Mandolin for $400

[mandoshane]

hey fellow mandomaniacs,
a friend wants a mandolin at the $400 price point. i remember seeing a decent lookin flat top mandolin here on the forum a while back in that price range. cannot find it or remember the name. i think it is a solid wood instrument made in Tennessee. any ideas? any other suggestions for a decent starter mandolin in this range?(I KNOW!)....any help greatly appreciated. thanks.

[Jessbusenitz]

You may be thinking of Redline. Never played one but, heard lots of good things about them.

[Daijoki]

This one often comes up:

http://www.themandolinstore.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=8383

[mandoshane]

i'm pretty sure it was redline. i just was reading the big muddy, mid mo stuff and came across redline again. thanks ya'll.

[Jim MacDaniel]

The starting price for this used Redline Traveler on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/Redline-Traveler-Mandolin_W0QQitemZ140376583345QQcmdZViewItemQQptZL H_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item20af18acb1) (made in Henderson, TN, by Steve Smith of Cumberland Acoustics fame), was $450 -- it didn't sell, so you might want to ping the seller (our own Andrew C. Jerman, MC handle "thistle3585") to see if he still has it available to sell.

If that doesn't pan out, you could contact Steve Smith regarding a new build if your friend can increase his/her budget a bit -- speaking from first hand experience, they will not be disappointed.

[Tim2723]

The Mandolin Store also lists an nice used Vega flattop:

http://www.themandolinstore.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=9034

[thistle3585]

Yes, that was mine and I still have it. I also have a MidMo, now Big Muddy, and I prefer the tone of the Redline over the MidMo. The Redline is a real bargain for the money. If you're going to SPGMA, I believe Steve will have some for sale. He offered to take this one and sell it for me, but I'd prefer to see him sell his own. One of my goals is to send Steve some wood for him to build me a custom .instrument I'm still holding out hope for his building a Redline mandola or OM. My other goal is to clean out my entire stable of instruments and get one oval hole. Anyone want to swap five instruments for a nice oval? :)

[CES]

A little harder to find for 400 (but sometimes you can): Flatiron pancakes (older, not newer Chinese models). Highly recommended if oval hole/flattop voicing is what your friend's after. Definitely not a bluegrass mando (ie, in ensemble/jam situations) but certainly fine to learn BG on.
The Redlines are certainly nice sounding/playing instruments as well, and it's always cool to support a member of our little community.

For an F-holed instrument you're pretty much looking at the Kentucky A-models, which are not as "nice" as the flattops you mentioned, or the Rover mandos referenced above (also Saga).

Good luck!

[Capt. E]

I snagged a Flatiron 1N for under $400 with case. They are probably the best of the flat-tops.
Mid-Mo's go for under $350 pretty commonly.
A used Kentucky KM-505 should go for about $400 or less. That would be a great choice as well.

[mandoshane]

andrew, can you contact me?

[Rob Gerety]

If you have the issue resolved great. If not, PM me - I will shortly have a used Eastman 805 (A style, F holes) for sale on the classifieds for just a little more than your stated budget.

[Jill McAuley]

NFI here, but there was a nice looking Flatiron 1N pancake listed in the classifieds here in the last few days for $450.

Cheers,
Jill

[Rockville847]

I don't know if this kosher or not. If not, my apologies in advance. I have a 1980 Ibanez F style I would sell for $400. That's a little less than I paid. There is a pic on the Ibanez of the 70's thread. I have more pics and can give more info if desired. Thanks...Terry

[DerTiefster]

The O.P. probably ought to watch the classifieds here, or even put in a "Wanted" ad himself. I've seen others do that. There is a significant amount of turnover in cafe members' mandolin stock, but possibly most of it is more expensive carved top mandos. When I have a mandolin to let go, I expect to use the classifieds here. It appears to be a great venue. I've purchased cases, accessory bits, and came perilously close to buying an instrument or two. I've seen several mandolins pass by that I regret not buying, but hey, one can't have everything.

I suspect that some of the above posts would be expunged if the rules were strictly enforced, because the Powers That Be are interested in separating buy/sell issues from the forum. Part of that may be because forum posts are persistent and the classifieds aren't.

Addendum: I just looked at the Vega flat-top Tim mentioned at themandolinstore and my gosh, that looks nice for the price. But if the O.P. wants a carved top instrument or more in the way of fancy trim, well, those come along, too.

[mandoshane]

Hey yall. thanks for the info. This wasn't really a "wanted" post. i really was just tryin to find the name of the redline mandos. and i found that. my post could have been clearer. thanks for the help everyone. There are tons of flat tops on the classifieds right now. peace.