Kentucky KM180S

[MandoNewb001]

I'm a guitar player that wants to learn mandolin. So I'm gonna buy one. Can anyone comment on the quality (good/bad...) of Kentucky KM180S? Is it good for starters?

Thanks!

Bill

[Joey Anchors]

Bill,

Welcome to the wonderful world of mandolin and the Cafe!

The Kentucky is a great starter mandolin and should service you well for a number of years until you develop you skills/chops.

~Joey

[EdHanrahan]

You might not hear it yet, but I hear about 75 folks out there silently thinking, "Yup, good choice!"

In my experience, your starter will most likely become your hazardous-duty instrument, that you'll always enjoy but you won't cry too much if it gets rained on, or dropped overboard, or ... do you have a 2-year-old around?

[renoyd]

I have a KM180B I bought new long ago, same thing, but black. Sounds better with age, and it’s easy to play. I had a new nut made to have the strings be a little closer together but was not really critical. I filed the ends of the frets myself to be a tad more comfy. It’s a great mandolin for starters and beyond. Sounds better than most new Kentucky’s and that’s saying a lot because the new ones are your best bet, maybe not as nice looking as new Eastmans, but IMHO, better sounding. In short, go for it, one of the better bargains you can find.

[Seter]

The S in 180S should stand for solid top, and that's the most important thing as long as the price is reasonable.

[lflngpicker]

I had a Japan-made era Kentucky 200s early on and it was a very nice mandolin to get going on. It was virtually the same instrument. I had to file the nut slots a bit and reposition the bridge for intonation and it sounded great. Mine was a solid spruce top with mohogany back and sides. Great choice!