what to buy

[fred d]

This might sound like I'm being stupid or smart a## but I would really like to know a couple of things about buying a new (used) mandolin the first ,why is the mandolin the only string instrument to use and adjustabe bridge and why are they os costly looking at stew-mac catalogs I think about $1000 would buy the best parts retail. and from what I have read an A type takes about 40 hr and 250 for an F type is this work all done by hand and if so WHY It seems for what some instruments cost one could buy a lot of machinery I realize that names will add sme $$ to the sale but again how much. And does the difference in sound really make that much difference unless you are playing SOLO and this far I haven't got into f or ovel hole styles I'm sorry for meing so ignert but I love the sound of the mandolin and all the stores here talk about is price and names but but can't answer WHY the difference Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and thank you for any responses

[chovie d]

Im with ya Fred. why are these "little guitars" more expensive than the "real" ones. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

No seriously, they are really expensive, way more than i thought they'd be. I just walked into a mom and pop music store and played every single mandolin they had (about twenty). I picked the one that played and sounded best to me ..THEN i looked at the price tag. Only $200!! hurray!
A "Lonestar" made in Mehico, with a round hole and a lipstick pickup.

When i look at the mandolins you all talk about on this site tho, they are all in the 2k range...I sure would like to try one sometime to see the difference.

[VictorLouis]

The ecomomy of scale and demand.

Guitar is arguably the most popular instrument in the entire world. They're found in every pawn shop, department store and toy-store, besides all of the dedicated music stores. I'll bet that hundreds of thousands of them are produced yearly, if not more.

Now, when is the last time you saw a mandolin in a toy store, pawn shop, or department store? How few do you see in music stores? How many of your family or friends even know what a mandolin IS, LOL?

Once I understood this, it became a little bit easier to deal with mando prices. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[JGWoods]

I think the prices for guitars and mandolins are comparable.
For $20 on ebay you can get an uplayable mandolin or guitar
For $150 you can get a reasonably playable one, but it probably won't sound all that good.
Somehwere around $600 you enter the realm of good musical instruments.
For $1000 you can get a real nice mando or guitar.
For $2000 even better.
It's the same for both- one is bigger, one is smaller, but size doesn't determine cost that much.
As for the adjustable bridge- some have it, not all. Many have a 1 piece bridge- but they are all "loose' on the top- not glued in place- just like an archtop guitar, just like a violin or a banjo. Why? it works better that way is the short answer.
best
jgwoods

[Jim M.]

Im with ya Fred. why are these "little guitars" more expensive than the "real" ones. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
One part of the answer is that a bluegrass mandolin is a carved arch-top instrument, which takes a lot more work than a flat-top guitar. If you want to compare mandos to guitars, compare them to the arch-top guitars. An all-wood arch-top is going to cost you a lot more money than a mando at a similar quality level.

[Pedal Steel Mike]

why is the mandolin the only string instrument to use and adjustabe bridge...?
Arch top guitars usually also have them. Actually, an arch top guitar and a mandolin are quite similar in construction.

[fred d]

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif thanks PEDLE STEEL Mike
The thing is I can buy a really good name brand guitar for $2000 that is TUNED and have aknowledge and experence on the instrument thanks fred

[Pedal Steel Mike]

Fred, There are a lot of good mandos out there. There are the boutique builders who make exquisite instruments, and the companies like Gibson, Weber, Collings, Breedlove and Rigel that make first rate ones. Eastmans can also be first rate, but they are not as consistant.

Everybody else here alreay knows this, but I'll repeat it for your benifit. I had a vintage Gibson that somehow broke. The inner bracing came loose and the top collapsed. The instrument was declared a total loss and my insurance company gave me a couple of thousand dollars to replace it.

I went to the NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) trade show and looked at every mandolin there, including all the brands I previously mentioned. I liked some of the Eastmans, but not all of them. I really liked the mandolins made by Weber, Colliongs, and Breedlove, and would have been happy with any of them. But I fell in love with the Rigels. I bought one with the insurance money, and liked it so much I raided my piggy bank and bought a second one.

I bought both of these blind- that is I did not get a chance to hear or play them before I bought them, but I was so impressed with the ones I did play that I was confident that I'd get a fine instrument, and I was not disappointed either time.

If you can afford to spend $2,000 (or more,) I'd go with and of the 5 leaqding brands. Gibson, Rigel, Weber, Breedlove, or Collings. All 5 companies make outstanding instruments that will last you a lifetime. If you can't afford that much, you might want an Eastman, but I suggest you play a few first and pick the one that sounds best to you.

I also suggest you stick with an A model. F models look a lot nicer, but they don't sound any better, and they cost a lot more.

You also might want to look in the classifieds.

[Bill Snyder]

Mandolin pricing and guitar pricing is really not that different. If anything top-notch FLAT TOP mandolins cost less than top flight flat top guitars. If you want to you can find new arched top guitars going for $20k and up just like the mandolins. As far as the bridge it is kind of like the guitar world - arched top mandolins have loose bridges and most flat tops have glued down bridges.
Michael Lewis ( a frequent poster in the Builder section - see link to his site under Board Sponsors) builds mandolins and arched top guitars. His top of the line mandolins are about half the price of his top of the line guitars.
The mandolin prices SEEM to be higher because we always here about the prices of arched top mandolins as compared to Flat Top guitars.