Kentucky KM-150 Questions

[Joshuak904]

Hi there, I am a newcomer to the mandolin world so bear with me if some of these questions come off a tad dumb.

I just recieved a KM-150 from Folkmusician as a gift, I spoke with Robert on the phone a day beforehand and he mentioned the great setup work he is known on these forums for, and he definitely sold me. The mandolin arrived well packaged and looks great. However, there are a few quirks with it I was hoping someone here might be able to help me with.

For one, the 2nd D string tuner is almost impossible to turn; it's almost abnormally tight, the rest turn okay but sometimes catch and need a little elbow grease to finish the job. Are tuners normally hard to turn on mandolins?

Second, I was told the setup would make the mandolin ring beautifully throughout the neck, and it does to my ears, open strings happen to have a nasty buzz from time to time though.

Third, the tailpiece is almost broken feeling, it slides on and off like butter and sometimes just having my forearm against it will knock it right off.

Again I am a beginner to all of this, so forgive me if these are all normal or common with all mandolins, but part of me thinks I may either have a lemon, or maybe this mandolin just wasn't looked over as well as it was supposed to be. Regardless, I'd love any advice and please let me know if I should consider exchanging this mandolin or not, I would hate to have to pay to ship it back as it was a gift, but I'd rather have a already great mandolin than one that needs some more work! :mandosmiley: Thanks for any help!

[Jim]

Call Robert

[Folkmusician.com]

The rough tuners are pretty common. The older versions of the KM-150 had somewhat sticky tuners, but these new ones do seem worse. So this part is normal for this model.

Were you able to reproduce the buzz? Does it happen on all the strings? Does it happen with varying pick attack or just heavy picking?

The tailpiece cover does sound like something I overlooked. Otherwise, I did spend a lot of time with this mandolin. Mandolins often become a blur with the amount I work on, but I recall this one pretty well. Mostly because I am still curious about this new version of the KM-150.

Get in contact with me monday (email or phone is fine) and I will get you a prepaid return label and will get you refunded. You won't be out any money. :)

[Astro]

Wow, thats great service !

To answer part of the OP question--Yes, you can expect entry level instruments to have cheap tuners and tail pieces and that they will be more inconsistent with QC.

Many mandolins in the entry level category will have cheap stamped tail piece covers that can drive you crazy. You can bend them into a degree of compliance or just do what I did and take it off and fashion your own with suede or leather or wood. (I used velcro strips on suede as a temporary fix and it works great).

If it only buzzs open, it could just be a nut slot issue.

Anyway, you are lucky to purchase from whom you did.

Welcome to MC and Good Luck

[Tim2723]

Hi Joshua and welcome!

Well, I guess you can't get a better response than you've gotten; that's the Cafe for ya!

The most important thing is not to let this set back discourage you. The world of mandolins can be a tricky place at the best of times, and dealing with entry-level instruments can be a lot harder than you might expect. They can have way more variability than the higher-level instruments. Don't blame Robert, but instead be happy that you chose to work with someone like him. He'll make everything right eventually.

Don't let this get you down. You're in good company and not the first to get off to a false start. Mandolins can just be tricky that way.

Welcome again!

[Folkmusician.com]

well...

Let's not blame Robert for the tuners.

We may or may not blame Robert for open string buzzing. I did play this some before it was boxed and didn't notice anything, but I would like to see it to see what the cause is.

I am all for blaming Robert for the tailpiece cover being loose! There is a good chance I did not specifically check this. :)

[Joshuak904]

I don't intend to blame Robert for anything, he's a great guy! We spoke on the phone last night and worked everything out, Robert's going to refund everything and I am going to weigh my options between another KM-150, or the slightly more expensive Loar LM-220 or KM-162 (I love the unique color) mostly because of the better hardware, for peace of mind.

Thank you all for the advice and support and welcomes, I look forward to my next purchase and I'll try not to be so picky next time!

[Phantoj]

^ sounds like good service!

I would recommend upgrading to the 220 or 162. Especially since you like the 162. I have a 150 and it's a pretty good little mandolinl, but the slight upcharge to the 162 is worth it, IMO.