Mando Store to try before I buy?

[Dave Greenspoon]

Also House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park.

[mee]

Both of them carry mostly Eastman. Not much else.

Have you ever asked them? Because I bought my Gibson F9 new from them but I had to ask if they had Gibson's, they didn't keep them out in their acoustic room. They also had Collings at that time also hidden away. I suppose it is possible they no longer carry them. But the OP says he is looking for a new in $1400 range so Eastman would be more in his ballpark as far as a hands on. I don't know of any local Kentucky's for sale.

[Br1ck]

For that budget, it is an absolute no brainier to buy a used instrument. They just have that something extra over a Kentucky Master series mandolin, which is the only new instrument I'd consider.

A lot of nice A style mandolins are to be found in the classifieds.

[MikeEdgerton]

Time to put it in perspective, I know the OP. We frequent some of the same places. He's looking for a place he can try the mandolin before he buys it. That's why he's looking for shops with mandolins in stock. He says that in the first post. NJ is the center of his search area.

[Br1ck]

Ok, let's put it in perspective. To me going to a store with a limited supply of mandolins to try is counter productive when your object is to compareson shop. Even a store like Gryphon never has more than eight to ten Eastmans, which may seem like a lot, but leaves holes in the line, and I've seen very few master series Kentyckys there. The bonanza is that if you want a Collings or a Northfield there is a bunch, and then you go over the hill to Sylvan in Santa Cruz and play Weber, Pava and Girouard. Pretty good, and necessary IMHO.

So if you're not lucky to live where you can do this, a road trip is in order. I happened to be in Phoenix, so got to visit The Mandolin Store I got to play my way up the Kentucky chain, into the Northfield line and then Gbson and beyond. Invaluable.

The only real alternative is to place your mandolin fate into the hands of a good online dealer, and really, many are happy with the result.

[MikeEdgerton]

OK, so if the OP wants to try before he buys he shouldn't? I'm guessing, and this is only a guess that he's looking for the education that comes with experience. He's probably already figured out that there isn't a magical store hidden out here that has everything in stock.

[JerseyPicker]

With Mandolin Brothers gone, there seems to be a vacuum in the tri-state area that needs filling. Can someone please open a mandolin store in NJ for us? I promise I'll buy something!

[BeachMando]

Worth saving $200 more and taking a short flight to Elderly in Lansing or Carter's + Gruhn's in Nashville as some one suggested earlier.

Down here in Maryland there is House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, but their selection is extremely hit or miss.

[JerseyPicker]

Worth saving $200 more and taking a short flight to Elderly in Lansing or Carter's + Gruhn's in Nashville as some one suggested earlier.

Down here in Maryland there is House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, but their selection is extremely hit or miss.

I wish $200 would get me down to Nashville and back! Best I could find out of Philly was in the 350-400 range. Where are you finding $200 tickets?

[Pittsburgh Bill]

i wish $200 would get me down to nashville and back! Best i could find out of philly was in the 350-400 range. Where are you finding $200 tickets?

greyhound?????

[MikeEdgerton]

I wish $200 would get me down to Nashville and back! Best I could find out of Philly was in the 350-400 range. Where are you finding $200 tickets?

Check out of Mercer County Airport or AC. I haven't flown to Nashville in years.

[Jeff Mando]

I used to fly Philly to Nashville $88 each way. I googled "cheap flights philly to nashville" and yep they are still that cheap -- $54 to $100 each way -- Orbitz, Expedia, Kayak, Tripadvisor, etc.......no need to spend "real" money on airfare anymore, thanks to the internet. As long as you know your dates and can plan a couple weeks ahead and, granted, no frills........

I used to fly Memphis to Amsterdam nonstop for $399.............for example.....roundtrip!

Kind of tough to find a cheap hotel in Nashville that isn't a flea bag -- so you're probably back to $350-400 for the weekend......

[JerseyPicker]

I used to fly Philly to Nashville $88 each way. I googled "cheap flights philly to nashville" and yep they are still that cheap -- $54 to $100 each way -- Orbitz, Expedia, Kayak, Tripadvisor, etc.......no need to spend "real" money on airfare anymore, thanks to the internet. As long as you know your dates and can plan a couple weeks ahead and, granted, no frills........

I used to fly Memphis to Amsterdam nonstop for $399.............for example.....roundtrip!

Kind of tough to find a cheap hotel in Nashville that isn't a flea bag -- so you're probably back to $350-400 for the weekend......

I was doing it all wrong; picking dates that were too soon. Thanks for the tips! ...Now to convince my wife that we should visit Nashville for a 'vacation'.

[Bill Kammerzell]

I wish $200 would get me down to Nashville and back! Best I could find out of Philly was in the 350-400 range. Where are you finding $200 tickets?

