Looking to buy a REALLY cheap mandolin (really)

[irishman]

I play a mid missourri M-5 which I really love. However, a bunch of the guys at the office also play music and are interested in jamming some. Im looking for a low level mandolin that I wont mind leaving at the office, and wont get upset if it gets stolen. I dont want to shlep my mando to and from work.

I was looking on ebay and I found this:

Cheap Mando

However the minimum that I want is something that will stay in tune. It doesnt have to have great sound, just a "Backpacker" that can get bannged up.


ANyone else have any suggestions?

[neal]

Well, it is cheap. My experience with cheap c-r-a-p is that I wished I had spent more. Fatt-dad has some inexpensive, but playable mandos to sell. Tom Flood usually has something in the classifieds for around 175, but I'd go no less. That's pretty cheap. Search the classifieds for "carl" and for "Flood", that may bring up a few inexpensive items to consider.

[Troyer]

$35 to ship a $25 mando seem fair!

[fatt-dad]

My cheapest mandolin is a Vega at $190.00. I have two Kentucky's at about $215-$235. Shipping UPS ground is about $10 to $15. I once bought a Hondo (still have it in my office) for $40.00. It really is not very nice to play as there is just no tone. Strings on a cigar box comes to mind.

fatt-dad
fatt-dad@richmond.com
www.fatt-dad.com

[JiminRussia]

About those really cheap mandolins. You'll need fingers likecrowbars a big red "S" on your chest if you want to fret one. Lowering the action wont hep either. the frets are so uneven that it is going to buzz somewhere if you try to lower it. They just aint worth the bother of ordering.

[om21ed]

what about the Harmony in the classifieds. i had one years ago and wish I never got rid of it. I have a cheap washburn A at my office

[irishman]

The harmony needs repair, from the sound of it. I dont want to drop $80 on a broken mando.

[Martin Jonas]

I think the common consent is that the below-$100 mandolins are basically unplayable plywood boxes. One option that may be interesting for you is the Troubadour Josquin, which is $175 including shipping to the US from the UK. That's an all-solid wood Romanian-made flattop mandolin which should have a tone somewhat reminiscent of your Mid-Mo. There's a review from Cafe member Jeff Stallard here. I haven't played one of these, but I have a vintage German one with the same construction which is very nice (certainly way better than a new Pac Rim plywood) and I'm currently waiting to receive one of their bouzoukis. Old German flattops come up on Ebay Germany all the time (and more rarely on Ebay UK) for between $40 and $60, but there's always the gamble of whether they're playable. For instant availability and (by all accounts) great playability, you could go for a Crafter at $179 plus shipping.

Martin

[irishman]

Well, I admit the Troubador looks nice, but I have very large hands being 6' 4". And its on the smaller scale. Its actually so nice, Im sure Id be upset if I lost it at work. However you guys do make a point about playability. I may go hunt the local pawn shops and see if I can find anythign interesting there.

Keep the ideas comming though.

[lindensensei]

Epiphone makes an A model for about 175.00 that doesn't sound too bad with the strings that come stock, but sounds great with 74s. #Really great. #I bought one to take camping and over the next several days three friends stopped by, said hmmmmm and on the way home stopped and bought one themselves. #This model was finished in gloss black. #They're all happy.

[Jim Garber]

I have a friend who bought one of the octave mandolins from Surf City. He said they were pretty good for the price. This mandolin is only $60. They also sell on eBay.

I have not had direct experience and YMMV

Jim

[Martin Jonas]

Those Surf City Stellas do look interesting: clearly a European design pitched quite a bit below the already cheap Troubadours. I'd think they have the 13" scale as well, but I'd like to reassure irishman that he'd probably adapt in no time: I'm 6'4" as well and play 13" instruments as well as 13.75" ones. I find that I have no problem with the shorter ones (even for my large hands, I appreciate less of a stretch for the 7th fret pinky) and switching from one to the other is pretty much subconscious.

Martin

[John Flynn]

Here is my hint for beaters, which has worked well for me. Pay as little as you like, but get a 100% money back guarantee, in case it has some major defect. Take it to a good mando luthier and have him look it over. If it has major problems, send it back. If not, have the luthier do a full set up for about $75. Have him put mellow strings on it that will take some of the tinny sound out. Strings like T-Is, Silk and Steels or D'Addario Flat-tops come to mind ($5 to $25). If the tuners are really bad, replace them with Grover Sta-tites for about $25. It seems counter-intuitive to put more money in an instrument than you paid for the instrument itself. But you can wind up with a very playable, decent sounding instrument for under $200. Personally, I would spend a little more than the Ebay special you are considering and do all of the above on a used Mid-mo M-0 or Mini-mo for about $200.

