New Member - triscuitbiscuit

[triscuitbiscuit]

So I magically came into a decent amount of money from GuitarCenter (yeah... I know I know) (I think it might have been related to the GuitarCenter price fixing lawsuit a while back and I never claimed the money???). I decided that I might go ahead and purchase a mandolin with this money and found this when researching various beginner mandolin-things. I am very interested in bluegrass music and would love to teach myself the mandolin! Now I just have to decide the best beginner mandolin for the price!

[Michael Bridges]

If you wouldn't consider it prying, it would help to know your definition of "decent" amount of money you're willing to spend. There are options at just about any price level, but if you're coming from guitar, mandobucks are kind of like dog years. Figure spending about twice the money on a mando, as opposed to a similar quality guitar.

[triscuitbiscuit]

I got about $200 from them. And then I'm going to be adding some money on top of that since I know $200 isn't enough to get something that doesn't sound like you are plucking a tin can. But $200 is better than $0! (And like I said, I'm not going to look into anything crazy... just a beginner's one and years down the line once I get comfortable then I can invest in a nicer one) :)

[Michael Bridges]

Lots of folks are looking at the Kentucky KM-150. At around $300, it really looks to be a good playing and sounding instrument. If you get it from one of the Cafe sponsors, (folkmusician.com, the mandolin store,etc.), you can get it with a case at that price, plus they do really good set-up on their instruments, which is critical in how it plays and sounds. If you can go a bit higher, I highly recommend the J Bovier A5T from Kyle Dunn at the MandoShop http://www.themandoshop.net/pages-jbovier/J-A5T-SG-11413-469.html Jeff Cowherd at JB is having these built to his specs, and they really are very good instruments. Several threads in recent months about them, just enter J Bovier in the search window. Once again, Kyle does a really good set-up on these, so they play easy, intonation is spot on, and it really makes a difference. I've had mine about 6 weeks now, and it really is a player's mando, comparable to some I've played at a much higher price. Whichever way you go, good luck in your search, and Happy Pickin'!

[pheffernan]

I got about $200 from them. And then I'm going to be adding some money on top of that since I know $200 isn't enough to get something that doesn't sound like you are plucking a tin can.

I'd recommend that you keep an eye in their used listings. For instance, if you're able to add $50 to the $200 credit, the Amarillo (Texas) Guitar Center has a Kentucky KM-250 with a five star reported condition, their version of excellent, in the Just Arrived listing for $249.99: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Kentucky-Used-Kentucky-KM250-Artist-A-Style-Sta-Mandolin-110242604-i3811513.gc.

[Mike Steadfast-Ward]

Congratulations and Welcome to the Cafe population. Enjoy the journey whichever Mandolin you purchase. It's FUN.

[bart mcneil]

In my experience with lower end mandos you can spend $300 on a new mando and get a $300 instrument. Or you can spend $300 for a good used instrument and get a $500+ instrument. If you study and research instruments in the classified (on this site) you can often find remarkable bargains from folks who are moving to the next stage of mandos and want to sell their lower (or middle) end mando which is still in great condition with a few scratches.These instruments are also often set up well (but not always). On a $300 new instrument I can almost guarantee that that the instrument will not have been set up by the seller. This is very important for quality, in tune playing. Set ups usually run about $60 to $120 so often a used instrument is an even greater bargain.

One brand which can be found used at reasonable prices is the Big Muddy or Mid-Missouri. (Same company) These sell new for roughly $600+ but can often be found used for $300 + or -. I have one and its sound is great!!!

The Kentucky does seem to get good reviews on this site.

[Bertram Henze]

https://tuckdb-images.s3.amazonaws.com/postcards/images/000/150/085/extra_large/2011_10_19_16_22_15.jpg?1319066915

[Marc Ferry]

You'll find that the most popular beginner mandolin on the Cafe is the Kentucky KM150. Haven't had one myself, but sounds like it's a great mando for the price.