Micheal Kelly Mandolins

[nickster60]

I am new to the board so hello all. I see many Micheal Kelly mandolins in my area(florida). They are all over Craigs list are they worth looking at!!!

[Tim2723]

Hi and welcome!

I'm a fan of Michael Kelly instruments, but my experience is limited to their acoustic-electric models. I think they're quite good for the money. They have a very thick, modern finish that results in a slightly quieter instrument. Their tone is usually not regarded as the ultimate Bluegrass sound, but I think they have a very well balanced, general-purpose mandolin tone. If you decide on an MK, do watch out for many of the older, used ones. They had some serious quality problems early on, and many of the used ones aren't the bargains they seem to be. Their current production models are quite nice though, IMO.

[danmck]

Hey, my two cents as a MK owner...

Make sure that you get one with the one-piece tailpiece, which is a fairly recent addition. I read a lot of bad stuff about the two-piece.

I have the Legacy Elegante, which I think is their top of the line, but is only $900 new... I've had it for about 18 months and have had zero problems, and the parts all seem pretty high-end. I think the tone is a bit limited, not quite the bluegrass 'bark', but for the price range they are not bad. Definitely better than some entry level ones I've played.

[Charley wild]

I have an A+ and love it! I've compared it with a few other makes, some more expensive and it holds up well. For it's price I think it's great! I heartily agree with the tailpiece advice above! The two piece is junk! And I also agree with Tim on the older used Mks. I'd never buy one unless I looked it over carefully (or had someone who knows do it) and played it. In fact I'd be sure and play the new ones also as I would with any make or model I was looking to buy!

[Andrew Roberts]

Welcome Nick!
I had a very good experience with my Michael Kelly Dragonfly Flame. I bought it new in Nashville for $550 and only recently within the last few months sold it to help pay for my Silverangel. To me hear it was a great mandolin for the money and was the instrument that made me fall in the mandolin. Tone, volume, and chop were all pretty solid considering it was an F-style for under $600. I would say you could probably find a pretty good mandolin for the money if you looked at some new MK's.

Andrew

[Folkmusician.com]

I may be a little biased (ok, more than a little), but I think the MK mandolins have a lot going for them. The workmanship is good, grover tuners, as Tim states, they have a balanced all around tone. They look as though they have been dipped in poly, but a lot of players do prefer this look . The playability is great on these. the neck profile, radius and medium fret wire come together nicely.

Models with the new cast tailpiece (assuming it wasn't changed), would be the newer versions with good quality control. Some older models came stock with an Allen tailpiece. Not all of the older versions were bad, but there was a much higher percentage of problems with the old versions. Aside from quality issues, the later versions also have improved tone. Like almost all the imports, these do not have good factory setups (new versions included), so keep this in mind while shopping. You need to distinguish a poor setup, from a problem instrument when shopping.

Michael Kelly was based in Florida until recently. That would be one of the reasons they are so common there.

[KristinEliza]

I own a Dragonfly Custom II Limited Edition ... my first mandolin...purchased about four years ago. I really didn't know what I was getting, but I was very pleasantly surprised (or lucky). I have gotten several compliments on it's tone.

I had to have it set-up, which is to be expected, and it's played wonderfully ever since. I don't like the HEAVY lacquer, and I am unfortunate to have the two-piece tailpiece. Otherwise, I agree with the rest of the posters...for the price, MKs are nice little instruments.

[Willie Poole]

When I was in Florida two years ago I called the MK factory there in Clearwater and said I was interested in looking at some of their mandolins in the showroom and they said they weren`t open to the public as a showroom so I scrstched them off of my list as something I wanted to check out... I guess you have to be a dealer and take what ever they send you.....Willie

[Folkmusician.com]

I guess you have to be a dealer and take what ever they send you.....Willie

You are correct, but this is the case with most of the imports. Think "big warehouse operation". 24ft tall racks!, yep, some are that big. It is not that they don't care about the customers. These are large operations that are not setup for end users. Actually, it is probably about the same as the main warehouses for the big domestic brands.

[Tim2723]

Willie, Robert has nailed it. I spent 30 years of my life in manufacturing. There are very, very few warehouse operations that are open to the public. Don't hold that against any supplier in any business. It's a safety and insurance thing usually. Any large operation would only be able to show a fraction of their wares in a public showroom anyway, so it really doesn't help the consumer when it comes to things like mandolins.

I'd like to say something about the two-piece tailpiece issue. I get the impression that there were some cheap, even defective ones used at one time, but my first MK had a two-piece that was just fine. My second one had the one-piece unit and frankly, I didn't like it as much. You have to be careful that an older, potentially sub-standard mandolin hasn't been 'upgraded' with a new TP. If you're buying used, you need to inspect the whole instrument. If you're buying new, the presence of the one-piece TP probably indicates that it's from the post-problem period, but you still need to inspect any instrument first hand or buy from a mail order dealer with a respected return policy. It's not just MKs, it applies to a LOT of mandolins out there.

[Charley wild]

Tim brings up a good point. I had hooks break on my two piece tailpiece and had it upgraded to the one piece. It's an easy upgrade so it can be easily done on a good mandolin or a bad one! The rest of my mandolin is fine but as Tim (and I) advised, if it's used look the entire mandolin over or if you can't, deal with a respected dealer. And to continue parroting Tim, this is true of any brand you're interested in.
By the way, Tim, I was happy with the two piece and am not sold on the one piece. The problem with an MK is the two piece type isn't similar to the "universal" type two piece so I couldn't up grade with an after market two piece without redrilling and I was afraid to get another two piece from MK for obvious reasons.

[Tim2723]

That's interesting to know, Charlie. I wasn't aware that the MK two-piece was different than others. Personally, I just like the look of the old-fashioned two piece with its engraved cover.

