Info on Alabama mandola??

[Rickymullen]

Hi there!! I'm looking to buy a used Alabama mandola and I can't find any info about them. Does anybody know the scale length? I found out that the alm40 has a solid spruce top and solid mahogany sides and back but that's all the info I could find. Anything extra info would be much appreciated! Thanks! - Ricky

[Escaped Cellist]

These prior discussions on Alabama mandolins might help a little

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...andolin-ALM50S

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...Alabama-ALM-20

[Rickymullen]

Hey sorry no, that didn't help. Looking for info on the mandola! Thanks though!! Cheers!

[bratsche]

First I've heard of them. I'm assuming you tried using the contact form on their website?

bratsche

[Rickymullen]

First I've heard of them. I'm assuming you tried using the contact form on their website?

bratsche

Yeah. I emailed Alabama and they told me me the info that I already knew.. when I asked about the scale length they told me they didn't know and would have to ask somebody else who is on holidays.

[mrmando]

The ALM40 appears to be discontinued.
http://alabama-music.com/alm40/

Apart from headstock shape, it LOOKS substantially like the same instrument sold in the US under the GoldTone brand:
https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/goldt...specifications

But looks can be deceiving. Solid spruce top is a good thing. The current Alabama mandola, the ALM35, has a maple top, which I doubt would be conducive to much acoustic volume.

Scale length on the GoldTone is 17-1/16"; the Alabama is likely to be somewhere in that vicinity.

But are you certain you should buy an instrument from a company whose employees can't find the specifications on the products they're selling?

[Rickymullen]

Hey thanks! I found the alm 40 used online and the owner doesn't know much about it! So just trying to find out more about it. I agree with the maple top. Might be too quiet for what I do. Thanks for the insight! Cheers!

[allenhopkins]

Gather you're looking at this Kijiji ad. For the price, I'd go for it. Alabama is an Asian-made brand distributed in Canada by Coast Music. I'd venture that Alabama instruments -- they offer a pretty full line of banjos and mandolins -- are made in several Chinese factories.

The solid-spruce-top ALM40 seems a good step up from the maple-top ALM35, and the price is pretty reasonable. One thing that gives a bit of a pause, is the general lack of info about Alabama instruments; I visited several sites where owners and prospective buyers were asking "Where was it made?" without many informed responses.

However, in the current instrument market, many North American distributors just establish a trademark, then contract with Asian factories to supply instruments to their specs, and branded with the trademark. The distributors can be pretty uninformed about exactly what they're selling, especially in the case of less expensive instruments. So -- you're taking a bit of a chance, but the specs and the price are pretty attractive. As I said, in your shoes, I'd go for it.

I'm fearless about spending other people's money...

[Rickymullen]

Gather you're looking at this Kijiji ad. For the price, I'd go for it. Alabama is an Asian-made brand distributed in Canada by Coast Music. I'd venture that Alabama instruments -- they offer a pretty full line of banjos and mandolins -- are made in several Chinese factories.

The solid-spruce-top ALM40 seems a good step up from the maple-top ALM35, and the price is pretty reasonable. One thing that gives a bit of a pause, is the general lack of info about Alabama instruments; I visited several sites where owners and prospective buyers were asking "Where was it made?" without many informed responses.

However, in the current instrument market, many North American distributors just establish a trademark, then contract with Asian factories to supply instruments to their specs, and branded with the trademark. The distributors can be pretty uninformed about exactly what they're selling, especially in the case of less expensive instruments. So -- you're taking a bit of a chance, but the specs and the price are pretty attractive. As I said, in your shoes, I'd go for it.

I'm fearless about spending other people's money...

Yup! That's the one! Yeah I think I'm going to go get it in the next week or so if it doesn't sell. I currently play a Trinity college octave mandolin but I want something a little smaller to carry around when I busk. And I play my octave with a cap on 5th alot so I might as well just get a mandola as well! - Ricky

[Bluebird_12]

I just picked up a used Alabama ALM30s with a Fishman M-100 pickup installed, Gator case and Tube-MP preamp for $250 CDN and I'm really loving it. It has solid spruce top and solid hog back and sides. I was surprised to find it also has a satin nitro finish.

I'm primarily a guitarist trying to ad a little 'sparkle' by learning the mandolin so no expert by any means but mine plays like a dream and sounds great as well.

[Bluebird_12]

Oops, sorry about reviving the zombie thread... didn't check the date.