buying my first mandolin

[mandomaybe]

Looking for some advice. I'm a guitar player adding mandolin. On a very small budget of $200 or so, which made a professional musicioan friend laugh. So while you snicker, please send ideas. I'm thinking about a Kentucky 250S. Saw a 19 yr. old 200S on ebay as well, a model now discontinued. The store I've been checking online suggested the 250S over a Rover that I read about. I know, I know, at this price level some folks say it doesn't matter, that no instruments are any good, but that's where my wallet is, and I figure some choice must be better than others. Expected use: adding mando fills to my own songwriting, plus jamming with old-timey friends, no bluegrass. Thanks.

[Potosimando]

In the MC ads there is a Johnson MA120--not bad at all if you put D'Addario J74 strings on it...but first have someone do a minimal set-up on it to get the bridge in the right place (unless the previous Owner already has had that done)--again, put the good strings on it ($5-8/set, depending on where you buy them). #I was surprised at how relatively respectable the MA120 sounded that I played; I have a pretty good ear and some awfully nice mandolins for comparison--didn't really stack up to mine, but still perfectly OK as a beginner mando...certainly sounded much more like a "real" mandolin than many of the mandos I have sampled over the years. #

For $105 (or $125 with gig bag) you will be ahead of your $200 budget and probably have something about as nice as the Kentucky 250s...depending on the particular MA120 and the particular Kentucky 250s as to which would be nicer, of course. #If you decided to spend all of your $200 budget, then you likely could get a full professional set-up (including nut and fret work), which would improve your "learning curve" immensely--time-wise and enthusiasm with respect to ease of playing. #The mandolin will sound right once the bridge is in the correct place, but still might be hard to play, or at least harder to play than if "set-up" properly. You can wait on the set-up decisions until you get the instrument and check it out.

If you get the Johnson without the gig bag, then email me if you'd like a brand-new, lower-quality lightly padded hard-shell case for $20 including shipping (will be more protective than the gig bag at exactly the same price for you). #My case is just an extra that's been lying around for several months--would be nice for me to pass it on to someone who needs it.

Regardless, good luck.

[Professor PT]

I've got a Fender A-style( all solid woods ) with a hardshell case for sale in the classifieds for around $200. If you're interested, let me know. It's a good mando to start on.

[fatt-dad]

HERE (http://home.comcast.net/~fatt-dad/mando4sale.html) are my mandolins for sale. Any one of these would be great for starting out. 48-hour approval if you don't like one - but you'll pay return shipping.

Send me an email if interested.

fatt-dad@richmond.com

f-d

[John Zimm]

I wish I had the money-I'd buy that Alvarez A-400. That looks like a nice little mandolin.

-John.

[fatt-dad]

I wish I had the money-I'd buy that Alvarez A-400. #That looks like a nice little mandolin.

-John.
It is beautiful in real life and has a beautiful tone. It amazes me how close it is modeled after the Martin mandolin.

f-d

[John Zimm]

It is beautiful in real life and has a beautiful tone. It amazes me how close it is modeled after the Martin mandolin.
I bet classical music would sound very nice on that Alvarez.

-john.

[morgan]

Keeep an eye in the classifieds for Thomas Flood, who routinely sells very inexpensive, fixed-up older flat-back mandos through the classifieds. He has one on there now for $175 that has a new top, so is perhaps better described as reborn rather than fixed up. I have no $ interest and have never dealt with Mr. Flood, but many of those old mandos sound pretty nice, are likely to be much less harsh than the cheap imports, and are probably set up better.

[bflat]

you'll keep it forever unless you give it away cause you won't sell it. that's a copy of a mando that few want the real one of. mandomaybe you are really scrapping the bottom with a $200 budget. $400 might find you a used mid-mo or tacoma that would serve you well but a carved top $200 mando is pretty much @#$@. if it wasn't it wouldn't be $200. your main concern should be to get something playable because at this price range its really hit or miss. alot of those old jap copies have tops that won't budge (ie no sound). some new models do make a noise but its typically very thin sounding. the older kentucky 675's weren't bad but tough to get volume from most. the newer import F's are a big improvement over the old stuff but you'll need about 500 min to go there. good luck.

[WireBoy]

a freind of mine got a Rover RM50b for $150. #it sounds great (for $150 bucks!)

