After several months of consideration, I finally pulled the trigger on a new Kentucky KM-272. The mandolin arrived this past Monday, and I have been playing it consistently ever since. With that in mind, I thought that I would share some of my initial thoughts about the instrument - especially since there seem to be very few (if any) reviews on the internet:
Construction and Aesthetics: Upon reasonable inspection of the mandolin, I can find no significant problems with fit, build, or finish. To be quick and concise, it should suffice to say that this is definitely a higher-end Chinese-built mandolin. I was first attracted to this mandolin because the look of the mandolin reminds me very much of my beloved 1929 Martin Style-20, and other similar Lyon & Healy mandolins from that era. Personally, I like to be 'different' - and this mandolin certainly looks and sounds 'different' than the scores of f-hole, sunburst and/or F-5 style mandolins that seem to permeate the mandolin world.
Neck: Having never owned and/or played a Kentucky mandolin before, my only impressions came from fellow Café members who seemed to form a general consensus that Kentucky's have 'thick necks . . . and this instrument most certainly follows that apparent pattern. (Note that a 'thick' does not mean 'wide' - the girth is vertical from the fretboard-down, and not horizontal from side-to-side). For comparison sake, I will say that this neck is substantially 'thicker' than my Gibson, Washburn, Martin and The Loar - but very, very similar to my Eastman. To be honest, I found the thick neck a bit off-putting in the first moments of playing it, but even with my smallish hands/fingers, I easily adapted to it in less than 45 seconds.
Action / Playability: After a proper set-up from the seller, the action on this mandolin is smooth, easy and consistent, all the way up and down the neck, with no dead spots. I think it is worth noting that, even though I play with a very light touch, the strings on this mandolin are not necessarily set as low as possible - and even with the strings at a slightly elevated level, I can still play it lightly, and have no problem with easy fretting. One of the nicer features about this mandolin is that the neck joins the body at the 14th fret, not at the 10th fret like most other 'A'-style/oval-hole mandolins. Although I don’t often play much above the 8th or 9th fret, on those occasions when I do need to get up higher on the neck, the extra access comes in very handy.
Tone/Volume: With a price tag of $400, I was not expecting the 'woody' tone of a vintage Gibson oval-hole mandolin, but overall I would have to say that I am very satisfied. The volume and tone are very well balanced from string-to-string, without any distracting 'tubbiness' on the low end, or excessive sharpness on the high end. While I would not classify this mandolin as a 'banjo killer' I can say with complete confidence that the volume is very comparable to my Gibson F-5G. The sweet spot on this particular instrument seems to be 'A' and 'D' stings, when played from about the 4th to the 10th frets. The most astounding feature about this mandolin is the sustain . . . although I am really not sure if you would call it 'sustain'. Yesterday while playing a piece that relied heavily on the mandolin 'sweet spot' mentioned above, I noticed a type of reverb/echo coming from the instrument. My first instinct was to reach over and turn down the reverb on my amplifier . . . but the mandolin was not plugged in! The reverb sound was a totally natural acoustic effect coming from the sound hole. I was blown away! I have never experienced anything like this from any acoustic instrument that I have ever owned . . . and trust me, I have owned LOTS of them.
Overall Impression: I have played other imported mandolins that were literally twice the price of the KM-272, but were not half as good. If you are looking to get into a decent oval-hole mandolin at a price that won't put a huge hole in your bank account, I would highly recommend checking out a Kentucky KM-272.
I hope this helps.
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