As a beginner mandolin player, what should I look for?

[anna_dc]

Wow, thanks for the great advice everyone! I hate thinking about spending so much on an instrument but now I understand that upping my budget would be best. Its just hard for me right now because I don't live near any good music shops and don't have a car, so thats why I was posting listings from Amazon. I'm going to keep looking online but at brand sites until I find a few models I would be comfortable with and then start looking for a good used mandolin at a reasonable price (I'll be able to shop around more in May when I get my car back- long story).
But again thank you all so much! You have good advice and were very welcoming to the community! I'm so excited to get started but will slow things down so I get a good value and not just what I can find that is cheap and would get quickly.

[almeriastrings]

There are some genuinely reputable and reliable mail order suppliers who sponsor this site. You can deal with these with confidence, they'll see you right, whatever the budget. They understand mandolins and know what has to be done to make them playable. It is worth buying from such a source, because if you buy one elsewhere and it has not been set up right (or at all, most likely) then you are looking at finding a specialty luthier and paying quite a lot extra to have it done....

[Josh Levine]

Try looking at guitar centers used gear. They give a 30'daynreturn period and if you have a local gc you can return it there.

[John Kinn]

This is your best bet. Go for it! And good luck!

http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/DEAL4.htm

[anna_dc]

**

[anna_dc]

If you have to stay under $200, you can get an all-solid-wood Rover RM-50; it's not carved, like the Kentucky KM-150, but it's not plywood either. Rover is another brand of the big Saga organization, like Kentucky, and with a proper set-up (see almeriastrings' post above), a decent learner instrument.

Limiting to $200 is, well, limiting, as you can see from the posts above; quite a bit available $250-400, not so much below that. Set-up's crucial, more so that construction (IMHO), 'cause many of us learned on really crummy mandolins, but a bad set-up has scared off quite a few beginners. If you got the Rover you'd have some $$$$ left over for a case, tuner, instruction book, beer, whatever.

I really like the Kentucky-150 and am looking for a good price on a new one. If that doesn't work out though would I really be ok with the Rover? I'm liking the idea of having some leftover cash(:
If I chose this option where would you recommend I buy it? I know they sell it on Amazon but I don't know if buying an instrument from them would be the smartest choice.
Thanks again for the advice!

[NursingDaBlues]

I really like the Kentucky-150 and am looking for a good price on a new one. If that doesn't work out though would I really be ok with the Rover? I'm liking the idea of having some leftover cash(:
If I chose this option where would you recommend I buy it? I know they sell it on Amazon but I don't know if buying an instrument from them would be the smartest choice.
Thanks again for the advice!

Click this link; it will take you to the site that allenhopkins recommended. BTW, Elderly Instruments is quite reputable and helpful.
http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/RM50.htm

[KEB]

If you're hesitant to spend the cash on a KM-150, I promise you that it'll be hard to beat the value in terms of dollars per hour of entertainment and life enrichment than you'll get out of an instrument that you'll love.

I was in the same boat and I went cheap with my first mandolin -- a Savannah that was about $250 and could be found for about $100-150 if I was a savvier shopper. I'd guess I spent maybe 5-10 hours per week with it for 6 months-- let's say a total of maybe 170 or so hours-- that works out to about $1.50 per hour! I upgraded after that to an eastman that was about $700... and I've played it for about 4 years now! Thousands of hours of fun making new friends, figuring out new stuff, making noise...

Guess I'm working on justifying a few thousand for a new Pava.

[barney 59]

No matter where you start though you'll end up looking for a Gibson "Loar" but might have to "settle" for only a Gilchrist,in our dreams, like the rest of us!

[Baron Collins-Hill]

I'm with John Kinn! I always recommend the Elderly Instruments package to my students. I've had several buy the kit and they have consistently blown me away. Great setup, comes with a case, tuner, strings, etc, and free shipping.

http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/DEAL4.htm

More of my personal thoughts on the matter here:

http://www.mandolessons.com/getting-...ng-a-mandolin/

Thanks,
Baron

[NursingDaBlues]

I really like the Kentucky-150 and am looking for a good price on a new one. If that doesn't work out though would I really be ok with the Rover? I'm liking the idea of having some leftover cash(:
If I chose this option where would you recommend I buy it? I know they sell it on Amazon but I don't know if buying an instrument from them would be the smartest choice.
Thanks again for the advice!

Just my opinion, but….

Let me start by saying that mandolins are beautiful instruments—in looks, in sound, and in the way they make you feel. Mandolins also have personality; rather, each make, model, and style of mandolin has its own unique personality that appeals to and attracts people who appreciate that personality. That’s why throughout this forum you find so many posts touting the benefits and joys of any given brand; the brand being advocated probably has a personality that appeals to that individual.

However, not everybody who picks up a mandolin will become a mandoholic (like many of us who post on Mandolin Café). Hard to believe, but it’s true. For example, at a music school that is near to me, one of the beginning mandolin classes may have 15 students at the start of any given semester; it usually dwindles down to four or five by the end of the semester. But those that stick…well, they usually become avid mando players for life.

