Mid tier Mando that will hold its value

[easycamper]

Guitar player looking to add a mandolin to the herd and to my repertoire. Not interested in the low end. Willing to spend $1000 to $3000. I would prefer towards the lower end, but will lean higher if they will hold their value better. I definitely like quality instruments. I own several good guitars: a Martin D42, an Om-28 Modern Deluxe and a Taylor 814CE Deluxe. But I also own an Eastman AC422CE that punches well above its weight that I bought new for $800 delivered from Soundpure. In that price range which models would you recommend that would hold their value and also consider costs versus benefits? I know an F scroll will cost me, but if not more than av few hundred extra, they are prettier.

[tjmangum]

You're going to get a lot of responses, but based on your guitar collection, you might find a used Collings MT of interest. It will cost about $2,600 to $3,000 for the most basic one and probably will never lose any value. It's hard to have just one mandolin, but this will save you from wading through $500 to $1200 to $1800 to $2500 instruments. Jump in at business class, so to speak, not economy and you will know that the only thing holding you back is yourself.
Best of luck on your journey!

[CES]

If you can find a Skip Kelley A-5 around $3000 you won’t be disappointed. Mine holds its own or even beats (in my hands and to my ears) several instruments I’ve tried costing thousands more. I have a Rigel CT 110 for around the same price that’s also very good, though the style and tone may not be for everyone (and I would keep the Kelley if I had to choose only one of them to keep). Used Northfield NFS-5 mandolins are also very good (some are exceptional).

At the lower end of your range I’d consider Silverangel and Howard Morris. I owned a SA Econo that was my main player for about 9 years that also punched significantly higher than its weight class and which I kept over a nice MT I had at the same time. I just preferred that particular SA to that particular MT; not trying to knock Collings at all.

If you have to have a scroll check out Gatti mandolins and upper tier Eastman and Kentucky models in addition to the Northfield. Morris and Ratliff are also good considerations.

Good luck in your search! You have lots of good options!

[kdlrd]

I was having a chat with a luthier in town and we agreed that Eastman has kind of cornered the mid-range market (at least here in Canada). They are a lot of bang for the bucks and pretty nice to play. The advantage of this particular brand is that you probably would be able to try one in most stores that stock mandolins.

Personally, I’d love to own a Silverangel as I quite like how Ken’s mandolins sound based on the various videos around the internet. But they are a bit above my budget…

[Barber2020]

I found myself in a similar situation recently when looking for a nice F style. There's a nice shop near me that carries a wide range of acoustic instruments and with what they had the day I went in were several Eastmans, anywhere from 315 up through 815, and a few year old Collings. I'm not sure the exact Collings model, but it was an F style with gloss finish...so a bit higher end. I narrowed the Eastman's down to a particular 515/v that outplayed and sounded nicer than any of the other Eastmans, even the higher 615's and 815's. I also picked up the Collings to compare with the 515/v. I was more than willing to drop the money at the price they had on the Collings, about $4500. Honestly though, that little Eastman at $1500 blew it away. Both had great set ups with good nut heights, neck relief, etc. and were kept in a humidity controlled room, but the Eastman felt like a comfortable glove compared to the Collings. The sound was much more apparent with a lot more depth as well. Who knows, maybe I found a lucky gem out there, but I've not once regretted picking this one over the Collings.

As much as I'd love to own a Collings one day, that day in a shop made me think maybe I'm not missing anything. This was about 6 months ago, and I frequent that shop regularly and they've had many other Collings come through the shop, both new and used, and I still haven't had one of them stand out from my humble little Eastman 515/v sitting at home.

Long story short, keep your options open and keep an open mind. Spending 2x or 3x as much does not always mean anything at all as far as playability or sound go.

[Caberguy]

Pretty much anything you buy used will hold its value, as long as you don't terribly overpay. Eastman's are ubiquitous. I own one, it's fine, but I don't find it terribly inspiring, I've played several others, but not a whole lot... felt about the same about them.

The smaller builders like Silverangel and Morris are a bit more of a risk in terms of resale.

A number of Webers and Flatirons are in your range, and should hold their value well. Northfield seems to hold its value pretty well too... you could get a use F5S in that range. Collings will be on the higher end of your budget, but should hold its value well.

[Josh Levine]

This all comes down to understanding pricing and what you are getting. For example, I would say get a Nashville built Flatiron F5. You would need to know that those were built around 98-02. You also will need to know what those are worth and what a reasonable deal is. I’d say if you can get one in good shape for 3k or less that should, hypothetically hold it’s value. But you may find someone trying to sell the same mandolin for $4500, in which case you may not get your money back on that. Or if you end up getting a different Flatiron F5, like the ones built in China for 3K you will probably never get your money back.

