the Rogue RM 100A in black (my Rogue) review ?.

[mandolin tony]

good question my friend, there feels like there is play in them or should I say some dead space were your turning them & it feels like nothing is happing.

[farmerjones]

A string going flat could also be one of the fingers/hooks in the tailpiece opening up. I've seen it happen before my eyes. Those stamped tailpieces are everywhere, but it's the hardness of the steel (aluminum?) that prevents the hooks from straightening out. New tailpiece from Stew-Mac is 13USD plus shipping. But an inventive soul can make a tailpiece out of a soup can, with tin-snips.

[mandolin tony]

I will look into the nut binding, & there is no screws in the middle of these tuners. I wish there was. right now I am dealing with this snow storm that is hitting NYC & long Island. I wish it were spring time an 70 degrees.

[Roger Moss]

I will look into the nut binding, & there is no screws in the middle of these tuners. I wish there was. right now I am dealing with this snow storm that is hitting NYC & long Island. I wish it were spring time an 70 degrees.

Do you mean no screws on the back of the headstock, or no screws on the flat part you turn? You can try to tighten the screws from the back of the headstock if they have removable screws. That might help your looseness when tuning.

[Alex Orr]

In terms of the money you've spent on the "lipstick" you could've probably found a used lower-end Kentucky on eBay or the Cafe classifieds that would sound much better. I mean...if you like it, I guess that's all that matters...but the handful of Rogue's I've played sounded like they might as well have had plastic bodies, nylon strings, and a Fisher-Price logo.

[Jeff Mando]

I got a headache, thinking about spending several times the original cost on "upgrades!" The charm of it, for me, is that it is a $50 instrument shipped to your door, which really makes it an instrument for $30, which puts it in the price range of harmonicas. Nobody expects it to be great for $30, but you can still have some fun with it. But, don't get me started on harmonicas, they were $3 bucks for years and last time I checked they are $30-50 each -- which is waaaaay too much, IMHO! Again, the "charm" was that you could jam with musicians for $3 bucks and carry your "axe" in your back pocket!

But sure, might as well buy the $50 strings and maybe a tone-gard for another $75!

[Jess L.]

... I already put a ebony McClung arm rest on it $50.00 plus a Morgan Monroe strap on it that was about $20.00. now the wait is on for the case sale at musicians friends, sooner or later that got to run that $29.99 sale. ...

In terms of the money you've spent on the "lipstick" you could've probably found a used lower-end Kentucky on eBay or the Cafe classifieds that would sound much better. ...

A used Kentucky might still need a strap, armrest, and case, unless it already had those things from some previous owner who chose to include them with the sale of the used item.

The OP has mentioned a couple of times that such easily-interchangeable items could be transferred from the Rogue to a different instrument at some point in the future. That seems like a sensible plan.

IMO: The other thing about used instruments, or used anything, is that one is taking the risk of "buying someone else's problem". There are all kinds of things that can go haywire with mandolins, including top sink, needing neck resets, cracked pegheads (often people don't notice the telltale hairline crack, when buying or selling), loose braces (or tone bars or whatever they're called), seam separations from failing glue joints, frets wore out and needing refretted, and minor things such as the fretboard being all gouged up from some previous player not keeping their fingernails trimmed (sigh). Etc.

True that the $50 Rogue doesn't have a lifetime warranty, but neither would a used Kentucky etc.

Seems to me that if a person is going to put any of their money at risk by buying something that's relatively fragile such as a musical instrument, it makes sense to either (a) buy a low-cost (as in, $50) *new* one so that if something goes wrong it you're not out very much $, or else (b) go all out and get a brand new higher-cost one with the longest warranty you can find.

That said, the only thing that IMO might be not be worthwhile doing (with the Rogue), would be expensive high-end strings. I have a $50 Rogue sitting right here next to me, and my impression of it has always been that it is not exactly the most responsive instrument (it's a laminate top, for one thing) and I don't think the Rogue would be able to utilize the extra responsiveness of high-end expensive strings. So, personally, I wouldn't bother spending a lot of money on a set of expensive strings for the Rogue, because (guessing) I don't think it would make a noticeable difference in tone.

