First Major Upgrade Question

[Northwest Steve]

Note that Sam's Collings is a varnish mandolin and he is a terrific player. To my ear the upper end Collings mandolins (varnish) sound much different than the MT's. he Mt's are really nice mandolins but they have a distinctive sound and are not every ones cup of tea.

[Mr5150]

Ax

[samlyman]

Yes - the Collings does rock. It is one of the best mandolins I have ever been fortunate enough to play. It is the second MT2V made and was a NAMM show instrument 13 year ago. The Kentucky is not in the same league but is still a total pleasure to play!
Thanks for your kind words!

[samlyman]

Aw Steve... thanks for the kind words. Yes - the varnished Collings instruments are a notch or two above the MTs and MFs ... add to that 13 years of near-daily playing and you can end up with a real powerhouse of an instrument such as my 2005 MT2V. I personally know of a couple of folks that play super-high-end mandos that drool over my Collings (one plays a Gilchrist, one a Heiden, and one a Nugget) but I will never sell it and have lost all desires to go higher up the mando ladder.

[colorado_al]

If a Kentucky F is what you're after, grab this before someone else does
https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/121213#121213
Used KM-1500 with Cumberland Acoustic bridge and hard case for $1550

[Michael Shaver]

After the great search and help with you all on this forum, I pulled the trigger on a Kentucky KM-1500.
I emailed back and forth getting pictures and so forth with Brian who has the great KM-1500 listed in the classifieds here ( push it for him guys and gals)
I settled on a new KM-1500 that the Mandolin Store had that is absolutely gorgeous and according to the gang there has a great sound right out of the box.
They made me a deal i couldn't refuse and with such little difference $200 or so to my door, than what Brian needed for his 2013 model i couldn't pass that up.
The guys at the Mandolin Store were awesome, as was Brian who has a awesome mandolin and i have forward his info to several guys i know in the upgrade mode and i will continue to help Brian sell his and i hope everyone here will as well he seems like a Great guy !
I will follow with another post when i get the Kentucky KM-1500 on Saturday.
Thanks again to everyone for the direction and recommendations i really appreciate it !