Fraley Mandolin question....

**monkeyboy** · Jan-16-2017, 8:34pm

A Fraley Mandolin has just come available in my area.... anyone have an idea on the value? I can't find where one has been sold at anytime to find even remotely the value...

Thanks
Nathan

**Ivan Kelsall** · Jan-17-2017, 4:07am

A good friend of mine over in Dublin,Ireland,owns a beautiful Fraley F5 mandolin which he's owned for many years. It sounds & plays superbly. I'm sorry that i can't help you with advice on the pricing of a Fraley mandolin,but as to the quality - the ONLY one that i've heard is excellent in every way.
How much is the seller asking ?,
Ivan

**Willie Poole** · Jan-17-2017, 11:44am

I am not up on the value either but I do know that a festival I saw one delivered to a band member and it was set up all wrong right from the builder, bridge placement was wrong and the saddle was on backwards...After we got it set up right it sounded excellent, from what I hear they are all real good sounding mandolins and the one I saw had a nice fit and finish...You must have some idea what you want to pay for a mandolin so let them know what you want to pay and see if they go fro it...Bargaining is half of the fun of buying...

Willie

**noah finn** · Jan-17-2017, 6:04pm

Those Fraleys are beautiful, quality instruments. I believe Mr.Fraley has since passed on.

**monkeyboy** · Jan-17-2017, 11:47pm

Yeah... Fraley has passed on... everything I have been seeing (which hasn't been much) is that those that have them, love them.... a local luthier that I asked about them, said.... "don't know much about them but the one that I have played had about the best tone mandolin I have ever played"... some thing along those lines... This is killing me... I am 'second in line' on the mandolin and the other person that is ahead of me has not produced the money yet... so I am waiting... uhg... I want it more the more I think about it.. LOL...

**Ivan Kelsall** · Jan-18-2017, 5:01am

My Irish friend & myself were jamming at one of our UK Bluegrass festivals several years ago,just the 2 of us,me on Banjo & him on his Fraley mandolin.
A very well known US Bluegrass duo were guesting at the festival & came over to listen. We'd just played ''Rawhide'' & done a good job on it. The male member of the duo asked if the Fraley was for sale at all,of course it wasn't, but it was good enough for one of the top mandolin players in the US to be interested in,
Ivan

PS - Here's a thread from the ''Bluegrass Ireland Blog'' page :- http://bluegrassireland.blogspot.co....hn-fraley.html

**bernabe** · Jan-19-2017, 2:39pm

I've had this one for a while and have'nt played it in years. Ive played three others and were all BRW instead of maple and all three were better than mine FWIW.