help

**guitargain** · May-13-2012, 8:30pm

I am a first time poster. Just recently borrowed a cheap mando from a cousin and now have to go and buy one. I have played guitar for 35 years and now want to learn mandolin. I am going to be purchasing one soon and wanted some opinions. In my price range I have narrowed it down to two that I am thinking of buying. Either a Michael Kelly Legacy Dragonfly in distressed finish, or a Morgan Monroe MDM-1. Help me with whatever you think might be applicable. Good bad or in between comments will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

**Jim** · May-13-2012, 10:09pm

Have you played either of these? What was it you borrowed? I have no opinion on either of the 2 you mentioned but they are not held in high regard among posters here on the cafe, however, if you played one and it spoke to you then by all means get it. The general advice is play as many as you can before you buy and A styles offer more value for the dollar than F styles. Hope you find a mandolin that works for you. Good Luck.

**allenhopkins** · May-13-2012, 10:20pm

OK - you've picked two F-model mandolins by manufacturers who aren't at the top of the Cafe "most preferred" lists. Let's run through the usual catechism:
1. For the same price, you get more acoustic quality from an A-model, without the carved scroll and points which are almost entirely ornamental.
2. Both mandolins are all solid woods, which is good. The Morgan Monroe, however, doesn't list "carved top" in its specs, leading me to infer that its top is pressed into shape, which is not as good as carved. The Kelly says "carved top, back and sides," but not hand-carved, so again we infer that it's carved by machine.
3. For significantly less ($450 vs. $600, discount pricing), you can get a Loar LM-520, which is nowhere near as shiny and pretty, but is all solid woods and hand-carved. For about the same price (again, discounted), you can get a Kentucky KM-805, which is a really nice, all-solid-wood, hand-carved instrument. Both the Loar and the Kentucky are F-models, so you get the "looks like Bill Monroe's" scroll and points, which seem to appeal to you.
4. Whatever you buy, get a good pro set-up, which means either paying a bit more to purchase from a dealer who does good shop set-ups, or paying your local mandolin maven to set it up for you after you get it. There's a lot more tweaking goes into a mandolin than an acoustic guitar, since the bridge is both movable and adjustable for height. Don't "scrooge" in this area.

There's a bit of concern when a new mandolin player is drawn to the flashier, but not necessarily acoustically better, lines of Asian imports. I understand the appeal of the F-model silhouette, and MK's and MM's shore do look purty. And, there are a lot of them around, in stores and on-line. Doing a bit of reading here on the Cafe -- these "what mandolin should I get?" threads come along almost daily -- will acquaint you with the "conventional wisdom" as promulgated by the Cafe intelligentsia.

But, really, get the mandolin set up. That's probably more important than which model you buy.

**guitargain** · May-14-2012, 11:10am

Thanks for the comments. No I haven't played either, but a friend does have two MM that I will play before I buy whatever I decide to get. I will also make an attempt to play the Michael Kelly as well, but since I live in the boondocks it will be a trip of some distance to do that. And I'm not sure I agree with the "as shiny and pretty" as the others. I think the two you mentioned are awesome looking with a more traditional look. I didn't care as much about the ornamental aspect of the inlays as I like the disressed or antique finish. Anyhow I haven't made a firm decision on absolutely what I will buy I just said those are two that I have narrowed down to. I asked the question to do exactly what you did, give me some other options that I will definately consider and I wasn't able to find the discounted price you spoke of on the Kentucky but I will keep looking. I did however see that the mandolin hut has the Loar LM-520. I would consider buying either the LM-520, or possibly the LM-600 vs or LM-500 vs. I was also wondering how important a radiused fretboard is. I have read some of the posts concerning this and it seems it's a personal choice some like it some don't care one way or another.

**guitargain** · May-14-2012, 11:19am

And after reading a bit more and looking at them, I think I will now focus on a Loar. Probably the LM-600.

**allenhopkins** · May-14-2012, 11:20am

Originally Posted by guitargain

...I wasn't able to find the discounted price you spoke of on the Kentucky but I will keep looking....

Listed for $713 here.

At that price, probably "out of the box" with no set-up, though.

**Tim2723** · May-14-2012, 11:27am

And do pay attention to that seeming detail: Get it set up. No matter the make or model, a proper set up is critical to mandolin success. Some guitars might play alright 'out of the box' just as your average trombone plays perfectly well from the factory, but not so the mandolin. Just the nature of the beast.

**guitargain** · May-14-2012, 11:35am

Thanks and I get it about the setup. I will probably buy from folkmusician.com unless I can find them locally. I just read what their setup entails and it seems that they have it down pretty good.

**Tim2723** · May-14-2012, 11:36am

Folk Musician is a great resource. And welcome to the Cafe!

**dang** · May-14-2012, 11:39am

It is funny, because in retrospect I would have not bought the starter mandolins that I bought along the way. But without having owned those mandolins and played them I would not know all of the things I now know I want in a mandolin....

The general opinion around here seems to be that the Loar brand is the current front-runner for starter mandos (I have never played one). When I started playing every mandolin at local stores were cheap pac-rim and I had no idea of what a good mandolin was. If you are lucky you have a friend who does.

