My Michael Kelly Legacy O

[Chinn]

Well, MAS struck hard over the holidays. My pretty little Kay split her top for the third time (different place each time) and I realized her fretboard was/is twisted in a way I could not imagine.

I decided to buy another mandolin and purchased a pretty two pointer off of the 'bay. Unfortunately, when it arrived, the top had collapsed under the treble side in a pretty significant way. The seller was pretty good to work with and actually refunded my money immediately upon my request to do so.

So that again left me without anything to play..... I also decided against purchasing any more used musical instruments from that auction site. I've bought a lot of stuff there over the years, but it is just too easy to hide issues with good or convenient photography.

To that end, I started looking locally. I wanted to play and scrutinize my new instrument heavily before taking it home.

I ended up finding a Michael Kelly Legacy O.

I researched it here, but did not find much reference to it. Frankly I did not find much on the net at all. However, listening to a lot of F4 Style vids on Youtube gave me an inkling of what the tone might be like.

I'm terribly impressed with the construction and the quality. I love the inlays, and the oval hole tone with the florentine body suits me pretty well. I do try to play some bluegrass stuff, but I also end up playing a lot of other styles, so I think this is a bit more versatile. I think I can learn to make it chop too.

One other super nice detail of this one is the previous owner had installed a bridge pickup with an endpin jack. Very stealthy and adds some variety to what I can do with it.

I made sure to get a nice case for it when I picked it up as I'm afraid my Kay split because of the terribly low humidity in my home this winter. I take the blame for the Kay, but plan to not let it happen to my LegO

My poor photography skills don't do it justice (nor do my skills). Please excuse the fingerprints. I've not been able to keep my hands off it since I brought it home.

[Patrick Market]

Looks like a good one. Thanks for the review. I do believe I played one of those when I was on my search for an upgrade several years back. It was in the running, but came up a wee bit short (for me). Can't recall why. But no matter---you are satisfied, and that's what matters.

As for humidity control, I have used a Damp-It (NFI) with my Big Muddy, and it works very well. Just make sure that after you soak it, you squeeze the ever-loving #!$$ out of it, and you'll be fine.

Enjoy your new mandolin!

[Chinn]

Thanks for the suggestion Patrick and the tip on use as well. I've been struggling to find one that will fit in the case.

[Patrick Market]

Glad to do it Chinn, but the one I own (http://www.playbetterbluegrass.com/dampit_humidifier_4514_prd1.htm) actually fits inside the mandolin itself. It can save you even more space.

[Chinn]

New camera and blooming azaleas... .why not take pictures of the mandolins.....:))
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[walt33]

Looks really nice, good luck with it! I'm a big fan of the oval hole sound.

Humidification is verrry important, not so much in the summer, but certainly during heating season. I don't really care for Dampits. I use plastic soapdishes with a dish sponge inside. Holds a lot more water and needs checking less often. I've also made my own for my fiddle case using the little flip-top dental floss containers and small Tic-Tac and gum containers. Drill a few holes, cut a piece of sponge to fit, and you're in business. Some folks use cigar humidifiers.

[Chinn]

Walt, I ended up with soap dish and sponge humidifiers for all of the guitar cases. For my mando cases, I made film canister humidifiers and velcroed them to the plush inside of the case.

I also added a digital humidity gauge to the music room and a humidifer. The room now stays right at 47-51% humidity.

[walt33]

Sounds like you've got the humidity issue taken care of. Can I keep my instruments at your house?