Hello to all , I am a wannabe mandolin player, main problem is I am left- handed. My main instrument is guitar and I mess about on my friends righty F-9 mandolin. I am in the market for a high quality F model such as gibson , collings , weber etc. new or used , up for discussion if anyone has instrument or info . Thanks Bob Sault
Bob, First of all welcome to the wonderful world of mandolin playing. You won't regret taking it up and will be addicted in short order. I have found that their are a good many very nice new and used lefty mandolins online. I got my Collings MT at www.acousticmusicworks.com from Steve Miklas. I currently have a lefty Bourgeois Slope D guitar awaiting me there as well as soon as I get the rest of the cash. I have gotten excellent service from him on both purchases! Jerry's lefty instruments (www.jerrysleftyguitars.com) has some as do the Mandolin Store and Folk of the Woods. You won't go wrong with any of the brands you have mentioned. Good luck and let me know if I can help!!!
Hello Roger,thanks for the info. The 12th Fret in Toronto has a lefty Collings MT but I think I will stay with the F models , by the way are you familiar with the Weber F models . The Mandolin Store has a lefty in stock.
You probably already have one by now, but I do know that Colling will be more than happy to build a left-handed model to your specs. I had them price out an MT2V for me and it was about $4000. Wait time would be four to six months.
Hello Marni and thanks for the reply. As of yet I have still not bought a Collings F model mandolin. I have a bit of a problem having to special order an F style Collings. Dealers have no problem carrying the COLLINGS MT lefty model but will not go a little further and stock a COLLINGS MF or MF5 . If there was said item on the shelf I would have bought by this time.
Ooh, I realize now I did not give enough info! My discussion with Collings (via registered dealer) was for an A model, not an F. When I decided to upgrade my mando, I also decided to let go of my scroll envy and spend my $$ on the quality of the build, not the scroll. If you have your heart set on an F, I totally understand! Have you considered finding a luthier to build what you want? I researched many, determined what was in my price range, and went with Ken Ratcliff of Silver Angel Mandolins. He is working right now on my lefty A model. He would also be happy to build a lefty F model. I was in the pipeline for about 3 months before he got to my build order, which I felt was quite reasonable. Many luthiers have a wait time of two years or more. If you go custom, you can select the specs for many elements; nut width, tuners, tailpiece, binding, type of finish (varnish, lacquer), stain color, sunburst or not, etc., etc. You can find information about many trusted, reputable builders here on the Cafe.
