TKD Falcon

[LastMohican]

I post this as nothing more than an FYI. If any of you are considering the purchase of a TKD, then maybe this will be helpful.

I've purchased a TKD Falcon from the Mando Store. Kyle characterizes this as "B Stock" with the most notable difference when comparing to the TKD "A Stock" mandolins, is that way up on the neck, say past the 17th fret, the action gets noticeably higher. Well, let me state that, based on my skill as a player, I'm really not spending a lot of time that high on the neck, so this really wasn't a big deal. And, I wound up making this purchase because I sold my Northfield F5S to put some cash back in the bank.

Mandolins I've owned:

Washburn M1SDLTBL
Breedlove American FF
Loar 590
Northfield F5S
TKD Falcon

As to how the TKD compares to the others I've owned, my mandolins all rank perfectly according to purchase price, meaning the Northfield is the champ, by a wide margin, the Breedlove is second, this TKD is third, the Loar is 4th, and Washburn, that I bought used for $80, finished last.

I'm pleased with the TKD. The build quality is excellent. It is, in my opinion, a damn pretty mandolin to look at. Amber finish, beautiful flame on the back, and tortise binding top and and bottom.

As to sound...well, it ain't the Northfield. It's got a nice bottom. My single biggest complaint is that it's a little thin up top. Some of this is due to playing...I just stated up again after taking a couple of years off, and, holy cow, was I rusty!!

Kyle's setup is great. The hard case is satisfactory.

So...my verdict...if your budget is between $750 to $1,000, I'd encourage you to give this mandolin a look.

As always, the buying process from Kyle was great.

Hope everybody is doing well.

Tuck