[Phantoj]

I got my Kentucky KM-150S for $90, shipped, off of the harmony-central classifieds.

At least mine's not plywood.

I suppose bookmatching the wood used for the back would have been too much to ask.

[irishman]

Hey those Surf City seem interesting, all under $100. Can I get some more information on them from you? How good are the tuners, etc... I assume the octave Mando is a full octave lower than a mando unlike a bizuuki (-5pts spelling) which is a half step lower?

[Martin Jonas]

Sorry, no direct experience on the Surf City. #Bouzoukis can be tuned to a bewildering variety of tunings, according to personal preference, but the most common tuning amongst Irish players is either as an octave mandolin (GDAE) or GDAD. #So, the Surf City Octave can presumably be strung like a bouzouki, or not, depending on what you want, but it probably has a substantially shorter neck than a bouzouki. Greek bouzouki is a different story altogether.

Martin

[nupicker]

Musicians friend has a rogue bluegrass package mando, gigbag, book(bad), and pitch pipe tuner(useless) for 79.99.
I know two people that have bought this package for beater mandos or work mandos with no complaints.

[Phantoj]

I was just looking at MF, and this was interesting:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7....c=price

For $59.99, you can get the MF Learn the Mando package, including:

Rogue RM-100A mandolin
Mando Methods book
Mando Chords book
Gig bag

or, for $69.99, you can get just the RM-100A mandolin.

or, for $79.99 you can get the Mando Starter Kit, including:

RM-100A mandolin
Set of Martin Strings
Mandolin gig bag
Mandolin strap by Planet Waves



Hmm...

(I'd get a solid-top cheapy from Folk-of-the-wood or fatt-dad...)

[neal]

Surf City stuff. I have an octave that needed on delivery:
1.fret work, the frets were really bad, uneven, not finished, looked like they were cut of a single piece and placed.
2. shim under the bridge, it was way too low. BUZZZZZZ
3. New strings, shipped with mandolin strings. Hey, it's an octave. about 18"-19" scale. Put the correct ###### strings on it.

After all is said and done with it, it's not bad now. I've since lent it out indefinately to a friend. And it was only 89+shipping I think 20.00, plus the time it took to do the little stuff it needed.

You haven't given a price range, but if you want a cheap beater, call one of these guys on the board and shell out 100-200 bucks with them. In my humble opinion.

[Lee]

I'd put my two cents in with the cheap used Epiphone MM-30.

[irishman]

Hmmm... can you send me a PM or link to said used Epi? Dang you guys! I was going to spend $75.00 and now Im looking at $150. Three more weeks in this thread and Ill be buying a "used" Rigel A+

[Stillpicking]

I have way too many mandolins, I need to sell at least one to make room for a new MK that I just got. I have a Crafter with gig bag that I would sell for $ 150 and I will pay shipping if in the lower 48.
I got it as a travel mando but havn't been doing as much travel with it as I thought I would.
Let me know if you are interested and I can email some pics.

Mike

[Martin Jonas]

Not a bad deal that -- last month I saw Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention play a Crafter in front of 27000 people at Fairport's Cropredy Festival. As there's only one Crafter model, that's some endorsement for a $150 mando.

Martin

[irishman]

ERRrrrr... see! See what I mean! *points accusingly at Stillpicking*. It just so happens that I met my wife when she handed me a copy of Leige and Lief during an English class in College. MANY years ago. I was thinking about picking up a $150 Kentucky S (solid back and sides) that I found. Not sure which is better, but please send me some pics of the Crafter (email to irishman at carolina dot rr dot com).

Thanks.

[irishman]

See how the creep begins? Now that Im thinking that Id spend $50 on a cheap mandolin, and $20 on shipping + 20 to get set up with a decent bridge and strings, well hell thats $100 allready.

So now I have offers on the following
$150 for a Crafter + Bag shipped.
$160 for a used Kentucky 150S + Bag shipped.
$175 for a new Epihone MM20.

Arrgh... see! Im at $175 now. Ill spend $175 on a $75 mandolin.

Arrgh.