That said there are plenty of builders where if you have your hand on the pulse of the market you can atleast get your money back. Older Gibson A9s/F9s, Silverangels, Skip Kelley As, Collings MTs, to name a few. Again you need to look at the market and see what these are selling for, see one go up and disappear? Note the price and that will give you a good reflection of what a good value is. Also local Craigslist can be a good option to find random good deals. Do your research and you can not lose money and possibly make money but it takes time and effort.

[pheffernan]

What kind of music do you play / intend to play on the mandolin?

[TX2AK]

In your price range, for F style, I like Eastmans or the Kentucky 1000-1500 mandolins; lot of bang for your buck. If you want an A, you can reach a good bit higher in class for the same money - this https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/211598#211598 Pava is $300 above your budget, but represents a really incredible bang for your buck. I had the F5 equivalent, and I only sold it because I was stepping to an Ellis. A roughly equivalent F (used Satin) at the same shop is $3,200 more; so a much bigger jump than a few hundred dollars as you get higher in class - https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/211867#211867. It all just depends on what’s most important to you.

I think you will find mandolins are a good bit more expensive than guitars of comparable reputation and, arguably, quality (subjective to some extent).

[Gene Summers]

You're going to get a lot of responses, but based on your guitar collection, you might find a used Collings MT of interest. It will cost about $2,600 to $3,000 for the most basic one and probably will never lose any value. It's hard to have just one mandolin, but this will save you from wading through $500 to $1200 to $1800 to $2500 instruments. Jump in at business class, so to speak, not economy and you will know that the only thing holding you back is yourself.
Best of luck on your journey!

I've noticed that Collins mandolins do retain their values, more than some well known makers. IMHO they are a good investment.

[Josh Levine]

Also keep in mind people are talking about used instruments. Tough to get a new mid tier instrument to appreciate when purchased new at retail unless you intend to hold it a long time and get lucky.

[JiminRussia]

I have a question. There are very, very few mandolins that increase in value (relative to the original price paid) DURING the time that they are in production? Don’t you have to wait until they are out of production and then hope that they will increase in value? The only instruments of any kind that I have seen do that have been in production for decades and the increased prices of them are more due to inflation than anything else. For instance, if you had bought a Gibson A-4 in 1930 for $400 and it will cost several thousand dollars today, that is NOT an increase in value, just an increase in price. It is true that the buyer puts out more dollars, but those dollars have less buying power today than they did in 1930.

[TX2AK]

That’s generally been my experience as a hobby trader, with the exception of special editions or highly desirable, but hard to find or long waits to get. There’s always the used market, where you can buy low and sell higher if you really watch and can be patient.

[Charles E.]

Northfield F5s, used if you can find one.

[pheffernan]

I have a question. There are very, very few mandolins that increase in value (relative to the original price paid) DURING the time that they are in production? Don’t you have to wait until they are out of production and then hope that they will increase in value? The only instruments of any kind that I have seen do that have been in production for decades and the increased prices of them are more due to inflation than anything else. For instance, if you had bought a Gibson A-4 in 1930 for $400 and it will cost several thousand dollars today, that is NOT an increase in value, just an increase in price. It is true that the buyer puts out more dollars, but those dollars have less buying power today than they did in 1930.

Used mandolins’ values are generally a fraction of their new replacement value, so if new prices go up, the used ones follow. A decade ago, I bought a used Collings MT for $1700 and a used Pava for $1750. New ones at the time were I believe $2360 and $2500 respectively. All of those numbers have escalated significantly despite (and perhaps because of) continuing production.

[Cheryl Watson]

Mid-tier could mean roughly $3,000 to some, $5,000 or more to others. You can spend less than that and get a pretty nice mandolin. You'll get more for your money, in most cases, if you buy an A-style rather than an F-style, but a then again, many prefer an F-style. Used mandolins tend to hold their value better than new ones. It helps a lot to know your preference for f-hole or oval hole, the nut width, the neck profile, a fretboard that is flat, with a slight radius, or a more radical radius (like Collings).

[Zach Wilson]

If your into folk, Celtic, rock, or almost anything other than bluegrass a $1000 gets you a top of the line, American made Flattop. You could buy three!

[Northwest Steve]

The middle of your budget, made in the US by a well-respected luthier and has taken the initial deprecation. hard to beat for a US made F style. https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/211903#211903

[Marcus CA]

Guitar player looking to add a mandolin to the herd and to my repertoire. Not interested in the low end. Willing to spend $1000 to $3000. I would prefer towards the lower end, but will lean higher if they will hold their value better. I definitely like quality instruments.

More often than not, the mandolin: guitar equivalency price ratio is about 2:1. In other words, the relative quality of a $2K mando is about the same as a $1K guitar. So, given the guitars that you own, I think that you're going to end up a lot happier at the $3K price point. My predecessors on this thread have offered lots of good suggestions.

