Re: New to mandolin
Nothing much to add, just wanted to say hi and welcome. I started on a bowlback and it was a perfectly fine instrument to learn on, and you can get a used bowlback for about $100 give or take, you just have to worry about whether the neck is straight or if there are cracks that affect the sound -- your local pawn shop, Good Will/Salvation Army outlet or second-hand store might have some old mandolin hanging on the walls that might do if you look around. I picked up an old bandolim for $85 from a store that sold off what didn't sell at various area auctions and it's a perfectly fine gigging instrument (currently out on loan to a promising fiddle player). Plus relatives might be asked to be on the lookout for tag/garage sale instruments. Frankly, the old instruments I've mentioned are a chancy bag, but if you find something interesting, you can always take a photo and post it here and people will chime in on whether it's worth the money it's being sold at.
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1920 Lyon & Healy bowlback
1923 Gibson A-1 snakehead
1952 Strad-o-lin
1983 Giannini ABSM1 bandolim
2009 Giannini GBSM3 bandolim
2011 Eastman MD305
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