mike dulak story

  1. billkilpatrick
    how i came to own my m-4 is story of considerable, big-hearted generosity.

    while cruising elderly instruments site one time, i saw a used mid-missouri mandolin for sale for just under $300 - its low price accounted for by a small crack in the back. i wrote to mike saying that if he would repair the crack (for however much it cost) i would buy it and ask elderly to forward it to him. he agreed; i bought the mandolin and elderly posted it. after inspecting it on its arrival, however, mike wrote to say it was really too far gone to repair and would be much easier for him to simply replace it.

    i swallowed hard and wrote back ... "how much?"

    "no charge" was the reply.

    turned out that an m-4 had been returned from a dealer because the chock of wood supporting the keyboard extension over the soundboard had come loose - he glued it back in place and sent it onto vermont to await my anxious little fingers on my next trip to the states.

    nice guys - honorable craftsmen ... they exist!

    - bill
  2. dougiebe
    dougiebe
    Great story and not the first like it I've heard. I've never dealt with Mike but I understand that he is quite the stand-up guy. It makes me love my beat up M-1 even more! I live only a couple hours from his shop and may pay them a visit some day.
  3. billkilpatrick
    if you ever do make it down to mike's, please bring him my warmest regards - tell him he's got a fan club happening here at the cafe. from an "image" search on google for "mike dulak," i see that he's into playing violin with various bands. i suppose if mandolins are your business and you make (however many of them) a day, a violin affords something of a relief.
  4. richieb
    richieb
    Hi guys, I'm just signing up. I'm not a mid-missouri owner yet, but Mr Mike is in the process of makng me a left-handed model to order. I had quite a lot of communication with him, he's, witty, a great guy and willing to go the extra mile for his customers. I'm having a couple of extra's done on my order, which may take a little longer. So Mike say's to me, hey I can loan you something to use in the meantime if you need it.

    I politely declined as a have perfecty functioning "beater mando." But I thought to myself "can you believe this guy?" Who is willing to trust a stranger in this day and age?

    I live a few hours away from mid-missouri and plan to go down there in the next month or so to meet Mr. Dulak and see his shop. I plan on bringing a camera and post a full write up when I get back.

    In the mean time, keep pickin' and play nice!

    Richie
  5. 8ch(pl)
    8ch(pl)
    When i boght my M-4, I was not happy with the action. I emailed Mid Missouri and asked if they could sell me a couple of spare bridges, in varying heights. They sent me 3 Ebony bridges and no charge.
  6. bmac
    bmac
    I bought my Mid-Mo M1 from Mandolin Brothers shortly after having had a stroke. I was now blind and had very little balance so I bought a mandolin so that if I fell over it was more likely to survive the fall than a guitar. By the time my balance came back and I had learned to love my mandolin. It is really a work horse and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a quality first mandolin. I think it is a fine mandolin for any dedicated player. I know nothing about its compeditors in its price range but this is one fine sounding and really tough mandolin.

    Bart
  7. JeanM
    JeanM
    I wanted a hardshell case for my M-0. Called Mike to place the order. I asked how soon he would ship it after he received my check. His response, "Oh, I'll ship it out today." Absolutely amazing. He did ship it that day; and I mailed my check at the same time. I don't think there's another soul in the world who would be that trusting. I love having the hardshell case for my mando as I travel with that one and I prefer that it be as protected as possible. . . . and I can't speak highly enough about the pleasure of doing business with Mike.
  8. mulemd
    mulemd
    I also had a great experience dealing with Mike as well.Trusting, talented and humble
  9. FatBear
    FatBear
    As I mentioned in a different post, I was exchanging some emails with Mike about changing my tuners. Well he was apparently not satisfied with computer bits, so he followed my email domain to my business and called there asking to talk to me. They forwarded the message, I called him back, and we had a very long and pleasant chat about mandolins, fishing, workmanship, small business ownership, etc.

    For anyone who is here because they are thinking about buying an instrument, consider that every one of them has a soul of its own. To get one made by a truly good soul like Mike gives it a really good head start. He really does seem to care. And if you deal with him directly I have no doubt that he will make you the best instrument you can get for your money.

    After struggling for some years, I recently started with a mandolin instructor. When I showed up with my instrument he was very curious. His eyes really lit up when he played it and pronounced it "magnificent". Of course he may have been exaggerating a bit because I was a new student, but he has been very honest about ever single other thing we've discussed. He also asks to play it at least once during every session, even though his is a fancy (but well used) F-5.
  10. Mike Scott
    Mike Scott
    I recently noted a small crack in the back of my MW-0. It was less than two years old (the label states a 2 year warranty). I emailedl Mike and he replied back quickly saying that he pretty much stands behind his product for as long as needed (so much for the 2 year deal). Sent it off and he fixed the crack and returned it the same day he got it. Nice job-can't tell the crack was there if you didn't know (not through the wood). Amazing product and an equally amazing honest guy too. Refreshing to see.
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