Also, more often than not, as pheffernan wrote, "Used mandolins’ values are generally a fraction of their new replacement value, so if new prices go up, the used ones follow." I'd say that holds true even with mandos that are still being produced.

Yes, the f scroll will cost you, but I'd say that the amount is a percentage of the price, rather than a fixed amount. For example, the difference of the Eastman 305 & 315 is $350, and the difference of the 805 & 815 is $800.

[TX2AK]

I think the ratio is 3X+ guitar to equivalent for F mandolins; but close enough. I am a big fan of buying what makes you want to play. There are a lot of Eastman 315s, Kentucky MK-1000s, etc. (different levels) of Fs that are great players for their price. Your high end puts you in reach of true next (or 2X higher) level in As; but not Fs. In that scenario, I’d have a hard time. I went cheap to make sure I was into mandolin; to KM-1000 which was awesome for the money; to Collings, Pava, and a Gibson F5G, which are next level, to me. I later had those at the same time and went to the next step up; but I trade instruments as a hobby, and instruments and vacations to other places are where I spend disposable income. I’m in a physical place where my golf membership and trail fee is $75 p/mo; so, I probably live in a different universe from a lot of folks.

You can find my previous comments in other threads where I acknowledge that I think most of this “level” stuff is for we, the players. Most audience members don’t even know the instrument we are playing; and they definitely notice shape and look more than sound - that’s my experience as a very amateur player. Bass is the only instrument I’ve made real money playing, and I’ve cycled through boutique, high dollar basses, and ended back where I started on a US Fender P. Even when I play my ‘54 Kay upright, I get a ton of comments about how sexy it is; zero comments about sound . Our last gig was the first time I played both in the same show, and the only comments were related to appearance, save a guy who made a living playing for a decade. I just don’t think any of it matters to our audience very much; so, play what tickles you!

[Eric Platt]

Buying used is usally the best bet, unless you find a small builder who has something in stock in your range.

Agree with the recommendations of a Collings MT, Northfield F5S or even the Kentuckly 9xx or 10xx series. Any of these used should hold value. Would also add a used Gibson A-9 would probably fit the bill and be lower than the top end of the range. Or any of the carved top Flatirons made in either MT or TN. I even like the Festival/Performer series. But am maybe in the minority on that.

[Jim Garber]

For instance, if you had bought a Gibson A-4 in 1930 for $400 and it will cost several thousand dollars today, that is NOT an increase in value, just an increase in price. It is true that the buyer puts out more dollars, but those dollars have less buying power today than they did in 1930.

I know you are just making a point and your numbers don’t really matter, but for the record, in 1930 a Gibson A-4 mandolin cost $80 and an F-5 cost $250. Check out this catalog here: https://acousticmusic.org/wp-content...31-Catalog.pdf

[milli857]

I'm surprised nobody has said a teens Gibson A. Plain As, A-1 or 2s, and A-Jrs should all be in the 1-2.5k mark depending on the condition and will hold their value forever. Just make sure you get one that has been well-maintained or you'll likely have to put some significant cash into getting it playable.

Also, like Zach said, flat tops kick ass and will be way cheaper than carved top, a used Flatiron, Mid-Missouri/Big Muddy, or Northfield Calhoun would all be in the $4-800 range.

Both these options have a particular sound that may not fit with the "standard" mandolin sound. Not better or worse, just different. Make sure to play one if you can or at least listen to some recordings on Youtube.

[joh]

I'm surprised nobody has said a teens Gibson A. Plain As, A-1 or 2s, and A-Jrs should all be in the 1-2.5k mark depending on the condition and will hold their value forever. Just make sure you get one that has been well-maintained or you'll likely have to put some significant cash into getting it playable.

My data is anecdotal, so I could be wrong, but I believe in recent memory teens Gibson A models have not kept up with inflation, so they haven't kept their value.

From that perspective, it's better to buy an instrument that is still in production, as new prices will generally raise with inflation and resale value will follow.

[jonm]

I'm surprised nobody has said a teens Gibson A. Plain As, A-1 or 2s, and A-Jrs should all be in the 1-2.5k mark depending on the condition and will hold their value forever. Just make sure you get one that has been well-maintained or you'll likely have to put some significant cash into getting it playable.

Also, like Zach said, flat tops kick ass and will be way cheaper than carved top, a used Flatiron, Mid-Missouri/Big Muddy, or Northfield Calhoun would all be in the $4-800 range.

Both these options have a particular sound that may not fit with the "standard" mandolin sound. Not better or worse, just different. Make sure to play one if you can or at least listen to some recordings on Youtube.

Agree with the Gibson, find a good A and you would probably want to keep it anyway, you could throw a National RM1 in the pot too, would do most things and loud!