Ibanez m510e vs Gretsch deluxe

[Tyler C]

Hello MandolinCafe, this is my first post on this forum. I just got a mando for Christmas and I'm absolutely in love with mandolins now! I got one of those $50 rogues and it broke within a week so I'm in the market for a new mandolin that will last a lot longer. I've narrowed it down to the ibanez m510e or the gretsch deluxe. All I want to know is what you guys think would be a better beginner mandolin to learn on. I would be open to recommendations of other acoustic electric mandolins, but I'm pretty certain that my decision is between the ibanez and gretsch. This is mostly because of my $200 budget (which the gretsch already stretches a bit). Sorry if this has been covered before or if this was the wrong place to post this. Thanks.

[Mandoplumb]

I don't know what broke but if it failed structurally in a week it should go back. They are not great mandolins but should serve as a learner until you are ready to go to a better mandolin, which in my experience is nether of those.

[CWRoyds]

I can’t speak for that specific Ibanez, but the Ibanez low end models I have played were very underwhelming. I have played the Gretsch, and I own the regular New Yorker. They are not bad mandolins and some can be just fine, but I found the quality of tone varies fairly widely from instrument to instrument. Some are tubby sounding and some are a bit dead. They are very inexpensive, so you get what you pay for.

If you want a sure bet, then up your cost a bit and get a Kentucky KM150. They are generally seen here in the forum as the best inexpensive mandolin for consistently good tone. A well set up KM150 will sound good and play well.

You can get one that is well set up from Elderly or The Mandolin Store for about $300-$350 depending on accessories. I would get the $350 package with gig bag etc.

Just the mandolin for $300
http://www.elderly.com/kentucky-km-150-mandolin.htm

I would get the package with gig bag and extras
http://www.elderly.com/elderly-instruments-mandolin-outfit.htm

The Mandolin Store sells at $350 with gig bag too.
https://themandolinstore.com/product/kentucky-km-150-mandolin-with-gig-bag/

Here is a little clip so you can hear how it sounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1tFwAYVj5Y

The Kentucky would be a significant step up in tone from the Rogue.
The rogues are fun little mandolins for what they are, but they don’t have much fullness in the tone. The Kentucky would be much more satisfying and would last you much longer before you had to upgrade.

Just a thought.

[Tyler C]

Wow! The Kentucky sounds great. I'll definitely consider that. The only thing is that I'm really itching to plug a mandolin into an amp. The Kentucky definitely looks like the best beginners acoustic, but could you recommend any low priced acoustic-electrics? Thanks.

[CWRoyds]

I don know about low cost electrics, but I would assume that cheap electrics means crappy electrics.
Someone else might have a different opinion though, so I will let them advise you on cheap electrics.
Personally I think mandolins sound far better through a Mic anyway.

[Br1ck]

Buy a good mandolin first. Really, if you are anything like me, no one will want to hear you louder for a while. If you buy a KM 150, and you should be able to find one used, it will be worthy of amplifying down the road.

[Tyler C]

How does the km140 fair against the km150? I noticed that it's a little cheaper too.

[Caleb]

KM150 = all-solid woods, KM140 = laminate back and sides. The KM150 will sound better and age better.

[Bob Buckingham]

Folks keep thinking they can buy an instrument for $100. No more. The KM 150 was about $150 fifteen years ago and was a good buy then. It still is at $350 and like others have said will be good for some time to come with an bone nut and solid woods. It is a bit of a bargain IMHO.

[Br1ck]

I'd say try for a used KM 150 or some other all solid wood instrument in the classifieds. Place a want to buy add and see what comes up. If someone has a Loar or Eastman, or maybe someone is already tired of their bargain Michael Kelly, snag it. You can always ask on the forum if you are uncertain as to a mandolin offered to you.

A solid wood instrument will see you right for a long time. Then make sure it is set up. You have a higher chance getting a well set up instrument used from the classifieds here than from the average music store or big box store.

[Tyler C]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I did end up getting the gretsch in the end after trying it out at guitar center. It has a great and consistent tone. The only problem was that it was indeed a little dead sounding at first without the amp. It's weird though because the more I play it, the fuller it sounds. Maybe it just needed time to break in? The Kentucky definitely sounds like the definitive mandolin for a beginner to buy, but the ability to plug the gretsch into an amp is awesome. All in all, the gretsch feels rock solid and I believe it will be fine for learning. Maybe I'll get the Kentucky later on down the road as an upgrade, but for now the gretsch works great. Thanks for all the help guys!

[gtani7]

Hey Tyler,

I remember bringing my Gretsch home from GC (my first mando) and wailing away. A good start to a great journey.

There's 3 setup things you really need to do or have done (i think all those Gretsch's have straight fretboards so no monkeying with trussrod): nut slots, bridge height and intonation, and fit bridge feet

Probably also change strings if the bronze is kind of discolored. 2 ways to fit bridge feet are checking where the feet press and where there's an airgap, either visually or with carbon paper and sanding down hotspots, which is described in Rob M's setup ebook.

Or you can lay down sandpaper and slide bridge feet back and forth (make sure there's no rough spots on back of sandpaper or lay paper underneath that): http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?104828-sanding-the-bottom-of-a-bridge/page2

http://frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Mandolin/FitBridgeFeet/fitfeet.html

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?69748-replacing-a-bridge-two-techniques-for-bridge-foot-fitting

(A few other threads if you want to search)

Probably the pickup install could be improved also but i never looked into that