A formal hello, and my "new" Kentucky KM1000 Black Top

[vanguard]

So I've posted a bit on here for help in my first mandolin search, but never actually said hello. Y'all were massively helpful in steering me clear of a few bad deals, and I've finally ended up with a 2012 KM1000 in lovely black. I got it here in the classified section from a really good shop that outfitted it with a Cumberland bridge, a pearl nut, and a James tailpiece, all of which are perfectly fitted. It took a while to adjust to the tiny vintage frets and slightly skinny (to me) neck, but I'm really loving it now. Bark and cut for days!

Really happy about the black top too; I prefer black in most everything, and my instruments are no exception. It's really cool these still have sunburst back and sides too, despite the black top. it's actually really hard to find blacktop mandolins as they seem to be made in much smaller numbers.

Anyway, happy to be here, and I plan to participate more regularly from here on out!

Cheers,

Matt

[SincereCorgi]

Great choice! High-end Kentucky's are good. Black tops with natural sides always look sharp to me, I'm just too lazy to keep the fingerprints off.

[Folkmusician.com]

Nice! I see it has the fingerboard extension scooped as well.
The black tops are scarce. My sales have been somewhere around 10 to one in favor of Sunburst.

[MikeZito]

+1 on a preference for black tops - perhaps the ratio of blacktops to sunburst would be closer if more blacktops were made . . . .

[vanguard]

- - - Updated - - -

Nice! I see it has the fingerboard extension scooped as well.
The black tops are scarce. My sales have been somewhere around 10 to one in favor of Sunburst.

Ah yes, forgot to mention they scooped the extension as well!

Yeah, the vast majority of folks want that classic Loar look. Nothing at all wrong with that, but I really like the "toughening up" a mandolin gets when it's blacked out.

[soliver]

I agree, I like the black and am really not a fan of the Sunburst finish, unless it is a very light tobacco color, changing grades within the same color range rather than all the way to black or really dark brown.

[Br1ck]

Nice mandolin for sure. Ought to keep MAS at bay for a while.

[Darren Bailey]

Big fan of Kentuckys and that looks an absolute beautey

[Zach Wilson]

Nice choice! I love that blacktop Kentucky

[vanguard]

Thanks for the friendly welcome, fellas. Yeah, I'm loving this mandolin. I'm shocked at how loud this little thing is! I've only messed around with flat top A-style instruments before this one--the carved red spruce is really something!

[lflngpicker]

Vanguard, I love the look of your KM-1000 Black Top mandolin! The scooped extension is a really great customization. Love those Kentucky master models! Congratulations and welcome!!!

[Eric Platt]

Beautiful looking mando! A black top, done properly, is a very nice thing. That one is done right. Enjoy.

[Br1ck]

A friend of mine owns Pava #1, a black top A style. He took it back to the Ellis shop where he was told that when they had something go amiss in the finishing process, they just made it a blacktop rather than sand it down to bare wood. I wonder if others do the same. I do lust over that mandolin.

[DavidKOS]

Nice! I see it has the fingerboard extension scooped as well.
.

Vanguard, I love the look of your KM-1000 Black Top mandolin! The scooped extension is a really great customization. Love those Kentucky master models! Congratulations and welcome!!!

Well, it's a nice mandolin in spite of the missing frets in the upper range...seriously nice instrument.

I have a similar black finished Gypsy jazz guitar, also a rare finish. The mandolin reminds me of it.