Trip to The Music Emporium

[bttahern]

Saw that they had a Pava in stock and been waiting to get my hands on one.....what a nice mandolin! Great looking and sounded wonderful. Definitely see what all the fuss is about....played most of the other ones as well.

Rattlesnake- NICE mandolin. A little bit of a dark sound which I like and I think its about 15 years old so well played in with some crazing on the top but man its a great PLAYING and sounding mandolin.

Kentucky KM 1000- I liked this mandolin a lot but at least to my ears it had a tough time comparing to the higher level stuff. The setup was pretty low on it so that could have something to do with it. A great mandolin but after playing the others it was a step behind.

Collings- I played most of the A models they had. There is a black topped one that man.....its got it. If I hadn't just bought a nice mandolin in February I'd grab it in a heart beat. Plays like a dream and sounds amazing and full. I'm jealous of whoever gets that one.

Picked up a blue chip pick and a new guitar strap while I was there.....it somewhat eased the pain of not leaving with the Collings!!!

[CelticDude]

Yes, TME has some nice instruments. And wait until around XMas time - they have an even bigger selection. For a while they had one or two Collings MF-O's, as well as the usual MT's, and occasionally an MF5. They also have a pretty decent selection of Eastman's. I missed the Rattlesnake, and they couldn't find the Campanella I was hoping to play.

[Mike Arakelian]

If you're anywhere near Lexington, it's well worth a visit...great selection of mandolins.

[Mandobar]

I have not been there in a while, but played the used Campanella two point while I was there. It was really nice and had me thinking. I then played an MT2 with an italian top/birdseye back that they had just gotten, and was blown away. Even after playing the two varnished italian topped MF5v's it was still the top dawg there. A lot of the mandolins they get, both new and used generally sell pretty fast. He cannot keep the Campanellas on the wall. I am glad I bought my A there when I had the chance.