top 5 affordable mandolins under 1500 please

[keitharoon]

i would like to know what is everyones top 5 mandolins for under 1500 cus im looking to buy a new one but not sure yet im kinda guessing between a kentucky loar or eastman any suggestions or just list your top 5

[tkdboyd]

NFI, but this looks like it could be a winner (http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi?search_and_display_db_button=on&db_id=54032&query=retrieval)? It isn't brand new but looks like a good deal--plus we won't have to discuss QC issues from factories if you were to purchase a mandolin that had been recently set-up! ;)

[SincereCorgi]

That's a tricky price point, kind of in between the medium Pac Rims and the 'low-end high end' mandolins like Collings. If you could scratch together $1700, you could get a nice used Collings MT or Gibson A9 that could be a 'final' mandolin. Barring that, some of the Breedloves are still in that window (until the prices go up this year) and sound fantastic after they've been broken in.

[mrmando]

1920s Gibson snakehead A Junior.
Teens or early '20s Gibson A1, A2, A3 or A4.