Worth getting a new nut made for my KM150?

[bokchoy_ninja]

Hi all, I recently received a brand new Kentucky KM150, from Amazon so it wasn't set up.

I'm bringing it to a local luthier today for a setup, but I'm curious whether I should spend a bit more and have a bone nut made for it. The current plastic nut has slots which look rather wide for the A & E strings, even with medium gauges.

The bridge will be a longer term goal, I'll either buy a nice one and pay to have it fitted, or may try my hand at hand carving/sanding one made from maple.

I'm tempted to also change out the tuners, but that's probably a waste of money/time.

[bokchoy_ninja]

Oh wait apparently the nut is already bone?

[Dave Sheets]

See how your luthier does with the setup, if they can get it working well for you without replacing the nut, great. If the nut needs to be replaced, then bone makes sense.

If the tuners work reasonably, save your money for the next mandolin. There is almost always a next mandolin...

And, do enjoy it!

[DHopkins]

I'm not trying to start something but......

Did you anticipate making the changes when you ordered the instrument? I believe I would have applied the "upgrade" money toward an instrument that was already set up. Virtually all of the advertisers on this forum that sell instruments will do the setup job before the instrument is shipped. Not only that, most are available to talk with on the phone. Furthermore, members of this forum have probably dealt with every single advertiser and can give you some inside information.

I have made many purchases on Amazon and I'm a big proponent but I would be reluctant to buy a mandolin (or mandola, octave, guitar, fiddle, etc.) there.

♫

[bokchoy_ninja]

I'm not trying to start something but......

Did you anticipate making the changes when you ordered the instrument? I believe I would have applied the "upgrade" money toward an instrument that was already set up. Virtually all of the advertisers on this forum that sell instruments will do the setup job before the instrument is shipped. Not only that, most are available to talk with on the phone. Furthermore, members of this forum have probably dealt with every single advertiser and can give you some inside information.

I have made many purchases on Amazon and I'm a big proponent but I would be reluctant to buy a mandolin (or mandola, octave, guitar, fiddle, etc.) there.

♫

Fair question. I got a good deal. Even with a luthier setup fee the cost was lower than what it would have been via one of the dedicated stores.

Granted, my next mando will be from one of them, more in the spirit of supporting a valuable service than in finding a good deal.

[DHopkins]

Good enough, That makes sense.

As you can probably tell, I'm a firm believer in supporting the people and businesses who support this forum.

[UsuallyPickin]

Yeah ….. A set up is all you really need . Save any money spent on upgrading the hardware toward an instrument upgrade. The KM 150 is a good starter instrument. Figure on maybe replacing it in a year or two. R/