New MK FS Solid--some observations about finish...

[deepbrew]

I just took delivery on this Vintage Sunburst baby. My first mando (I play guitar) and I'm liking it a lot. However, I'm a little disappointed in the quality of the finish and want to compare notes with other MK owners.

The lacquer looks good for the most part except on the body in the upper bout area--on both the front and back. There, it seems they sprayed too much material on and it has a wavy or dimpled look to it when you catch the reflection. Too much lacquer only impedes the tone--that's what I've learned from owning guitars and I'm sure it holds true for mandolins. Now I realize in the world of mandolins this is at the extreme lower end of the food chain, but it struck me that if they got the finish right on 75% of the axe why didn't they get it all the way? Is this representative of all MKs or did I get a bad one?

Thanks for any comments.

[Greenmando]

Shucks, yours might be one of the best of the MK's.
Seriously MK's have a record of finish problems, mine was no different. MK's do not have a "Lacquer" finish, they use urethane. Tracy is good for repairs and exchange if you are unsatisfied with yours. Mine had a decent finish but was pretty raw in the scroll. I found that the scale was off on my fretboard, the frets were off and tone was off on the octave.

[deepbrew]

So do you still have one? I take it from your comments that you sent yours back--? Tracy--is he the guy at MK?
Thanks for your feedback.

[mpeknox]

i've got an fs deluxe and the finish on it seems pretty good to me. a few sloppy places in the binding especially around the scroll but nothing that stands out unless you really look closely. i don't know about mk's being on the "extreme lower end of the food chain", because there are some pretty bad mandolins out there. mk puts out some pretty good instruments for the price imho.

[deepbrew]

You're right Steve--they are great for the price. The sound is definitely head and shoulders above all the other brands I tried in the same category. I guess I'm still bowled over by what the high-end mandos cost compared to the equivalent guitar. My comment was probably pandering to all the folks on this board that have Gibsons and Webers and Collings etc. Maybe I should get in touch with MK and see what they have to say about the finish issues.

[Greenmando]

I sold mine recently, the value had increased since I bought it. I only had to add a couple of hundred bucks to buy a Gibson A9.

[johnwalser]

The finish on my MK Firefly Flame is nearly flawless. Scale on fretboard was made correctly as well every thing else. I recently made a one piece ebony bridge of my own design (Red Henry says it looks somewhat like a guitar bridge Gibson used back in the 20s) that has given me increased volume and tons of sustain. This particular instrument had good tone from day one and has improved nicely over the past 10 months. Tracy seems like really nice guy and it would probably be worth a phone call to discuss your concerns with him.
John

[John Zimm]

I agree with JohnW-the finish on my Firefly Flame is just fine. I did play one that I didn't buy that had some rough spots under the scroll, but not that bad. I couldn't be happier with my mandolin. It had great tone in the store and it sounds better every day. Yeah, there are some MKs that aren't that good, but that is true of every mass-produced product. For the money, I got a little cannon.

-John.