a newbie like me could appreciate the incredible difference in quality (tone, playability and volume) by playing a little. I don't know what was more of a treat, his shop or his instruments.
So the moral of the story is, Kentucky's aren't necessarily perfect. People who say do your homework first and try it out first are right. (That doesn't make it easy if you live in certain wildernesses). I'm still satisfied that I have a starter that will work for me for a more or less fair price, but there is at least one defective one out there (mine). Lucky for me, I happen to live in walking distance from a master.
I was very happy to see this long-distance transaction through. I didn't know enough to recognize or find out about its problems ahead of time or when I got it. I could play the thing, but I was a little discouraged at how hard it was for my daughter to fret. I took it to Larry Muth, a great luthier who lives in my city, just to see whether any set-up adjustments might help. Did he open my eyes and help me out!
The action was waaaaay high and the bridge was misaligned and already screwed down as far as it would go. He re-shaped the bridge for me, sanding it down as much as possible without seriously compromising the volume to a "medium" action (it can't screw down any lower) and the difference was like night and day.
Larry explained to me that the fundamental flaw is the neck angle on my sucker which is off, affecting the proper range of bridge height adjustment. Also, he pointed out that the top wood appeared too weak in that it was beginning a small bubble to the rear, evidenced by its touching the tail-piece. Finally, the neck has a slight concaveness, length-wise to it, which is like the opposite of a radiused neck, making it slightly less easy to play. There isn't much to do about those sorts of problems on a cheaper instrument, but he sure made a disaster a lot better for me. He also calmly talked me out of other adjustment ideas I had (like re-nutting), explaining how the results would not be worth the expense. Larry wasn't all negative. He played it and demonstrated the instrument's good points as well, assuring me that it was an adequate starting instrument (especially after he fixed it).
Larry is a real gentleman who knows mandolins intimately. He chatted with me for at least a couple of hours, showing me his shop, tools, work-in-progress, etc. answering in detail all my questions about his one-at-a-time custom building technique. He invited me into his house to try out three of his own high quality f-style creations just so that I could get a taste of the difference between what I had and a quality hand-made instrument. Even a newbie like me could appreciate the incredible difference in quality (tone, playability and volume) by playing a little. I don't know what was more of a treat, his shop or his instruments.
So the moral of the story is, Kentucky's aren't necessarily perfect. People who say do your homework first and try it out first are right. (That doesn't make it easy if you live in certain wildernesses). I'm still satisfied that I have a starter that will work for me for a more or less fair price, but there is at least one defective one out there (mine). Lucky for me, I happen to live in walking distance from a master.