Re: How Much Better Does It Get
Your MD305 is a very nice instrument, a huge bang for the buck. I know because I just bought an MD305 for my 'beach' mandolin to bring along when I want to keep my higher priced Northfield safe at home. And I played a wide variety of mandolins in that price range and up to 2.5x higher before settling on the MD305. Mine was set up really well, though I will probably have it adjusted slightly after I play it for a few months and it settles in. (I have found that small action adjustments can make a big difference in playability on mandolins.) But in answer to your question, it gets MUCH better once you start looking at instruments in the ~$2K-and-up (and way, way up) range. The question then becomes what do you want from your instrument? Inlays and other cosmetic details, higher quality woods with beautiful figure, gloss finishes and different types of lacquers that are more labor intensive, perhaps a custom fretboard radius or neck profile suited to your specific tastes? Then there's the matter of tone, which is a topic of much discussion and debate. The MD305 has a very comfortable neck and a nice, clear woody tone with plenty of volume and bark, a fine chop, and is certainly good enough to use as a performance instrument. I like the new cast tailpiece though wish that they had rounded the corners a bit more as I find it uncomfortable at times depending on my arm position (I've ordered an arm rest to deal with that issue.) But you'll hear a lot more subtlety and complexity of tone from a higher priced instrument made of fine tonewoods by a skilled craftsman who is spending weeks or months on the build versus hours in a production factory setting. And the greater the skill of the player, the more nuanced the musical expression that can be achieved from those more refined instruments.
"Well, I don't know much about bands but I do know you can't make a living selling big trombones, no sir. Mandolin picks, perhaps..."
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