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Thread: Beginner: Kentucky KM-150 or Aria M-180?

  1. #1

    Default Beginner: Kentucky KM-150 or Aria M-180?

    Hello from sunny New Zealand!

    I'm an intermediate clawhammer banjo player, and would like to branch out a bit and give mandolin a try. Although we have a surprisingly large folk music scene in my area, there don't seem to be many mandolin players - mainly guitar, fiddle, and banjo - and there isn't a big market in beginner-level instruments. Mainly interested in earlier bluegrass, just solo practice and small sessions.

    There are currently two mandolins listed on our local craigslist/ebay equivalent which look quite similar to my eye, at a price that I could afford - just wondering if one or both might be a reasonable starter instrument? Neither is close enough that I could see it in person before bidding.

    Aria M-180 from the 1970s: https://www.trademe.co.nz/music-inst...3050192458.htm

    Kentucky KM-150 which I assume is more recent: https://www.trademe.co.nz/music-inst...3048848640.htm

  2. #2
    Registered User Eric F.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Beginner: Kentucky KM-150 or Aria M-180?

    I vote for the Kentucky. The KM-150 is generally considered an excellent instrument to start with. Arias can range from nice to thin and muted.

  3. #3
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beginner: Kentucky KM-150 or Aria M-180?

    1. Can't find specs on the Aria, but based on several Google look-ups, it appears to be a mid-price instrument from 40-50 years ago. I've seen the top variously described as "solid, carved spruce" and "laminated, at least three plies," so there seems to be some confusion; perhaps the specs changed on it during the years it was made. Back and sides are described as mahogany, which is not the most common wood used in mandolin construction -- maple is -- but has been used by other makers. Asking prices for the AM-180 seem to vary, down to as low as $125, so the listed one is not a great bargain.

    2. The Kentucky KM-150 is perhaps the most consistently recommended "starter" mandolin on the Cafe. All solid woods, carved rather than heat-pressed, and a reliable mandolin if properly set up and adjusted. The listed one also has a decent case. In your shoes I'd buy the Kentucky.
    Allen Hopkins
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  4. #4

    Default Re: Beginner: Kentucky KM-150 or Aria M-180?

    Excellent, thanks guys! I'll aim for that KM-150.

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