Re: Mando flatiron buying advice.
Granted that what you're proposing is a wonderful thing to do, but... it begs repeating an oft-given warning:
A musical instrument for someone else, maybe fretted strings in particular, is such a personal thing that buying anything beyond entry level (where there's no expectation of wonderfulness) is often an exercise in futility. Would you buy them clothes without knowing their size? Probably not. So how can you buy a given fretboard width and/or contour without knowing how it fits their hand? Or their hand's particular level of flexibility, experience, and/or expertise? Or how the sound suits their ears (which are constantly evolving) and/or type of music?
Best advise might be to simply take them shopping, where the above mentioned TAMCO is certainly a standout option over your way. The simple act of trying out an array of instruments is invariably educational, even if you only learn aspects of what you don't want.
Just as a personal example, the nicest-for-me mandolin that I've played was a Czech-made bluegrass model (surprised the heck out of me and, yes, they're into that!), selling used for $7.5K or so, while the most disappointing instrument I've tried was a Gibson signature model, selling new for $15K at the long-lamented Mandolin Brothers in NY.
It REALLY helps to know how they feel in the player's hand, and to the player's ears.
- Ed
"Then one day we weren't as young as before
Our mistakes weren't quite so easy to undo
But by all those roads, my friend, we've travelled down
I'm a better man for just the knowin' of you."
- Ian Tyson
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