has anyone had hands on the kkm900 yet?

[David Thompson]

I was just wondering has anyone actually had hands on the new kentucky km900?
I have one of the prodigal 5s from the guys up in tenn and am curious to compare.

[Folkmusician.com]

Hi David,

Just received one today, and it is exceptionally nice. I mean, WOW! The tone is there, but what really amazes me is the grade of woods and workmanship. If the km-900 were a several thousand dollar US made model, I wouldn't think much about it (either good or bad). It would be about what I expected from a domestic maker. The fact that it is an import and priced at $1295 retail is what blows me away.

Just snapped some pics a few minutes ago:

http://www.folkmusician.com/images/km-900-f.jpg

http://www.folkmusician.com/images/km-900-2-f.jpg

[...and Master of None]

Just curious, how good was the setup out of the box?

[Glassweb]

Two other Loar owners and myself recently played the top-0-the-line Kentucky F5 style mandolin and were we IMPRESSED! YOW! Forget that it's made in "you-know-where"... forget the price (less than $1,500)... this mandolin kicked serious butt over many handmade mandolins I've played costing thousands more. I mean we were blown away! I might have to snap this A5 up on principal alone... not to mention having a mandolin that I can take out and play without a bodyguard...

[Rob Fowler]

How would you guys that have tried it describe the tone of the mandolin in person. I've heard the sound clip from the Mandolin Store but soundclips are soundclips and can't substitute real experience. It seems from he soundclips that it has the "bluegrass" tone?

Thanks.

[Glassweb]

Hi Rob... I'd say we were very impressed by the richness and "aged" sound of the tone. It was not a cheap sounding mandolin... it sounded like a costly (several grand) instrument. The balance was great... the neck was PERFECT... very fast and Loar-like. Plenty loud and just "felt" right... the weight, the look... man, it WAS impressive. I'd say it had a very versatile tone... perfect for bluegrass cause it had the chop but also sounded lovely and full on the open strings. Scary-good for the price. I imagine the Loar A5 copy above is equally impressive.

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

The one pictured above sure looks nice...:)

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

[QUOTE=David Thompson;778230]I was just wondering has anyone actually had hands on the new kentucky km900?

Not yet, but I will soon:grin:

[blueron]

From the perspective of someone used to British prices, it is amazing to see a mandolin as sweet as this listed as low as $899 with free shipping. That sort of money in Britain gets you an Eastman 605 - a nice instrument, certainly, but surely not in the same league as the KM900.

[John Hill]

Love the looks of that design, would like to get one in my hands for a test drive.

[The Mandolin Store]

I have only had 1 KM900 but am expecting 5 more this week so we'll see if they are consistent (I expect they are). The first one was a flat incredible sounding instrument in fit, finish and sound. I was blown away and I am hard to please when it comes to the sound of instruments. It had great bluegrass tone (dry) that is not often found in an instrument under $1000. I might also add that the new KM1500 is insane! The fit and finish is top shelf and the sound is even better. The only thing I don't like is the fingerboard extension needs to be scooped (IMO). If you were playing this mandolin, people who looked at it and heard it would think it was a Gibson, if they did not see the name on the headstock. I have only sold 1 of these new KM1500's so far but the customer in TX that bought it agreed with my assessment 100%. We changed the pricing around so that it's only $400 more than the KM1000 in hopes more people will try it. This instrument is not just a fancier KM1000. It is a different beast - the body is thicker and it pushes more sound. I know it's hard for people to wrap thier arms around paying that much for an import but these new ones are better than any of the Sumi era Kentucky's I have played.

[Folkmusician.com]

Just curious, how good was the setup out of the box?

I am working on this right now and the setup is not too bad. That said, there are a couple of things that I will be addressing.

First off, the setup is much better than the vast majority of imports. This is pretty much playable out of the box (aside from the fact that it comes without the bridge installed). I am stating this based on the basic setup. The frets are seated well and level. I only found two frets that were not perfectly level, and these were so close it would not cause any problem. The bridge foot is fit well, string spacing is good...

Now to the issues I see.

1. With the bridge bottomed out, the action is at 5/64ths. This is not a serious problem (currently), but unless a customer specifically requests the action be higher, I like to run it at 4/64ths. The bridge being bottomed out does not allow for future adjustment either. I am going to have to take some off the foot.

http://www.folkmusician.com/imageshires/km-900sh.jpg

The frets, while level are a little rougher than I like. I am going to give them a dressing. I'll also level the two high frets, but again, these are so close you wouldn't notice.

http://www.folkmusician.com/imageshires/km-900frets.jpg

The string height at the nut is perfect on the A strings and a bit high on the E, D and G strings. Not painfully high, but there is some room to drop them down.

If someone were to get this mandolin with the factory setup, it wouldn't be perfect, but it would be playable as is (not something I can say about most of the imports). The factory setup is much better than 99% of the imports. Considering the quality of this mandolin, it makes sense to buy it from someone that goes back over the setup.

[Folkmusician.com]

I have only had 1 KM900 but am expecting 5 more this week

So that's where they all went! :)

[...and Master of None]

Thanks Robert! I guess I'm bitten pretty bad 'cause I'm already considering my next mando (you don't want to know how many guitars I have - "but honey, each one is for a different type of music!" ;)

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

Well I got my hands on one of these KM900's and I have to say I too am very impressed.
The workmanship is very clean and you can tell the finish is kept very thin.
Wood selection is excellent with nice flame back,sides and neck and semi wide grain spruce top. The instrument is very light weight which is always a good sign to me.
I would discribe the tone as lively, open and very responsive, it requires very little effort to achieve volume and good tone, and I think that will improve with a little heavier gauge strings.(stock strings feel thin) But the best thing is the price, It really does sound, feel and look like mandolins costing $2500 and up.

There are only 2 things I would have done different.
1) radiused board with larger frets
2) scouped or shortened finger board extension

But then it would not of been a faithfull reproduction.

[Willie]

Robert, Is the nut made of bone or plastic? In the photo it looks like plastic....I am going to check one out as soon as I get home, I have four F models and have been wanting a good A model for some time....Willie

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

Robert, Is the nut made of bone or plastic? In the photo it looks like plastic....I am going to check one out as soon as I get home, I have four F models and have been wanting a good A model for some time....Willie

Mother of pearl

[mandopixie]

Looks awesome. It's no wonder they're so well received.
*The worm-under-post configuration of the tuners makes for a more aesthetic headstock, too, IMO.

[Keith Erickson]

As a huge fan of the A styel, I'm so glad to see this mandolin do well. I wish the folks over at Kentucky the best success!!!