Rogue Mandolin? (beginner)

**catsh16** · Jul-09-2004, 6:26pm

I am a casual guitar player and have grown an interst in learning to play the mandolin, but don't have a lot of cash to spare. I have played some nice gibsons, and some very disappointing other instuments(warped necks). looking online, guitarcenter.com has a selection of Rogue brand mandos in the 80-100$ range. does anybody know anything about these. I don't have particuarly high standards, but I would like something that is going to sound half decent and last a few years.
Basicly, would I be wasting my money on this brand(eg piece of junk) or is it a good value for the price?
(I am also slightly worried about banging up a nicer instrument while camping)
what other instruments would you recomend for under 200$

Thanks

**WaywardFiddler** · Jul-09-2004, 8:58pm

I believe Rogue is the Guitar Center a.k.a. Musician's Friend house brand. Don't know much else about them.

**steve in tampa** · Jul-10-2004, 4:45am

You can probably pick through a couple of them and find one that plays ok. Don't expect super killer sound. The main thing is to get into the game!

I started out on a $50 pawnshop former wall hanging, and it inspired me to move up to a better instrument after I had a few chords and licks under my belt. It it also good to have a beater for those special outdoor occasions, and to let kids try.

**John Flynn** · Jul-10-2004, 7:56am

I started on a mando in that general class and here is what I would do based on what I learned: I would find any mando that was under $100, was playable and did not have and major defects. I would consider a used one and I would not care what it looked like. The Rogue may fill the bill, although I would worry about manufacturing quality. Some of those come out of the factory OK and some do not. Do make sure you can return it for a full refund if major defects are found. Then I would spend another $100 to have a good mando luthier do full set up on it, replace the tuners if need be. The most common thing I get irritated about with inexpensive mandolins is the cheap tuners. If you have a few bucks left over, you might get a really good set of strings, like TIs. They really tone down the "tinny" sound that one often gets with inexpensive manolins and they are easy on the fingers. It may sound wierd to pay more in the repair shop than you paid for the instrument, but I think it is a great way to get a playable instrument on a restricted budget. Also know that if you really get into mando playing, you will be desperate to upgrade within a year, trust me on this. As someone already said, though, it is really handy to keep that first mando as a "beater."