[mandomaybe]

Thanks for all the thoughts. I found a reputable place about an hour away that has mandos I can't afford, but also a Mid-Missouri M-1 for $300. Any opinions on Mid-Mo's? or opinions on flat tops and oval soundholes? Thanks again.

[Hondo]

Get the Mid-Mo M-1! They're good solid instruments - search the board and you'll find numerous threads recommending Mid-Mo mandos.

[cutbait2]

hard to beat the Mid-mo, did you get to play it? mine had a nice neck shape, played easily, nice tone. and it is what it is, not a facsimile off something......

[cutbait2]

a Kentucky 380S just popped into the classified, worth a close look. NFI

[mandomaybe]

thanks for all the advice. Re the last post on the Kentucky 380S that is in the clasified: Folk of the Wood sells them new for $295, with what sound like good customer service policies. Anyone dealt with them, and is this a very good deal? (My apologies in advance if its not OK to comment on specific dealers in this message board.)

[Greenmando]

Folk of the Wood intends on the right customer service policies, but many feel they fall short. If you use the search function on this site and look for "Folk of the Wood" you will find a lot of complaints and a very few positive comments.

[cutbait2]

the 380 in the classf has some upgrades and a tuneup and they were the subject of positive reviews some time back. i would offer the guy a package price. he'll probably come down some depending on how fast he wants to move it. my experience is that he's probably already been lowballed a couple times.

[acousticphd]

The new prices on the Kentuckies come down by about a third a year ago or so when they moved production from Korea to China. If you're interested in the 380S in the classifieds, ask about its year and where it was made. IMO, that is probably a pretty good deal either way, given the upgrades and a good setup.

[John Zimm]

Okay, this may make some laugh, but why not look for a good bowlback? They have lovely sound, and you can run across some more reasonably priced ones. Plus, if you ever want to learn classical mandolin, no other style sounds finer than the bowlback.

-John.

[Martin Jonas]

I think the problem with recommending bowlbacks to first-time mandolin buyers is that while it is true that quality antique bowlbacks from top builders can be had (with a little luck) for the same price as a dismal laminate Asian A- or F-style, these low prices can only be obtain on Ebay. Unfortunately, buying bowlbacks on Ebay is fraught with dangers and good instruments are notoriously difficult to discern. I would never recommend anybody to buy a bowlback from Ebay unless they can afford to write the money off.

For a budget of $200, I think that a Crafter electro-acoustic is probably the best deal on the market. Their acoustic tone is a bit thin, but perfectly adequate for practising at home, and by all accounts they are great plugged in. I have had one in my hands, and the setup and playability were very nice; the mandolin looked indestructible as well. A distinctly non-traditional look, though, as well as the heaviest mandolin I've ever handled. It may well be frowned upon in an old-time jam. If you can stretch for the $300, the Mid-Mo should be a very good buy at that price!

Martin

[rhetoric]

I have a KY 250 and I love it. I bought it for about $150 on ebay and it's one of my favorites. All solid woods, (spruce top, maple sides and back) laquer finish and kinda pretty, if you ask me. We recorded with it recently (no, I'm not a professional) and it really rings -- great sustain.

Mando-snobbery is an aquired taste/condition. You could shell out ALOT more money (I see some have already encouraged you to do so) and people will be really impressed when they see you walking around with it, but no $10,000 mandolin is going to make you (a beginner) sound much better. And I'm guessing that as a beginner you'd be hard pressed to hear, feel, notice the difference yourself. I keep saying to my LMS owner, "I'll buy the Eastman when I can hear the difference." Someday I'll be able to hear the difference, but right now I just don't.

And hobbies are fun to grow into. Why do you want to rush right out and buy the best? Get a good, low budget mando (like the KY you suggest), learn and enjoy the fun of incremental MAS. Trading up is fun, even if it does cost you a few bucks. So some day I hope to be a snob -- that is, I hope to be good enough to really appreciate a good mandolin. In fact, I have a 1915 Gibson right now, but the KY plays easier and so the Gibson sits alot (no, it's not for sale). I have a virtually unplayed KY 350 (a 380 but the wood's not quite as pretty) that I'd probably be willing to sell near your price range. Feel free to zap me stewartp@roberts.edu

I had a bad experience with Folk. Great web page -- great info, but it took me months to get an eventually faulty mando and several more months to get a replacement. Lots of unmet promises, too.

