New Australian Mandolin player asking for help.

[dingomando]

Since I live in Australia, there simply aren't many people to ask the following question.


I've sent the following to the Washburn feedback folk, but am running out of time, (& just now got an auto generated repl saying the email address I used is incorrect), also since I live in Australia, mandolin resources are a little bit more sparse than in the U.S.

I'm very keen to know if you know what (if any) is the difference between a "Washburn M - 1S/TS", & the model I've seen listed as the Washburn model "M - 1S".

Please let me know as soon as is possible, since I'm soon to buy my first mandolin, & I'm in a situation where I have the 2 to choose from, but the older one of the 2 (the M - 1S/TS) is being sold as a used item, & if this is structurally, or in any other way better than the other, I'll need to consider it accordingly.

ps. if you know anyone else who might be able to help, I'm more than happy for you to forward this on to them.

Much thanks in anticipation,
Regards,
John.

[dingomando]

.....Just to add a little info to qualify my post above this, I'd like explain the reasons behind this post.

I'm a single parent, so while love & responsiblity are plentiful for me, money's not.

I have, for a long time now, owned a lovely 12 string & have a very lucky gift of being able to play most any instrument I pick up.

I've muched loved mandolins & the breadth of music they feature in for many years, but have never played one.

My Birthday was a few days ago, & so a group of my friends all contributed to an amount that I've been given, with which to buy my first mandolin.

This being the case, there's scarce little on the local market that looks any good for the amount I've got to spend.

I've found a second hand instrument (the one with the 'TS' suffix mentioned above), and just wanted to know the difference between the 2.

Even though the washburn might not be the best mandolin I'll ever get, the one I'm looking at just might be the best I can afford, diven my situation.

Any advice, or input, at all, would be much appreciated, because where this issue is concerned, I'm a babe in the woods, way down under woods at that!

Thanks,
John

[Tom C]

I do not know about those designations but I would think the main thing is the
M-1S. Without pics or research I would think they are they same mando with only a cosmetic difference. (T/S Tourtis Shell?). Maybe it has different binding or something like that.

[Martin Jonas]

See here (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=13;t=12665;hl=m3swsb) for more on this.

Martin

[FrankenMouse]

The above thread suggests it perhaps means Traditional Sunburst. It could also mean Tobacco Sunburst (i.e. brown)??

[Martin Jonas]

Basically, what one can take from the previous discussion is that the "TS" is just a designation of the colour scheme, and therefore not really important. What may be more relevant to you is that the older Washburns had a better reputation than the recent ones, although it's not necessarily obvious whether that's because the Washburns got worse or the competition got better (I think the former). To balance against this is the fact that the M1S is a laminate mandolin with cheaper stock hardware, and therefore unlikely to improve much with age. On balance I'd say if it's really a straight choice for you between the used M1S and a new one, then get the used one if (and only if) you get it a good deal cheaper than the new one and it feels comfortable playing and is in good condition with tuners in good shape. That way you don't have as much of an investment tied up if and when you decide to upgrade to a better mandolin. One good thing about all of the Washburns is that they tend to be very comfortable to play, which is a very important aspect for a new player. The standard advice for all of these cheap mandolins is to have somebody competent check the setup which can dramatically improve the sound. Another advantage of the used one is that it may actually already be set up properly whereas the new one almost certainly will not be. If you're an experienced 12-string player, you may be able to do the setup yourself -- it's not that different from guitar setup, except for bridge fitting and placement. See the advice at frets.com for details of the setup procedure.

Martin

[dingomando]

Thank you all for you generous offers of information, especialy the one above.
If only politicians played more music, we might be in a much better situation than that which we find ourselves!