Ashbury Rathlin vs hora and ACP

[Elijah]

Hey guys, am making a new thread because I'm kidna off topic now on my hora one and it gets no comments haha (the title is about upgrading a hora, something most people wont click on).

So I'm trying to get a starter octave mandolin (or maybe a zouk but I think I want an OM. Luckily most of these makers do both). I feel like I shouldnt over invest but at the same time I'm trying to avoid garbage that I'm just going to have to replace if I keep playing that has no resell value. So I'm looking for a happy medium of quality. My original goal was to only spend the 220$ on the hora but if its just bad I need to up my budget. But I'm still trying to stay as low as possible whithout getting junk and only want to pay more if its a noticeable gain.


How does the Ashbury Rathlin compare to Hora/Thomman and APC octaves? So obviously these are different price points. So like I don't expect the Ashbury to equal an APC. But if it has way less issues than the hora and costs noticeably less than an APC than that would be good. I can also look into others of similar prices.

So what I currently Know-
Hora/Thomman budget models- Trash bridge, trash tuners that are hard to replace, too thick neck, bad action, top might cave in. The benefit, I can get it for like 220$ shipped to usa.

Ashbury Rathlin- Hobgoblin says this is 300 pounds but when I add it to cart it says 249 + shipping = 307 pounds (so around 385$). Seems weird but if its actually this price, its much lower than anything else I can find. So if this is much better than the hora that would be good, but I cant find a lot of specific information on it.

APC (I think A. Carvalho are APC so I'll be calling them that)- Definitely costs more. From Maloney music the ones 'm looking at are 399 pounds + 140 pound shipping - 23% I think (outside of eu tax stuff?). So equals like $543. Ive heard nothing but good of this maker. Professional Setup. I have no doubt its better than the Rathlin. But by how much? Cuz the price is significantly higher overall. But if this is really good compared to the others I could save up.

I heard a rumor thommans $360 octave is an APC but it also says made in europe so I have doubts. If this is any good it would be around 430$ shipped.

There may be other options out there but most sites I've found have absurd shipping and don't have any better options that I've found. Thanks for any info

[Cobalt]

I was looking (online) at some of the Ashbury mandolins from Hobgoblin, the ones I saw were made in Vietnam which I think accounts for the modest prices. I've no actual experience with the instruments themselves.

[Rdeane]

I did a lot of research on this forum before I bought my APC/Carvalho. I purchased from Moloney Music in Galway. He was super to work with on everything. The price came in at $618 shipped to the east coast, including the hard case that Moloney requires for international shipping. The exchange rate my credit card company used for euros is 89 cents to the dollar, so you can use that to figure cost. It came quickly and without a scratch.

The 305 model I think has mahogany back and sides and is a lower price. I got a 308 model he had that has a tiny little ding on the top, for which he discounted 50 euros. Overall, I am quite pleased with the 308. The fit and finish is very good. The ovangkol back and sides are beautiful. It's a lovely instrument.

The only thing so far I am not really crazy about is that the G strings (it's in GDAE) are a bit muddy sounding to me. Perhaps it's because it's such a low note, and I'm used to my Collings MT2. I may try to replace the G strings with a pair of 46's to give it more depth and increase the tension.

I am adapting to the larger scale (22-1/4) and still trying to get comfortable with the fingering scheme. I haven't settled yet on which frets my fourth and pinky fingers will ultimately use. Once I get that figured out I think I will progress more quickly.

I can't say enough good about Moloney Music. I posted a previous comment here about my experience a few weeks ago. If you have questions, you can email or call Moloney Music. He is quite responsive, but it's a small shop and sometimes he's occupied so can't get back to you immediately, and there is the time difference from the US to Ireland.

[Eric F.]

I think the euro is stronger versus the dollar than when I bought my APC from Moloney.

Rdeane, I've had the same experience. D'Addario EJ-80s come with a .46 G string. My APC sounds and feels better with those.