Originally Posted by
Dalmatino
Actually I didn`t go with that one at the end. I went with Afanti A-style mandolin. The same one somebody here on this forum has already bought. But I got it from Afanti factory instead from Pango factory. I even caught it on sale. Strange thing is that mandolins made in both factories have Afanti name on it. I found out some other details about production of these, but not sure who to trust.
The bottom line is - I am happy with the purchase. I am novice mandolin player, just starting to learn, but I have lots of experience with woodworking and I even have built several instruments on my own ( couple of guitars and ukulele) and mandolin is next on my list. So I can witness from that point of view. The mandolin is built like a tank. In a positive way. Feels really solid and I don`t see many weak spots. I think it will last a lifetime. The spruce top has really dense grains. And its shaped perfectly. BAck of the mandolin as well. To tell you the truth its so perfect that I doubt it was hand carved. I assume it was CNC machine that did it. I don`t think it has been molded because the spruce top is too thick for that. I don`t think it would withstand bending so much. I looked through the F-holes and its very neat from the inside too.
I did a bit of a setup. Fretboard was dry like that guy said and I oiled it. As I did that, some cracks in the wood were visible, but as soon as the oil dried,the cracks disappeared.
The bridge needed some sanding before it sit perfectly on the body. It came separate. I tuned it and the tuners are holding the tune very well. On the close inspection one can see few detail imperfections like the saw trace next to few frets - someone has missed the line I guess, but its really minor. Also there are a few visible glue stains where the neck meets the body. But its really all very minor. The overall impression is that the woodworking is of a good quality and the instrument looks neat and clean. I have a good recording equipment so if you are interested I can post some sound clips and photos as well.