Can someone help me?

[Andreaj88]

Hello everybody!
At first sorry for my english, i am italian!
I'd like to start to play mandolin and i'm searching for a cheap instrument, i read a lot on this beautiful forum and i noticed that a lot of users recommend Kentucky mandolins.
Unfortunately it's hard to find that brand here and the shipping from USA is very expensive.
What do you think about this mandolins that i found:

- GRETSCH G9320 NEW YORKER "DELUXE"
- GRETSCH G9310 NEW YORKER "SUPREME"
- http://www.thomann.de/it/the_loar_lm_170_vsm.htm
- http://www.thomann.de/it/ortega_rmae20wh.htm

I like so much the g9310 and it has a piezo inside!
Thank you very much for your help!

[Denny Gies]

The Loar would be a good starter mandolin. Good luck on your adventures into this fun world.

[bart mcneil]

Consider The Loar, It has excellent reviews from folks on this site. The others I know nothing about.

You will almost certainly want to have it set up after you purchase. Mail order instruments are almost never set up well. That will cost you roughly $60 to $100 In American dollars.

[Londy]

Welcome Andrea! I am also Italiano! I am not caught up with brand names so much but the mass produced mandos are what they are...starters and all will need good setup. Have you considered used?

[Andreaj88]

Welcome Andrea! I am also Italiano! I am not caught up with brand names so much but the mass produced mandos are what they are...starters and all will need good setup. Have you considered used?

Hi! Parli anche italiano?
However here in Italy we don't have so much used mandolins (bluegrass mandolins). There are a lot of neapolitan mandolins but usually they are very expensive.

[Andreaj88]

Thank you all for the answers, so you recommend the loar!
How can i use it with the band? Are the cheap piezo good?
What do you think about this model? http://www.thomann.de/it/the_loar_lm_370_vsm.htm
It's better to start with A style or F?
And what about the picks?
Thank you very much!

[pheffernan]

I'd like to start to play mandolin and i'm searching for a cheap instrument, i read a lot on this beautiful forum and i noticed that a lot of users recommend Kentucky mandolins. Unfortunately it's hard to find that brand here and the shipping from USA is very expensive.

You might consider searching for a used mandolin from a European seller on the classifieds here: http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/78734.

[bart mcneil]

Have you considered "The Loar" without the scroll strap hanger? It should be available also but at lesser cost. It offers the same or very similar tone without the added expense of the carved scroll.

[mandobassman]

The Loar LM-170 that you had a link to in the opening post looks like it would be a fine starter instrument. From what I hear about the Gretsch mandolins, they are just average. The Ortega in the link just looks like a "cheap" instrument. The Loar LM-370 would also be a good mandolin, but not necessarily better than the 170. The scroll doesn't make for better sound.

[Andreaj88]

You might consider searching for a used mandolin from a European seller on the classifieds here: http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/78734.

THANK YOU! this seller ships from Spain?
Is the Kentucky better than the Loar?

[Andreaj88]

Maybe i found a Kentucky here in Europe (thanks to pheffernan)
I'd like to know if, in your opinion, this kentucky is better than the Loar : http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/78734
For the estetichs i prefer the loar (because for the painting, the kentucky is lucid), but i want to look to the sound (not only the good looking)!

[OldSausage]

Maybe i found a Kentucky here in Europe (thanks to pheffernan)
I'd like to know if, in your opinion, this kentucky is better than the Loar : http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/78734
For the estetichs i prefer the loar (because for the painting, the kentucky is lucid), but i want to look to the sound (not only the good looking)!

My choice would be the km150, but follow your heart...

[pheffernan]

THANK YOU! this seller ships from Spain?

The seller says "For Europe" in the ad: http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/78734.

Is the Kentucky better than the Loar?

I have yet to hear The Loar that sounds like this:

[grassrootphilosopher]

Hello everybody!
At first sorry for my english, i am italian!
I'd like to start to play mandolin and i'm searching for a cheap instrument, i read a lot on this beautiful forum and i noticed that a lot of users recommend Kentucky mandolins.
Unfortunately it's hard to find that brand here and the shipping from USA is very expensive.
What do you think about this mandolins that i found:

- GRETSCH G9320 NEW YORKER "DELUXE"
- GRETSCH G9310 NEW YORKER "SUPREME"
- http://www.thomann.de/it/the_loar_lm_170_vsm.htm
- http://www.thomann.de/it/ortega_rmae20wh.htm

I like so much the g9310 and it has a piezo inside!
Thank you very much for your help!

Whatever you do, do your homework first.

There are people in Italy that you could contact. I´m sure they are very helpful.
- Martino Coppo; Red Wine; www.redwinemusic.net/en/history.html; https://www.facebook.com/RedWineMusic (these are great people)
- Bononia Grass (http://blog.ebma.org/2011/04/bononia...mes-0039.html; just great people)
- Matteo Ringressi (spelling?) is a member here; he plays in bands and I´m sure , he´s helpful
- Massimo Gatti is a super nice guy and a great teacher; http://www.bluegrass.it/

Be aware that Thomann ships without setup. That makes for a poor start. Better spend somewhat more money and get an instrument that you can play. Read what almeirastrings (here on the cafe) has to say about this and maybe contact him or one of the Hermanos Cuberos (also here on the Cafe) about that Kentucky mandolin in Spain.

Take a trip to TAMCO (The Acoustic Music Corporation) in Brighton, England. Be aware that you will be amazed. Trevor Moyle (unfortunately I have not met him, when I went there last year) has probably the widest variety of all kind of mandolins in Europe. It´s a great place to visit.

It allways pays off to do your research first and therefore have a playable instrument that you can enjoy. When I started out on the mandolin, I thought about buying a cheap instrument first with the idea of switching to a better one later. I am glad that I did not do that. I started out on a Strad-O-Lin from the 30ies. It oozes vintage tone and is probably the best deal if you can find one (it´s not that difficult).

Read this for further entertainment and instruction. It´s very helpful and a must read in my book: http://www.mandolincafe.com/news/pub...s_001443.shtml

Play all you can (while visiting concerts and festivals, for example http://www.mandolincafe.com/workshops/europe.html; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ass_festivals; There´s a workshop in Tuscany that I am aware of but cant find the link at the moment. People there are surely helpful.)

Good luck on your hunt for a good mandolin at an affordable price. My advice is Strad-O-Lin. But I am biased.

[Andreaj88]

Thank you all for the help! (grassrootphilosopher thank you for all the advices!!).
I responded to this ad: http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/78734
But the user didn't answer to my mail yet.

[Kieran]

Hi Andrea.If you would like to have a look at our selection of 'The Loar' and other mandolins click the website link below.We offer set ups and reasonable shipping cost to Italy from Ireland.You will also find a phone number on our website for our agent in Italy who can answer any questions in Italian.
http://www.moloneymusic.com/Products...ndolinsbybrand

Kieran
http://www.moloneymusic.com

[bart mcneil]

As Olaf suggests, If you can find an old Strad-O-Lin they normally have excellent tone for the price. They ere built differently than most mandos, with a steam pressed arched top and back and the interior bracing is different as well. But they offer a good value tonally. And I would highly recommend one as a first mandolin. In the USA they sell for from $200 to $400 in good cosmetic condition. They are usually more at a dealer.