Decent mandolins.....poor asthetics

**Baloo** · Oct-28-2007, 12:49pm

I have a MK Legacy Deluxe that is handcarved front and back with a nice sound and is decently loud.

I took my MK to a luthier to adjust the truss rod and lower the bridge and when I went to pick it up he told me that the fret board needed to be sanded down because it was uneven and sure enough he was correct.

the Grover tuners on it have problems as well and the cheapo gold screws that hold the fake MOP keys in place keep falling off and the cheapo tailpiece slides off of my mandolin.

Is it worth it to sand down the fretboard, buy a new set of tuners, change the tailpiece instead of buying a new mando?

**cooper4205** · Oct-28-2007, 12:55pm

I'd get a new mando

**mythicfish** · Oct-28-2007, 12:56pm

Don't throw good money after bad.
As to whether your mandolin is handcarved I would ask ... Which portions are handcarved.
These instruments -typically- have pressed tops and backs.
My advice ... sell it at a loss. Your first loss is your best loss.
Putting money into it would only be the first loss in what could turn out to be a series of losses.

**Bill Snyder** · Oct-28-2007, 12:57pm

If you purchase another mandolin in the same general price range what makes you think it won't need the same attention?

**Jimmie** · Oct-28-2007, 12:59pm

I bought an MK a couple of years back and had serial problems. The major of these is similar to yours: uneven neck, huge hump at body-neck join. Had frets evened out, but there was just so much that could be done. My fellow bandmember also had an MK and finally traded it off at a loss. Good choice.

**mythicfish** · Oct-28-2007, 1:05pm

"If you purchase another mandolin in the same general price range what makes you think it won't need the same attention?"
Is this a rhetorical question?
There is little reason to believe that repetition of unwise behavior will yield different results.
So far, this has not been suggested as possible course of action.

**Knot-Head** · Oct-28-2007, 1:11pm

My first mando was a fender fm 53, it had a developing crack in the neck. It wasnt really a problem but I couldnt stand it so I ordered a MK Legacy FS. What a piece. It too had a crack in the neck, a little more troublesome, it was cracked by the headstock. It didnt sound all that great and had a pretty thick top, so I did some experiments on it. I did what I could to stabilize the neck, then went at the body. I sanded off the 1/4 inch thick finish, then knocked out the tone bars, then it sounded better. Eventually the headstock broke off which brings me to my point. Should I pay to have the neck fixed,,,,,NO. Its still going to be a piece. So I got myself a Flatiron. In fact, there was a thread the other day about burning your old ###### mandos and I thought it would be a good fate for my MK.

**woodwizard** · Oct-28-2007, 2:09pm

If it's the tunner button screws that keep unscrewing a good fix for that is #242 thread locking loctite. One tiny drop on each screw will do it. About 3 threads 360 degrees is what a loctite rep told me. Also the tailpiece should be a simple fix too by slightly bending it in the right place. I was thinking about getting an oval hole MK but I'm just about scared off of that idea.

**wannabethile** · Oct-28-2007, 2:56pm

ive got a buddy whose got a michael kelly mando and its just good for whittling with his pocket knife, haha he had issues when he first bought it, and then he had them fixed and now new issues are arising with it. good grief!!! i feel bad for him, haha

**Baloo** · Oct-28-2007, 8:46pm

well guys here is the issue. me and my wife together bring home right at 60 something a year. We just had a 5 month old baby and money goes to the house I am buying and the baby and the cars.

If I get a new mandolin it would have to be financed, is that possible without a credit card.....dont have one right now....and if I do this what mandoling should I look for that will be a good mandolin and I not have to pay over, say, 1800?

**Baloo** · Oct-28-2007, 8:49pm

One more thing...I aint lookin for a pre war Gibson F5 here. I know that 5000 would get me a killer mandolin so please dont offer that advice.....

I guess a better question is what has the most bang for your buck in the price range previously stated?

P.S. Our baby was born five months ago, He was not five months when he was born if anyone was in need of clarification due to possible bad grammar.

**Hal Loflin** · Oct-28-2007, 8:54pm

If you are the original owner I would call MK and let them know your delima. Tracy Hoeft (sp?) use to own the company but I now understand he is one of the top executives. You might ask for him...he is a nice guy.

My first mandolin was an MK Legacy and it had none of the issues you are mentioning but I hand picked it from several at Merlefest...bought it from Tracy.

It's worth a call to them to see if they will do anything for you.

**Knot-Head** · Oct-28-2007, 8:55pm

Man, there are all kinds of mandos in that $$ range. An A style will give you the most for your money.

**Steve Ostrander** · Oct-28-2007, 8:56pm

In that price range I would look for a used Eastman.

