I wanted a nice, although not expensive, travel mandolin and decided it might as well be an oval hole for a different sound than my two F5s. I had seen these mandolins on e-bay made in Taiwan by a fellow named Bruce. I waited until I saw a spruce and maple instrument I liked and bought the one on the left. Even the day it arrived I was not expecting a whole lot except a decently made and finished instrument I could pack around with me with little concern of something happening to it. Well.....I opened the case and was shocked! Inside a very nice case was an instrument with fit and finish as good as the Rigel I owned. The inlay work is absolutely stunning and most people who have seen it think it is simply a work of art. Now, with all this beauty you would think I’ll now tell you it sounded like #$%@&. Nope, it sounded very, very good for a brand new instrument. I put on a F style brass tailpiece, available from Bruce, and drilled an extra hole in it to accomodate an endpin. I put an endpin up at the back end of the neck, made an ebony bridge, slapped on TI strings, a ToneGuard and played the heck out of it for a month. It just kept getting better tone, more sustain and with the 1&1/4” wide neck, just a joy to sit around and pick on. I then thought about telling all the nice folks at the Cafe about this buy. However, it occured to me I might like one of his instruments with rosewood back and sides and opening my big fat mouth prematurely might cost me more at auction. So I got the instrument on the right this week. It is just as nice and while the tone is still a bit raw, it seems to be improving daily. I have two REALLY nice instruments for a total investment of slightly over $500 and a bit of my time making the bridges, drilling and mounting the tailpieces and such. I have no financial interest in missleading anyone, nor do I really care that they don’y have a “famous” name on the headstock. I am just one very happy camper.
John
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