[Folkmusician.com]

On the subject of the tailpieces... I have had a low percentage of warranty claims for the MK mandos. Almost all of these were for the tailpiece. More for the cast than the two piece. The cast tailpieces have small posts and if the string rides up the post it can bend and ultimately snap off. The two outer posts are prone to being bent and snapped off as well. Somewhere along the way Michael Kelly beefed up the posts on the tailpiece which did reduce the problem. So there are earlier MK cast tailpieces with weaker posts, and newer ones with slightly thicker posts.

[Ivan Kelsall]

This was my first Mandolin,a Michael Kelly 'Legacy' solid. It played & sounded as well as it could for it's price. If i'd held on to it it probably would have become even better. I thought that it was nicely made & it played well enough for me to prove to myself that i had a talent to play at all.
If i was you,i'd simply play a bunch of them & take your choice home with you,you won't regret it,
Ivan
PS - After a couple of weeks,i bought & installed an 'Allen' cast tailpiece which improved the sustain - a straight & simple swap out & up-grade.

[Steve Sorensen]

Consider "The Loar" VM 600. Much more mando for the money.
Steve

[musicguy]

I posted on another thread that I was looking for an inexpensive Mandolin, and
someone from this forum contacted me, and sold me a used MK legacy Classic.
It was an older one(2004). It looks good, it plays well,
no loose frets, or warped neck, bridge fits great, strings are very playable(action is great),
truss rod's work, no hump at the neck joint, origonal tail piece(no buz it's fine)
string spacing on the bridge are good, all in all, a very good first
Mandolin to learn and play on. I've played and own quality guitars
and this Mandolin is a fine instrument.

After all I read here, you have thought that these instruments
were really Junk(or $hite) but I'm very happy with mine.


http://www.mandolins.net/michael_kelly.htm


here is a sample of how it sounds on a
lofi youtube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DtX6xRhCKg





Rob

[KristinEliza]

After all I read here, you have thought that these instruments
were really Junk(or $hite) but I'm very happy with mine.

Hmmm...I thought mine was positive..

[Tim2723]

Yeah, I don't think anyone is trying to say MKs are no good; just the opposite. But like all instruments they have their good and bad points, and it's important that we give all the opinions and experiences to help a new member. I for one am a fan of them - I've owned two and would quickly buy another - but there are some important things to know about them, and about any mandolin purchase in general.

[Willie Poole]

Tim..I wasn`t finding fault with the MK wharehouse, I ws interested in trying one just to see what they were like and If I remember right they said in a brochure that they had a showroom so I wanted to check them out, I was playing some of the festivals in Florida and wanted to get an inexpensive mandolin to use as a back up in case something happend to my number one mandolin....I never did find a dealer near where I was living down there that sold MK`s so I gave up on them, I did get a nice deal on a Fender which after doing some set up and tweeking work it sounded decent, sold it as soon as I got home though for just what I paid for it...There is some good info on this site and a lot of people forget that they ask for opinions and when some are negative they *itch about the answers, a fellow once asked me what I thought of his 1924 Loar and I told him I didn`t think much of it and he took exception to my answer, I told him if he didn`t want the truth he shouldn`t have asked me....I have since heard that most people think it is one of the best Loars ever produced so so much for opinions...So keep posting your opinions they are interesting to most of us.....Willie

[Charley wild]

Yeah MusicGuy, I used to get all upset about the negative remarks on MK's and the outright gushing about Kentuckys. Until I played a few Kentuckys, Eastmans, The Loars, etc. I found out that each brand has it's good ones and not so good ones. The first Kentucky I played had nothing going for it, the next one was great. Same experience with Eastmans. And so it goes.

[nickster60]

Thank You for your responses I will have to look at some of these MK mandolins

[Folkmusician.com]

With the older generation MK mandolins.... Most are fine... these should not necessarily be avoided, it is just that there were a much larger percentage of instruments with problems. This was two fold... Part of it was at the production level, but a BIG factor was the storage. Instruments were kept in a non-climate controlled warehouse. The longer they sat in there, the more potential for issues. This was a serious problem. It was addressed with the building of a new climate controlled warehouse. As of the beginning of 2007, instruments were stored in an ideal environment. There was also an effort to improve quality at the factory level. From here on, the mandolins became progressively better. Aside from the tailpieces, I see fewer problems with the MK mandolins than most of the other imports.

I had a point here somewhere. Oh yeah.. You do not need to avoid older MK mandolins, only a small portion would be problem instruments (do use a little more caution). But you are more likely to get a better instrument with the later versions.

[Charley wild]

Robert, one of the major complaints about the MKs is the finish. I have no problem with mine as it sounds fine but I have heard many complaints from players I know and have read several on the net. A couple of friends told me flat out that wouldn't even consider one because of the finish. Does MK think this is a problem? As a major dealer have you heard a lot of these complaints? Just curious.
Charley

[Folkmusician.com]

Hi Charley,

I have only had a few complaints about the finish. Much less than the other brands.

I gather that the average MK player is in agreement with you and not concerned with the finish aside from it looking good and doing its job. I think we can all agree that these would sound better with a thinner and or different finish, but that glossy finish is also part of what draws a lot of player to them in the first place. I don't think Michael Kelly is out to target players seeking top level mandolins and they don't seem overly concerned with keeping the mandolins traditional. On mandolins in this price range, there are a lot worse things than a thick poly finish.

I have talked with them about the mandolins quite a bit in the past. I have not heard of any plans to change the basic formula. The mandolins have proven to be very successful.

[Charley wild]

Thanks Robert. I also have heard complaints about other makes. I'm not too finish oriented. It looks good, it didn't cost much and it sounds good; the right combination in my book!