ever find a cheapie good mando?

[tinwhistle]

I read this board and a guitar board regularly. On the guitar board a guy bought a super cheap archtop jazz guitar that has a surprisingly good sound. It was a pacrim guitar, but could be found with a little looking. I was just wondering if any here has ever found a real diamond in the rough, a cheap mando that actually exceeds expectations. You know, something that can be found fairly easily, but is an amazing bang for buck instrument.

[arbarnhart]

Another opening to bang the drum? I love my Washburn M1SDL. Solid spruce carved top oval hole A for around $200 delivered, brand new. Lifetime guarantee and I have actually read postings by folks who have had an issue and it was honored. The sound? Pretty darn good and better players than I have played and offered praise. I e-chatted with another guy who has one and he knows Andy Statman and took his to Statman for an opinion. On the spot Staman recommended it to someone else looking for a low end player. A family friend came over with a "better" mando to show me the difference and left having written down the model number of mine so he could shop for one (I doubt he got over his scroll consciousness to actually buy one though). I did make a Red Henry style hard maple bridge for mine and I did a little fret leveling.

[Mattg]

What's cheap?I have a Kentucky 380S that sounds fine. I think I found it for less than $300. I've refined the action a bit so it's plays nicely. Very nice growl to the tone and good pop and chop. It has been load enough for jams. While I did buy a nicer mandolin (and will probably keep upgrading as skill justify) it is a joy to play. Nice instrument for picking quick tunes while waiting for the coffee pot to fill up.

[Celtic Saguaro]

I bought a Japanese-made Harmony Monterrey back in the 70's for $80 new. It sounded sweet and had perfect action. It was such a honey I bought a Harmony Florentine six months later for about twice as much thinking it must be a great brand. Big mistake. I'll never sell the Monterrey even though it's no longer playable. The Florentine is long gone, traded in toward something much better and more expensive. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[fatt-dad]

I had a Japanese KM-250s that sounded real good. I also had a "distressed" looking Ibanez A-model (f-holes) that was surprizingly good. Both were solid wood construction and in the under $300.00 range. I also bought a Yasuma A-model (f-holes) that I liked. It was all solid spruce/maple and for the price (i.e., fairly cheap) sounded nice. I think if I was going to hunt for a cheap mandolin with nice tone, I would lean toward the KM-250s. While they are now made in China, I see them for fairly low prices and I would imagine that they aren't but so bad.

f-d

[Kevin Briggs]

My Kentucky 340s is not a good manodolin.

However, it is a good value. I paid $65 for it on ebay because it has a few big scratcheson the top. I used it as my backup the other day and it held up to four hours of intense parctice with Mighty Fine. We did tons of fiddle tunes with about two turns each and we did some fast driving songs. The 340s held up to the chopping and fast picking, so I guess in the end it's not so bad.

The tone is another issue. Let's just say, it stays in tune okay and can do some kind of chop.

[withak]

The problem with the cheap ones is usually quality control. It's certainly possible to find a great instrument for cheap (look at the posts in this thread), but you may have to plough through a dozen pieces of firewood with the same brand name on them to find that good one. The people not posting in this thread will be the people who bought the same model but lost the roulette game and got a clunker.

Recommending a particular brand or model doesn't do much good when there is a lot of variability from instrument to instrument.

[acousticphd]

Most of my cheap mandolins have exceeded my expectations, because they were modest to begin with.
For the last year or two I'm interested in and hunt for vintage, cheap American-made flattops. I've found two solid spruce-topped Harmonies, a '68 and a '33, I got for ~$70 each, that play nicely and sound really good.

[Fred's Mobile Homes]

Strad-O-Lin.

[arbarnhart]

Recommending a particular brand or model doesn't do much good when there is a lot of variability from instrument to instrument.
I think there are two distinct groups of "cheapies" - those inconsistently made to high standards and those consistently made to low standards. So IMO, there is value in learning what brands and models have produced winners. As simple as it seems to get it right before going into production, not all mandos have frets spaced properly. If all the tops are made from a too thick laminate, there will be no surpisingly good sounding ones.

Now someone will shock me by recommending their flat top Hondo. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[kudzugypsy]

i'll jump in with all the Kentucky fans - i have played some of their $200 mandos that were just fine instruments - these were the *old* japanese ones and even a few new ones. i still wish i had my first Km-250S, it was a great mando, but i just HAD to have an F, and traded it on a POS washburn F.

[Mattg]

I agree with Withak. I think I got lucky with my kentucky 380 because I bought it sight unseen. I would recommend finding shops that have this class of mandos and playing all of them. One of them may sound nice.

Celtic Saguaro, I've got a monterray that I rescued from the dust bin and referbed. Sweet tone but not loud. It serves well for quite practice. The shorter scale is sometimes nicer to play when my hands are tired.

[Mattg]

I agree with Withak. I think I got lucky with my kentucky 380 because I bought it sight unseen. I would recommend finding shops that have this class of mandos and playing all of them. One of them may sound nice.

Celtic Saguaro, I've got a monterray that I rescued from the dust bin and referbed. Sweet tone but not loud. It serves well for quite practice. The shorter scale is sometimes nicer to play when my hands are tired.

[Mark Walker]

I'll add another PacRim version - Lotus. I bought a Lotus A-style about 10 years ago brand new for like $175 or something like that. Decent tone, excellent fit/finish. I had a luthier heat-straighten the neck and re-set the action about a year ago and it's a great little mandolin. I use it for camping or to take to deer camp with me. 'Tain't much, but it's something. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Jonathan]

I bought an old beat-up Strad-o-lin for $300 awhile back and love it. (I guess that's getting a bit high-dollar for this thread!) It looks like a POS, but is a real sweetie to play, as are others I've tried. I don't know what their secret was.

[mad dawg]

There is someone on eBay currently selling Saga's factory seconds, from whom I recently purchased a Kentucky KM-250S for $86(US). I bought it as a beater/traveller/camper, but I have been pretty happy with it, and I really like the dark burgundy finish on it. It actually sounds suprisingly nice, and though its radius is very subtle (12" I think), it is pretty fun and easy to play. It sounds and plays much nicer than the MK F-style I used to own, and the only problem I found with it are POS tuners whose bushings don't mount flush with the top of the headstock -- but they hold it in tune OK. #IMHO, I think you would be hard pressed to find a better mandolin for under $100 http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[mandroid]

Yea, bought a Gibson A40 for $150, it was 1973, though, a good one to work my way thru the early DIY learning phase upon.