I like a radius in my fretboards, it seems to make them easier for me to play (less hand pain with extended playing). YMMV

**Jim** · May-14-2012, 11:45am

If you like F style consider the Rover RM 75

**guitargain** · May-14-2012, 11:46am

Originally Posted by Tim2723

Folk Musician is a great resource. And welcome to the Cafe!

Thanks for the welcome Tim.

**guitargain** · May-14-2012, 11:47am

Originally Posted by dang

I like a radius in my fretboards, it seems to make them easier for me to play (less hand pain with extended playing). YMMV

I'm thinkin I would probably like it too, but I don't see where the Loar's have it. Oh well.

**Willie** · May-14-2012, 12:13pm

I`m not sure where Taylor Fla. is but I have looked around for a good shop down there and haven`t found one worth a hoot, The Guitar Shop doesn`t do any set ups as I know of and most of the places only carry junk mandolins....Google "Mandolin shops in Fla." and see what pops up and contact some and see if they offer set ups along with their prices....

Like Allen stated, play as many mandolins as you can and when the right one comes along it will speak to you....

Good luck.....Willie

**guitargain** · May-14-2012, 12:18pm

Originally Posted by Willie

I`m not sure where Taylor Fla. is but I have looked around for a good shop down there and haven`t found one worth a hoot, The Guitar Shop doesn`t do any set ups as I know of and most of the places only carry junk mandolins....Google "Mandolin shops in Fla." and see what pops up and contact some and see if they offer set ups along with their prices....

Like Allen stated, play as many mandolins as you can and when the right one comes along it will speak to you....

Good luck.....Willie

Thanks Willie, It's near Jacksonville, but j-ville doesn't have any places that specialize in that. There are some that sell them but don't really set them up that I know of. there is a pretty good one in Waycross, Ga. that's an hour and a half away. probably will ride up there and see what they have to offer.

**Tim2723** · May-16-2012, 6:59am

Hi Guitargain,

Nothing to do with mandolins, but thanks for coming back and acknowledging the responses you've received. That's cool and polite. It irks me when somebody logs on, gets a lot of free advice, and doesn't even say thanks. You're OK by me, and welcome to the Cafe.

**Randi Gormley** · May-16-2012, 9:07am

Well, I'll put in a plug for Eastman, just because they're hand-carved solid wood with a radius fretboard. Not a big, dark sound, of course, but nice on the high end (at least mine).
And welcome to the cafe!

**guitargain** · May-16-2012, 11:20am

Thanks Tim, it's only polite as you said to interact if your going to ask for advice. I have looked at the Eastman's Randi and am still considering all the options since it might be a little while before I have the money to buy.

**Tim2723** · May-16-2012, 4:32pm

That's all cool, and so are you. Peace.

**Brutus1999** · May-23-2012, 4:40pm

You also should consider setting aside $75 for a "Tone Gard". The opinions that it improves the sound by holding the instrument away from your body generally runs about 80-90 percent saying it improves and maybe 10-20 percent saying it doesn't. I'm sure it does, with my mando. Now, if you don't want to spend that much, then do what many of us do. DON'T get the Tone Gard right way...wait a couple of months and THEN when you spend the $75, you can kind of pretend to yourself (or others!) that it wasn't really part of the price of the mandolin!

However, getting a good set up (and consider a Cumberland Acoustics bridge if you can afford it)...but anyhow, getting a good set up should happen right when you get the mando.....don't wait on that one.......

**guitargain** · May-23-2012, 9:14pm

Originally Posted by Brutus1999

You also should consider setting aside $75 for a "Tone Gard". The opinions that it improves the sound by holding the instrument away from your body generally runs about 80-90 percent saying it improves and maybe 10-20 percent saying it doesn't. I'm sure it does, with my mando. Now, if you don't want to spend that much, then do what many of us do. DON'T get the Tone Gard right way...wait a couple of months and THEN when you spend the $75, you can kind of pretend to yourself (or others!) that it wasn't really part of the price of the mandolin!

However, getting a good set up (and consider a Cumberland Acoustics bridge if you can afford it)...but anyhow, getting a good set up should happen right when you get the mando.....don't wait on that one.......

Thanks for the info Brutus. I actually have a friend who is very handy with building things and he also plays anything with strings on it. I went by his place the other day and he showed me his handmade tonegard that he made and it looked awesome so I would probably get him to build me one like his for a fraction of the $75.00

**guitargain** · May-23-2012, 10:02pm

I believe I have settled on the LM-600vs and I believe after reading some of the testimonials on here I will almost certainly buy from folkmusician.com thanks for all your input I appreciate it.

**Ben Milne** · May-24-2012, 1:29am

You have made some good decisions since your original post.
Welcome, and all the best along your journey.

**guitargain** · May-24-2012, 9:20pm

Originally Posted by Ben Milne

You have made some good decisions since your original post.
Welcome, and all the best along your journey.

I hope so. I got flamed in a nice way for liking something that was considered to be flashy and had just started my search and learn for what I wanted. I have been playing guitar for most of my life and having something that is flashy and shiny isn't a bad thing if it's good quality imho. I just decided after the advice I received here and thankfully so, I was able to get a little more quality or a lot I guess for a little less flash and that's cool by me too. Thanks for all the advice and I intend to hopefully be able to post some things during my journey that would be beneficial to someone else someday.