Another Beginner Thread...

[Missinova]

Hi Everyone,

I've been wanting to learn to play the mandolin for years now, and finally decided that now is the time to move forward with it.

I've been doing research about brands and quality, but from what I can tell... a lot is very subjective.

I'm looking for a mandolin now... have a budget of around 500 dollars. From what I can tell there are several brands that have quality mandolins that will fit into my budget. I live in Canada, so my challenge is finding something I don't have to fool with duty and importation costs that will add hundreds on top of my costs. So I'm keeping an eye out on the classified ads, and checking out the Canadian stores.

My question is that there seems to be an infinite amount of brands out there... Is there some that are inferior quality that I should stay away from?

I'm leaning towards Kentucky or Eastman; however finding one locally is pretty much not happening at the moment... I see many other brands, Stoney Creek, Alabama, etc... but just haven't read anything indicating these are good/bad etc.

I'm trying to be patient and wait for the right one to come along... but its getting harder every day to not compromise and buy something that I can get my hands on right away.

Any ideas?

[Michael Richmond]

In that price range you are safe sticking with a Kentucky or Eastman. As you've probably read in other threads, an A-style will usually get you more mandolin for a given price point. There are very few F-styles below $500 that are worthwhile. No matter which brand you go with, the playability of a mandolin is dependent on having a good luthier setup the instrument.

I started playing mandolin myself about 12 months ago. The setup on my first mando wasn't very good. The result was that I struggled to play simple chords and got rather discouraged. After having a local luthier do a basic setup it was much easier to play so I ended up playing more.

Don't forget to get yourself a handful of different cheap picks so you can experiment with what works for you. I've found myself moving through different types of picks over the year, including: Dunlop Tortex Standard 1mm, Dunlop JD Jazztone 207, Jim Dunlop Americana (triangular), Golden Gate tortoise. Each of these picks are a dollar or two. Pick selection is a rather personal thing that will change as you develop as a player. But starting around 1mm thickness to deal with the tension in mandolin strings seems like a good starting point.

[John McCoy]

Missinova,

Welcome to the Mandolin and the Cafe and the Forum.

I don't know where in NS you are, but if it's convenient you might want to phone up the Halifax Folklore Centre. They don't normally carry new Kentuckys or Eastmans, but they do take mandolins in trade, so they might have a used instrument you'd like. Obviously, you'd need to pay them a visit to know for sure.

Their specialty is (or, was at least) fretted instruments.

Good luck. :)



== John ==

[Missinova]

Thanks for the replies...

I'll be giving Halifax Folklore a call today...

They have very limited hours, so I'll need to see how I can make it over there.

Thanks again for the advice.

[JEStanek]

12th Fret (http://www.12fret.com/a-history-of-the-twelfth-fret-page-50) is also in Canada and has mandolins and mandol in knowledge.

Jamie