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Thread: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

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    Default Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    I've been seeing a few shops online with house brand mandolins and I've been intrigued. Some of them share some characteristics and as I looked into it, it appears that they source their instruments from the same builder in China. It appears that the Chinese builder sells online directly as well. The brand is Afanti from the Pango instrument factory.

    Of course the mandolins that are sold through shops have custom inlay and logo, and maybe a different tailpiece or tuners or bridge or something, and are also setup by the shop, some even claiming to "tap tune" them. The shops sell them for $1000 to $1300 for the A styles, and $1200 to $1500 for F styles. One shop also sells them with the factory branding for about $100 less than their shop brand. Anyhow, I'm not naming names, and I'd ask you to refrain as well, since I have not dealt with those shops nor have I seen the quality of their setup.

    One other note before digging in, I'm sure that the USA shops that sell these as a house brand provide some sort of warranty that might be worth something. The Chinese direct route claims to have a warranty, but who knows if it is valid or if you'd be out the time and expense of shipping an instrument to China for repair.

    So, I ordered one from the builder off of their ebay listing for $585
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Top-Handcra...17/17341576875
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I picked the Honey with Tortoise binding. I e-mailed with the builder and their rep said that they are hand carved, solid wood. I'm guessing that they are initially CNC cut and hand finished, but maybe not.
    This model comes in several colors with different binding colors as well.
    They do make cheaper mandolins with laminate wood, so be aware of what you are looking at if you choose one of their other models.

    It took several weeks for the order to arrive from China, but it was very well packed and arrived unscathed.

    I unpacked it and was pleasantly surprised by the build quality. The 1 thing I did not expect was the fretboard was very dry, but a bit of fretboard oil took care of that.

    Anyhow, here's a video review. I'll add more later when I have time:

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    Apologies for sound quality. Recorded by my phone.

    Last edited by colorado_al; Dec-16-2018 at 5:33am.

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    Gummy Bears and Scotch BrianWilliam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    Hey Al, nice work. How do the afanti stack up to the Kentucky master models?

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianWilliam View Post
    Hey Al, nice work. How do the afanti stack up to the Kentucky master models?
    Thanks! I'm not sure how it compares to Kentucky KM-900 and above since I don't have any to compare to side by side. If memory serves, the Kentucky master models have pretty tight and focused bluegrass sound, and the Afanti has a deeper, broader sound. The Afanti is very loud and provides a nice dynamic range. I'll try to post some quieter pieces.

    Here's a video of a quieter piece that illustrates the dynamic range a bit.
    Last edited by colorado_al; Dec-16-2018 at 2:46pm. Reason: added video

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    Also, I think the link I posted to the ebay page was wrong.
    I think this is it:
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Top-Handcra...7/173415768751

    Here's a listing of mandolins they sell on ebay so you can get an idea of what they have:
    https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_ssn...fLoc=2&_sop=15

    Some have flat fretboards, some have walnut, some have cloud tailpieces, etc.

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    That was pretty gutsy to order an instrument direct from China without seeing or hearing it, but it sounds like it worked out very well for you

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    Quote Originally Posted by DaveGinNJ View Post
    That was pretty gutsy to order an instrument direct from China without seeing or hearing it, but it sounds like it worked out very well for you
    I'd heard good things about the instruments as house brands, but I also didn't want to spend too much to check it out so I went wiht an A style. $585 seemed reasonable and I'm really happy with the result! So much so that I ordered an F style from them today. It should be here in about 3-4 weeks. I'll report back once it arrives.

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    Just an update, I played the Afanti at a jam last week and the other mandolin players asked about it. I passed it around for all to try and they liked it. Was the loudest at the jam, but as I said, I'm not known for a light touch.
    Also, the Afanti F5 has arrived and is waiting for me to return from the road to check it out.
    I'll post a review once I've set it up.

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review


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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    Thanks for this review, and the F5 review too. I appreciate it. So much so that I'm considering putting one of these on a shortlist of instruments to consider.

    One comment though, the sound quality is compressed so the loud sounds are quieter, and the quiet bits made louder, making it hard to get any idea of the dynamic range. What we're listening to mostly is the electronics. It kind of stands out a lot at around 1:18 in the Mill Valley Waltz clip. The sound of the single plucked notes fade, then swell louder again as the compression kicks in. Likewise, between 50-60 seconds, the two short tremelos are stifled, made much quieter on the recording than the actual sound.

    But having said that, I've watched a lot of youtube mandolin reviews, and mostly they have audio problems too. I guess there's no real substitute for going out to a real music shop and holding the mandolin in your own hand. (bit tricky in this case when buying online seems the only route).

    Anyway, sorry for the moan, I really do appreciate the review, and the description of the set-up required was certainly useful.
    Last edited by Cobalt; Jan-04-2019 at 6:32am.

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    Hey thanks for checking it out. Apologies for the lousy audio quality. I only had my crappy phone to record on. I'll try to post some better audio when I have time.
    Also true that it helps to be able to play before you pay. I have several great mandolins already and mostly was interested in this as a curiosity. I'm pleasantly surprised with the quality however.

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    No apology needed. Yeah, I know what you mean about curiosity. I've got quite a few mandolins, I'm not really looking for anything 'better', more a case of wanting some variety from the flat-top round hole instruments I usually play.

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    Thanks for posting this Al. If you have time, I had a couple questions:

    Is the fretboard radiused?

    Can you tell what size frets are installed (approximately)?

    Thanks again,

    Mark

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    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    It looks like one of these is available on UK Ebay, with setup and fitted pickups. I don't need the pickup, otherwise I might have been interested. Price is about on a par with Eastman. Described as "Hand Carved Archtop Mandolin all solid wood, UK setup, Headway Pickups."

  19. #15

    Default Re: Pango Afanti A5 (PMD-717) review

    Quote Originally Posted by burnham View Post
    Thanks for posting this Al. If you have time, I had a couple questions:

    Is the fretboard radiused?

    Can you tell what size frets are installed (approximately)?

    Thanks again,

    Mark
    The first video says radiused ebony board and medium size frets.
    Looks really nice, especially for the cost.
    I think I'm going to order one of these. From what I can tell, they are the same factory that makes TKD and Mando Mo.
    Though of course it will need a setup.
    I'll let you know how it goes if I get one.
    Best,
    Stevo

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