**Pete Braccio** · Oct-28-2007, 9:05pm

Hey Baloo,

I'm going to go against the tide here. I had an MK that I thought sounded really good (and never gave me any problems). My advice is to do the work if you like the mando's tone and playability.

Follow woodwizard's advice from above and all you need to shell for would be fretboard work. Even with that, don't do it unless you notice it when playing. Just because it was pointed out to you doesn't mean that you have to take care of it.

MK's have a bad rep around here, but I've played a few good ones. Likewise, I've played a bunch of mandos by other manufactures that people rave about here and have found them wanting. That's because our ears hear things differently. Follow your ears. Don't get rid of something you like just because the "common wisdom" says to do so.

Pete

**Knot-Head** · Oct-28-2007, 9:07pm

Look in the classifieds here on the cafe, there is a Flatiron A5 artist, a couple of gibson A9's, there is a ratliff A, and I saw a Weber Bitterroot A maple back and sides. All are at or below your price range and all are handmade in America.

**Walter Newton** · Oct-28-2007, 9:12pm

If 1800 is your price range you have LOTS of good options - I'd be looking at an American made A like a Collings MT, Gibson A9, Flatiron, Weber etc - keep an eye on the classifieds. (As has been said above, though, the tuners are a cheap fix with a little Loctite, and the tailpiece cover likely just needs a little bending into shape - so I wouldn't consider either of those problems a big deal in themselves).

**Tim2723** · Oct-28-2007, 9:32pm

Baloo, all you've actually said is that you found an uneveness on the fretboard after it was set up. #OK, depending on what you really mean by that, it could be something that can happen to any mandolin. #Are you saying you need to pull all the frets and binding, or is it a minor sanding operation? #How defective are the tuners really? Do all eight screws on the tuners 'fall out' or do you have a loose screw? #Do you really need new ones? Once they're soilidy in place, they never come off again except to replace a broken button anyway. A loose tailpiece cover is nothing big. #People tighten loose ones and loosen tight ones all the time. #

If those problems occurred on another popular brand in that price range, many would tell you it was no big deal and to make a couple of fixes rather than buy a new instrument. #The fretboard issue can be a killer certainly, but how bad is it?

**cooper4205** · Oct-28-2007, 9:41pm

This A-style mandolin by Charles Horner might be worth checking out for $800. There are plenty of nice, handmade A-styles to be found for not too much money.

**mythicfish** · Oct-28-2007, 9:51pm

You and your wife need to sit down and talk about $$$.
Try not to finance it ... you'll only be paying more than you can probably afford.
Unless you're up to your eyeballs in debt, you can probably put money aside each month for your mandolin, your kids education, and your retirement.
Not necessarilly in that order.

**Tim2723** · Oct-28-2007, 9:52pm

Originally Posted by (braccio @ Oct. 28 2007, 22:05)

MK's have a bad rep around here, but I've played a few good ones. Likewise, I've played a bunch of mandos by other manufactures that people rave about here and have found them wanting. That's because our ears hear things differently. Follow your ears. Don't get rid of something you like just because the "common wisdom" says to do so.

Pete, I also have an MK that I like very much, but that makes us wrong by default. #Our only recourse is to sell them at a loss or burn them in sacrifice to the Mando Gods and buy Eastmans.

**Treetopper** · Oct-29-2007, 7:52am

I have two MK's and have none of the problems described here. I do not have the talent to deserve an expensive Gibson or the like, therefore, the Pacrim mandolins are all that I can afford. I am very happy with the MK's.

**Baloo** · Oct-29-2007, 7:52am

well the fretboard issue is that I look down the fretboard and after the twelth fret I see a shadow, and If the bridge is too low I can hear a metallic clinging sound on two of my strings where they hit the fret before they hit the bridge.

Another issue is that this mandolin my wife bought me in the first year of our marriage so it has special meaning. Even if I get another I am thinking of fixin this one, possibly get another, and let my boy learn on this one....

**Kevin Briggs** · Oct-29-2007, 7:58am

Here's a hypothetical for you:

MK = $500
Tuners = $100
Other stuff = $200
Your savings = $300
Sell some stuff = $200
Total = $1,300

Thats' a good range for somthing a lot nicer.Even with no savings and not selling anything, you will have close to $1,000. You can get a nice Breedlove OF in the classifieds right now for $900. That;'s a steal.

**BlueMountain** · Oct-29-2007, 8:10am

I bought 7 cheap, broken F-style mandolins on eBay for $150 (including shipping) to fix and give to kids who want to learn to play. Two of them, a Johnson and a Mastercraft, the repairs didn't hold. I'm thinking of hanging them outside as windchimes, sort of like those pieces of bamboo some people use. I think they'll sound better that way, too.