One thing I have noticed about this Rogue and tone - it sounds better when played with a light touch. This Rogue does not respond well to hard playing or being thrashed - that just makes it sound shrill on the high strings and brash on the low strings. Whereas a light touch gives a more mellow sound. And also, don't play too close to the bridge - the tone is more harsh there. Of course when playing lightly, you're not going to get much volume out of it, unless whoever you're playing with allows amplification.

[pheffernan]

Seems to me that if a person is going to put any of their money at risk by buying something that's relatively fragile such as a musical instrument, it makes sense to either (a) buy a low-cost (as in, $50) *new* one so that if something goes wrong it you're not out very much $, or else (b) go all out and get a brand new higher-cost one with the longest warranty you can find.

Of course, one can mitigate that risk by securing a 48 hour approval period to inspect an instrument for problems and have it gone over by a local professional if necessary. And if financial risk is a concern, one must consider that a new instrument bought today will be a used one tomorrow and will generally depreciate significantly, often 30-40%. There's not much value to be lost on the Rogue obviously, but the drop on the brand new high-cost one might outweigh the comfort of its warranty.

[Hudmister]

There is a small music store in my city that is owned by a friend of mine. He sells new instruments but he also does consignment sales. I have sold a bunch of instruments and amps there. I have taken three Rogue mandolins there (not at the same time), but over the last couple of years and I've asked to get $50.00 out of each one. He hangs them on the wall priced at $75.00 and always sells them within a week, one sold the next day after I took it in. I've told him he can buy them online for $49.95 with free shipping but he never orders any himself. Not enough profit I guess but I always come out alright and the person who buys one I have owned always gets a good set up.

[lflngpicker]

Enjoy it, Tony! Love those black finished mandolins.

[Jeff Mando]

There is a small music store in my city that is owned by a friend of mine. He sells new instruments but he also does consignment sales. I have sold a bunch of instruments and amps there. I have taken three Rogue mandolins there (not at the same time), but over the last couple of years and I've asked to get $50.00 out of each one. He hangs them on the wall priced at $75.00 and always sells them within a week, one sold the next day after I took it in. I've told him he can buy them online for $49.95 with free shipping but he never orders any himself. Not enough profit I guess but I always come out alright and the person who buys one I have owned always gets a good set up.

I'm not sure I follow your motivation for buying the Rogues for $50 and then reselling them for $50? Were you hoping to find a "gem?" Or, are you buying them used for less than $50? Doesn't seem worth it to break even, IMHO.

[Roger Moss]

There is a small music store in my city that is owned by a friend of mine. He sells new instruments but he also does consignment sales. I have sold a bunch of instruments and amps there. I have taken three Rogue mandolins there (not at the same time), but over the last couple of years and I've asked to get $50.00 out of each one. He hangs them on the wall priced at $75.00 and always sells them within a week, one sold the next day after I took it in. I've told him he can buy them online for $49.95 with free shipping but he never orders any himself. Not enough profit I guess but I always come out alright and the person who buys one I have owned always gets a good set up.

There's no understating the value of a good setup, especially if you're a clutz with tools like me. I've ruined more than one nut trying to lower the first fret action. I can see people thinking a well setup instrument as being worth an additional $25, even a cheap one.

[mandolin tony]

thanks Dan, I bought it to learn how to set up a mandolin. but the dam thing didn't need any setup at all. an as for the so called $50.00 armrest I bought it from Dough about 2 years ago and never used it. I guess I can take it off just as easy as I put it on Surprise !!!. now to tighten up all the screws on the tuners & see what happens. but that will have to wait. my back is still killing me from digging out my drive way.

[mandolin tony]

thanks Dan, but this is not my first black mandolin. I have a black sycamore Morgan Monroe & a Eastman mahogany 404 oval hole that is a black top great mandolin.