KM-675 W/radius fingerboard

[Ross]

I have a six-seven Y/O Kentucky KM-675 with a flat fingerboard. I've played 675 models owned by other people and they all had flat fingerboards. Recently I've seen ads for km-675's with radiused fingerboards (elderly instruments, etc.). Does anyone one know if this is a new feature with the Chineese-made ones (675s) vs the Korean? I'm just curious when they began making them.

Thanks.

Ross

[Ken Olmstead]

I do believe this is a feature new to some of the Chinese models. They play and sound very good. They also have more modern / larger fret wire.

[Ross]

Thanks Ken. That’s pretty much what I expected. When I saw the elderly ad, I sent them a note asking about it, but never received a response. I get into discussions from time to time with other players and like to be sure of my trivia.

I have mandolins with both and can’t say I prefer one over the other. I’m aware of it for the first couple of minutes when I switch, but after that, it doesn’t seem to have a big impact. It seems to be important to quite a few people though, and it’s a pretty big selling point. I guess we’ll see if the ones with the radius bring more resale value down the road.

Ross

[Ken Olmstead]

I tend to gravitate to radius boards but flat ones don't bother me either. I do think that it was a calculated marketing change that they must believe will sell more mandolins. I can say that the Chinese ones (especially the 505 & 675) are exceptional values.