While recently in Nashville, I had a very good experience at the Mandolin Store, and a not so positive experience with a Deluxe Octolindo.
To clarify, several of us were in Nashville for a few days, and visited a number of music stores. The folks at TMS were very helpful (Thanks James!). We tried quite a few instruments, as one of my friends was interested in comparing his Japanese 1960s Cortley with some modern guitars. In the course of playing different instruments, I pulled the deluxe Octolindo flattop off the wall, and was immediately impressed with the very rich tone and volume. I thought about it more, overnight, and the next day, we returned. A deal was offered, and I purchased it. We were staying in a State park, about an hour away from Nashville, and when we returned that day too many other things happened and I did not have a chance to play it. The next morning, I spent a bit of time with it, and the wonderful tone was still there. However, I noticed one large problem. The intonation on the G string pair was way off (the other three pairs were pretty much right on). Using a unit tune, it appeared to be almost a third step sharp, starting from the first fret. How to store, I was playing Single notes, so this wasn't a noticeable issue then. But when I began to play chords came very noticeable and unacceptable to me.
I called the store, and spoke with Zack. He communicated with his dad, and after some discussion, offered me a refund. If I had been local, I might have had them see what they could do to try to get it right, but living many hours away in Florida, that was not an option. I was told by both Zack and James that they had noticed some intonation issues with this model.
The whole thing was a real shame, because I really loved the sound of the instrument, the fit, finish etc. The only other thing I might add what is that I found it strange that the instrument had zero strap buttons.
So, kudos to TMS. I hope to visit them again, the next time I'm up that way.
Bill
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