First Post, hello, and also pics of my mando

[Andrew_L_Smith]

Hi
Andrew from Tasmania here, a quick hello.

I bought my mandolin on ebay a few years ago, and have recently put in some time to get familiar.

I believe it is a 'modified F style'...but the tuners are same a an A (?). As you can see it hasn't taken long for the low budget tuner machine heads to start to fail, thats why there is a L7 key blank soldered on to "E2" ! (Is that what its called?)

I have had to work on the nut and bridge in hopes of playable action. And I have gone to martin strings, so far so good on both fronts.

So far none of the "bling bling" has fallen off!

It's not a permanent solution. am loolking for a pickup equipped mando of plainer style, for everyday use . I am slready seeing signs of fret wear and I play with a couple of groups with all amplified instruments. But I am not really impressed with the new one s I have tried in music shops.

Here she is:
109520
109521

[Jim Ferguson]

Hi Andrew.........welcome to the Cafe..........you'll find lots of knowledge on this site both among members opinions as seen in the active discussions & through visiting the discussion archives where you'll find tons of topics.
Your mando gas quite an impressive design on the back & the binding & yes.......nice touch with the key on the E string...:-)
Peace,

[Dan Margolis]

Greetings, Andrew. Glad you're here.

[mandolinlee]

Hi Andrew-

Welcome to the 'Cafe. Very attractive mandolin you have there.

Lee

[Randi Gormley]

Welcome! A lot of us started on less-than-stellar instruments -- it's the music that counts, though. Glad you've found your way over to the café!

[Jim Garber]

Yes, another product of Antonio Tsai/Inlaid Artist workshop made in VietNam and sold thru Taiwan. I am glad it has held together for you tho from what I have seen the hardware is the weakest point on these instruments. I suggest getting new brand name tuners to replace those, if you can.

[Londy]

Hello and welcome to the cafe Andrew. Get yourself a great cafe hat and coffee mug and get involved! This is a great place to be on your musical journey. Nice looking mando you got there.

[Andrew_L_Smith]

Yes, another product of Antonio Tsai/Inlaid Artist workshop made in VietNam and sold thru Taiwan. I am glad it has held together for you tho from what I have seen the hardware is the weakest point on these instruments. I suggest getting new brand name tuners to replace those, if you can.

Hi Jim,

This one came from an Oz reseller, it was an introductory special perhaps. I am more wary of ordering from Asia by air. And, I like to think instruments are made by people who knew what they are used for. This was a compromise, the reseller guy seemed to have some idea, and it was still cheap with his markup.

The others I play in groups with say its tone is ok, it seems to be spruce top. New strings have sweetened the sound and after several ever smaller tweaks the action and intonation are now workable. I have had to tap down the first fret which tends to lift, and more keys are cracking.

I have decided it wont be getting any paid repairs, I will solder new keys as required, and play it until a better solution is available. A decent set of tuners is as much as I paid for the mandolin in a hard case, plus I need piezo for bigger venues and for my 80s rock thingy.

Slim pickings on the music shop front here tho'! No one sets them up in the shop, one shop the 3 mando were not tuned...and the ibanez's bridge was snapped/ cracked! But at least I was able to get an idea of the differences in nut widths and impressions of build quality. I am looking second hand.

Cheers!