Who knows why some people take to a mandolin while others lose interest and just wander away. Maybe it was the instructor or the method/style of instruction. Maybe it was personal motivation. Maybe it was the instrument. The right combination can make you love the mandolin and all that it represents. On the other hand, the wrong combination can turn you away or turn you off.

It’s important to realize that at the very beginning of a mandolin journey, the initiate needs to do whatever they can to get the right combination of instruction, motivation, and instrument in place. In other words, give the mandolin a fair chance. In the beginning, if you are truly motivated to learn (for example, making time daily to explore the mandolin and how to make it sing for you) and you’ve got some instructional opportunities (whether book, on-line, DVD, or in-person teacher) that make it easy for you to learn, then the name on the mandolin isn’t so important.

Yes, the brand can and probably will make a difference in your appreciation of the instrument. But, as contradictory as this may sound, the brand/model will not necessarily dictate your enjoyment of playing a mandolin. I have known several folks who chose to invest in a less expensive instrument. Maybe theirs didn’t sound as good or play as easily as a more expensive mandolin, but their personal motivation and the instruction that guided them on their journey was enough to stoke the fires of mandolin appreciation. After a while you will, like my friends, start realizing what kind of personality you are looking for in a mandolin. Maybe then you’ll start considering another mandolin purchase. Or, maybe, you might even find that the mandolin you purchase today has all the personality you’ve ever hoped for.

Having said all that, make sure you give whatever mandolin you select a reasonable chance to provide you joy. Do what so many in this thread have recommended and ensure that the mandolin is set-up properly. A reputable retailer like Elderly Instruments can do that for you (no financial interest, by the way).

So purchase what you can comfortably afford (in my opinion, the Kentucky and Rover recommendations are solid). Make sure it’s set-up properly. Find some good instruction that will get you going and keep you interested. And stay motivated.

I wish you luck and success in your wonderful mandolin journey.

[Perry Babasin]

No financial interest but it would behoove you to purchase from a dealer that includes a basic set-up as part of the purchase price. Elderly is very good and so is the Mandolin Store...

http://themandolinstore.com/product/...-with-gig-bag/

[MysTiK PiKn]

Wow, Anna drops in, says 29 words, and another thousand posts go up.

There's no rush, Anna. There are 1000000 mandolins out there.

Elderly is a good place to window shop, cos they have LOTS of real pretty pix of everything.

[allenhopkins]

...If I chose this option where would you recommend I buy it? I know they sell it on Amazon but I don't know if buying an instrument from them would be the smartest choice. Thanks again for the advice!

Off the top of my head, I'd buy from Elderly Instruments; they list the RM-50 here at $155. Elderly does shop set-up and they're really reliable, have good customer service.

You only save $18 buying from Amazon, and a pro set-up will cost you over $50.

Robert at folkmusician.com also has the RM-50 for $180; he's a Cafe´sponsor and frequent contributor to this site.

[Ed Goist]

...snip...Robert at folkmusician.com also has the RM-50 for $180; he's a Cafe´sponsor and frequent contributor to this site.

^ - That's the ticket right there.

[Jim]

+ 1 for the Rover RM 50. I've played and done setup on a couple and they were nice playing and sounding Mandolins.

[enri]

If you're hesitant to spend the cash on a KM-150, I promise you that it'll be hard to beat the value in terms of dollars per hour of entertainment and life enrichment than you'll get out of an instrument that you'll love.

I was in the same boat and I went cheap with my first mandolin -- a Savannah that was about $250 and could be found for about $100-150 if I was a savvier shopper. I'd guess I spent maybe 5-10 hours per week with it for 6 months-- let's say a total of maybe 170 or so hours-- that works out to about $1.50 per hour! I upgraded after that to an eastman that was about $700... and I've played it for about 4 years now! Thousands of hours of fun making new friends, figuring out new stuff, making noise...

Guess I'm working on justifying a few thousand for a new Pava.

Hi everybody, I'm Enrico from Italy. I came too from the acustic guitar...I decided the mandolin cause I love the sound, the fingering and the Irish tunes that I can do on it (at least, that I *want* to do).

It was discussed elsewhere too, but was not mentioned here. What do you think about the Gretsch new yorker 9311 as a beginning instrument?

Thank you!

[allenhopkins]

Hi everybody, I'm Enrico from Italy....What do you think about the Gretsch new yorker 9311 as a beginning instrument?...

A recent thread on the subject, with mixed reviews. It's all-solid-woods, all mahogany, heat-pressed (not carved) top and back. Has a Fishman piezo pickup, which is irrelevant to a student (probably), possibly useful later. The 9310 is the same instrument but without the sunburst top and the pickup.

If you can get one inexpensively, and if it's properly set up, you could certainly learn on it. Mahogany is not the normal top wood for a mandolin, do don't expect great sound projection, but I'd say it's an OK "beginning instrument."

[enri]

Thank you for the answer.
Probably one good option to start playing with my band (when I will be ready).
I hope 370 euros with bag.

:D