Hey everybody!
Well, I've been lurking on these forums for a while, so I decided that I should make an account. I am a junior in mechanical engineering at NC State (go pack! ) I've played acoustic guitar, piano, and ukulele for a few years now, but not the mandolin. I fell in love with the instrument about a year ago and have wanted one ever since; I think I might have to get one very soon.
I was wondering if anybody had some advice about a good quality F style mandolin for around $500. I know enough about music and instruments to recognize and appreciate a good one (though it's apparently hard to find shops that have mandolins); I seem to be able to pick up instruments pretty quickly, so I want something that will last me a couple years until I can afford something better.
I've done a lot of research, a fair amount of it on these forums, and the one brand that stands out in my price range seems to be The Loar. I know there have been a lot of threads about these mandolins, but I had some specific questions... The LM 520 sounds like a lot of mandolin for the money; I have heard countless good reviews about it. Are there any other mandolins around $500 that can match this one?
The LM 500 is apparently the same as the 520, just with fancier appointments, right? That's not worth the extra $$$, I think. I have heard great things about the 600 as well, but that is getting well out of my price range. How about Michael Kelly's entry level F-style mandolin? I haven't heard about them very much on this forum but they look pretty nice. I was looking on The Mandolin Store earlier, where they have an mp3 of all of their mandolins, and I ran across the Kentucky KM 600 for a similar price to The Loar LM 520. It sounded bright and woody, where the LM 520 sounded mellow and a bit tinny; though that may just be the recording. I can't seem to find much about it- does anyone have any experience with this model?
I will probably buy online, since I can't play anyway- though I think I would know enough to tell a decent mandolin from a terrible one in person (I've played with a few in shops, nothing very good. I've got my ukulele tuned in 5ths and I'm practicing some Bach using mandolin-style picking though I would definitely buy from someone who does a really good setup, because I am not skilled enough to do anything but the most basic setup work... I have heard wonderful things about Folkmusician and a few mentions of The Mandolin Store- but they are nowhere near as detailed about their setup work as Folkmusician. Does anybody have experience with them? Do they also do a good setup?
Dang! That's a long post. Sorry about that.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
-Ian
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