I managed to work it into a vacation with the wife. I love driving.

[CES]

Find a concert she'd like to see there and make it a great weekend for both of you. My wife basically dragged me there to see Harry Connick, Jr, who, btw, cancelled his Friday night show for "stage issues," which may have been real...or not. IIRC, the Barenaked Ladies played Saturday night at the same venue without issue. Anyway, hit the strip Friday night, and rolled out of bed in time for mandolin tasting on Saturday. I think Beyoncé was also in town that weekend, in addition to the Ryman lineup. There's always good music of almost any variety to see in that town...

[Peter Coronado]

I'm not from the area, but what about Bernunzio Uptown Music in Rochester?

[MikeEdgerton]

I'm not from the area, but what about Bernunzio Uptown Music in Rochester?

Good suggestion, I'm surprised Allen didn't pop in with that one. As good as anything else but not much closer. It's still a ways up there even if it's the next state up.

[Timbofood]

It's kind of a wasteland out here actually

Try finding something in Kalamazoo!
Thank God for Elderly which is an hour and a half away.

[Willie Poole]

Picker`s supply in Fredericksburg Va. carries a huge stock of mandolins but they ain`t cheap..,, Chuck Levins doesn`t have much in the way of mandolin any more, I have a friend that works there and the store is slowly going "electric guitar" crazy...Much like Guitar Center...

Willie

[J.Albert]

My opinion only, but spending $500 or more for a road trip just to try mandolins in the $1,400 range ain't worth it. Particularly if you're looking only "for new" and not used.

Why not stay home, and put that $500 towards the mandolin, boosting your price point to $2,000 ? That opens up a wider "field of choice".

You need to settle on 3 or 4 brands within that range with target models that meet your price point.

Then, do some "online listening" -- as many samples of each item of interest that you can find. Many of the sound samples will be mediocre, but at least a few are going to be "clear and close" to what the instruments actually sound like.

Perhaps this can narrow you down to one or two "final candidates".

Then, pick a place within reasonable distance that carries that brand. Even if they don't have the exact item you're looking for, you can get a good idea of "what a brand feels like" by playing other mandolins they offer.

For instance, Collings A models are regarded to be very consistent from one to the next. Some may be better than others, but just about every one is at least "good".

I just don't see the point of wasting too much cash "looking" that could go into the instrument itself.

Again, my opinion only.

[Chuck Leyda]

At your price range I'm inclined to agree with J Albert.

A quick search found a Weber Gallatin, A 2004 Gibson A9, American Breedloves, and a Janish A5 right in your price range. I would think any of those would be pretty satisfying for around $1300. Moving up to $2000 brings in more mandos as well.

At some point diminishing returns set in (I've found around 3k) and "try before you buy" becomes the way to go. At your price range I would do your research and either save the traveling money or add it in to your budget. If you decide to move up the food chain then do your traveling for the lifetime instrument that suits your preference.

Of course that's just my opinion and experience. If you enjoy traveling to lots of different stores, meeting folks and sampling mandos, then there's value to that experience as well.

[Bill Kammerzell]

I was doing it all wrong; picking dates that were too soon. Thanks for the tips! ...Now to convince my wife that we should visit Nashville for a 'vacation'.

That's the ticket!

[bigskygirl]

Why not just try something from places that offer an approval period, if it’s not explicit on their website call and ask...Elderly (7 days), The Mandolin Store (48 hours), Greg Boyd’s (3 days), The Mando Shop (one week) all have approval periods and lots of sellers here offer an approval period. You’d be out shipping but you could gain some knowledge that way.

No need to sweat things too much at your price point, a nice Eastman or Kentucky would be fine, you’ll want to upgrade in the future anyway.

[Jeff Mando]

Approval period is great if you know what you want. OTOH, if you don't know what you want, it is impractical to buy and return, let's say 20-25 mandolins, just to hear how they sound. First, it would take a couple years to accomplish it, second there is always risk of damage in shipping, and thirdly after two returns in 30 days, no store is going to want to "sell" you another mandolin knowing that you will just return it. Nobody's approval period is that "nice!"

I look at a $500 cheapo vacation/trip as cheap tuition to gain education, perspective, and experience as to what is available in each price range -- a crash course, if you will. Then it will make more sense when you read an ad that says a certain Kentucky model has a "Gibson bluegrass sound" for example. Also, simple concepts like easy playing action and setup become more clear "hands on" rather than reading about it online. I think a trip is money well spent, IMHO.

[wellvis@well.com]

I don't know if this is too far or not, but the Fretted Instrument Workshop in Amherst, MA seems to have quite a collection of mandolins, and they've been very friendly when I was there.