[mandomaybe]

Thanks again for all the advice. I've had the chance ot play around with two mandos from friends: a Breedlove Quartz 00 (which I had to return, but nice instrument), and a very folky, old world looking Lonestar. It's light as a feather, feels like a toy. Their website says it has a solid cedar top and a stave back of sycamore and rosewood strips. Not a full bowl back, but sort of a slightly fat, rounded back. My friend doesn't need it, said to play it for as long as I want. So I put some medium gauge Martin strings on it, and I'm actually enjoying it so much that I might just hold off on buying anything. A very mellow, woody sound. It may be a piece of junk for all I know, but I'm enjoying it!!

On the other hand, I've been watching a Kentucky 200S, made in 1983, that is supposedly in very good condition, with not a soul bidding on it.?? Any thoughts on that vintage of Kentucky, and does anyone know the funky Lonestar I'm playing?? Thanks again.

[Martin Jonas]

On the other hand, I've been watching a Kentucky 200S, made in 1983, that is supposedly in very good condition, with not a soul bidding on it.?? Any thoughts on that vintage of Kentucky, and does anyone know the funky Lonestar I'm playing?? Thanks again.
1983 Kentucky 200S: These were made in Japan, and at least the higher-spec Kentuckys of that vintage have a much better reputation than the current models. However, the problem with lower range models is always that they tend to be less sturdy and also tend to have been more abused by previous owners. The 200S is around the middle of the range and so it is difficult to predict how well the one you're looking at has stood the passage of time.

For what it's worth, I have played a recent 380s extensively (gave it to my mother as a present last year), and when properly setup, they are lovely instruments which can be played well into the intermediate stage. In fact, all of Allan Alexander's (http://home.earthlink.net/~guitarandlute/renaissance_mandolin.html) CDs of renaissance/medieval music are recorded on a 380s.

Is your Lonestar like this (http://www.lonestarguitars.com/mandolin.html)? The "Venice" model looks very much like a somewhat more Latin interpretation of the "Portuguese" style mandolins that were popular in Germany in the first half of the 20th century and are still built in Romania and in the Czech Republic. This (http://www.troubadour.uk.com/mandolin.html) is a current Romanian version, which sells at $175 including shipping to the US. The Troubadours are all-solid-wood mandolins that are very nice for the price. Great for Celtic music and not at all bad for old-time. Your Lonestar may well have similar tonality.

Martin

[mandomaybe]

Final word:
Tried a Fender 53S, an Epiphone something, at one store. Then was able to play back to back a used Johnson 120, a new Rover 50, and the used mid-Missouri that drew me to the store. For my $300 the mid-Mo m-1, even thought is very plain looking and a few bucks more than all the others, was, to my ear, the best of the bunch at that shallow end of the price pool. Bought it, happy, thanks for the advice, all.

[Potosimando]

Congrats, Mandomaybe...Strings and picks make a huge difference in tonal quality--so now you can start experimenting (slowly over time...over a life-time it seems, for many of us). #Ask Mid-Mo owners here (and the maker, perhaps) what they like to hear, string-wise, on that model. #Just do the pick thing as time goes on--be sure to throw a Golden Gate and/or a Dawg into the mix at some point. #Again, congrats--have heard good things about Mid-Mo.

[Darren Kern]

Congrats, but now you've gotta change your name since it doesn't really apply anymore http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[jwsamuel]

Mandomaybe...I'm glad to see you got a mandolin. I am also a newcomer here and just got my first mandolin. I snagged the Kentucky 380S that was listed in the Buy/Sell section here. Now, I just have to learn to play it.

Jim

[John Bertotti]

mandomaybe just out of curiosity, how does it compare to the lone star in sound quality? John

[Lee]

Way to go Mandomaybe!
It's great to read that your ear steered you to the Mid-Mo. Trust your ears, they will serve you well.
Yes, tell us what you think of the Lonestar after playing the others. Don't hold back now...

[jasona]

Lonestars aren't that bad...for $100. They sound a little too guitarish for my ears, but they are good to learn on IMHO

The Kentucky mandolins really don't sound bad. Really most mandolins like that don't sound bad...... just not as good as the higher up you go.