$1k to spend... thinking used... imported or domestic?

[mando_dan]

Flatiron! Flatiron! Flatiron!

[KEB]

I'll throw my hat into the Eastman camp. I bought a beautifully set up new, demo model Eastman 615 from Stephen Perry of Gianna Violins, for less than $1000, and it sounds much better than my meager skills can do justice for. I can't imagine that I'll outgrow it.

[mishima]

Phantoj

I sent a private mesage to you but it did not go through.

I am coming through St. Louis in early and mid October, also I have a brother that lives in St. Louis that said I could ship th A5 to him so you could get a feel for it.

As I use a computer at work Fri-Sun or at the Library I may take a while to gert back to you.

Mike

[Phantoj]

Mike, I sent a PM to you with my email address.

[acousticphd]

How about this one - a sunburst Gibson A9 with a pickup:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-Master-Mo...item1e663c42b2

I think several of the other recommendations (Loar, Eastman, Morris) are also very good, although my advice would be to buy used -there is plenty of opportunity to buy used, at a much better deal. If you buy new, you will only get a fraction of your money back if you sell later on. Any Flatiron A5 or Gibson A9 you buy for ~$1000 will be worth every cent of what you paid, and pretty likely increase in value.

[acousticphd]

And maybe keep an eye on this on this one, too:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Flatiron-Perform...item27bd89d403

[acousticphd]

And what the heck, maybe this one as well:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-A9-Mandol...item231372b8ca

[allenhopkins]

How about this one - a sunburst Gibson A9 with a pickup:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-Master-Mo...item1e663c42b2...Any Flatiron A5 or Gibson A9 you buy for ~$1000 will be worth every cent of what you paid, and pretty likely increase in value.

Interesting that the eBay seller says he/she "paid $15,000" for the A-9. Case of misplaced decimal point, I'm guessing. No warranty, set-up or store guarantee in a private eBay sale, but an excellent mandolin for the money.

[Phantoj]

Any Flatiron A5 or Gibson A9 you buy for ~$1000 will be worth every cent of what you paid, and pretty likely increase in value.

Normally I like to get a good deal, but since this purchase is as a "gift", I don't plan on reselling, and it's more important just to get something I will really like.

[Mike Snyder]

Flatiron

[scootergirl62]

With $1k to spend, you could get a very good A-style, used, and still have money left over for picks, books, CDs, a fancy case, etc. I got my Eastman 505 here in the classifieds for $400. I've had it for three years and it's all the mandolin I need. Just another perspective to consider.

In all my in-experience, I would have to say I'd second the Eastman 505 - it's is amazing sounding. And that does indeed leave a lot left over for all the accessories you know you're going to want...

[mandodan1960]

Gibson A9. Ask about fret condition. My A9 had the thin frets they wore quickly. I sold it and my friend had the wider frets installed. Still sounds the same and playability is about the same but the frets won't wear as quick. My experience with pac-rim is that they're a real crapshoot.

[Phantoj]

Got the Flatiron from user "mishima" this week. He happened to be visiting my town, so we did a face-to-face deal.

I really like it! I think it's a '99, seems to have a Nashville-era serial number, but a Bozeman-era construction: M&T neck block and X-bracing (I think).

Mike was a real cool guy to buy from, too. No pressure and very friendly.

[Markus]

Sounds great Phantoj. Always nice to buy from good people.

[Jose_L]

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[tprior]

Of course we can all advise on what you should buy and make a recommendation. But what I like may not be what you like. A month or two back we made a trip to a NC Mandolin shop, they had easily 30 or more new Mandolins and several Vintage. We took our Loar 500 with us for a reference.

Here's what we came up with..compared to the Loar 500 for playability and tone. We looked at mandolins in the $600 to approx $1000 range for consideration.

Loar 700 excellent
Eastman 515 or HIGHER..excellent
Morgan Monroe MDM-1 excellent

About a week after we looked at the Mandolins I found a used Eastman 515 which was basically brand new and was able to acquire it for well under the $1000 retail price. This is a great Mandolin as mentioned above, excellent tone, playability and a beauty.


Now, I also found a few weeks ago a Michael kelly Legacy plus , they sell new for around $850, I bought it USED for well under that price, actually well under half that price, it's in excellent condition and plays ok, but not like the Loar or Eastman...for the money it was good but compared to the Loar /Eastman, it falls short. I bought it becasue it has the Fishman system installed and wanted a Mandolin for gigs to plug in. I my or may not keep it. I'm trying to like it but it's not working out so good ! Where as the Eastman was an instant like. I was not going to leave the store wthout it when I bought it, good thing they didn't know that during price negotiations.

The other Mandoiln we really liked was the Morgan Monroe MDM-1 distressed model, I would buy one of these in a heartbeat if I ran across a deal. They sell new for abaout $800.

So, Eastman 515 which sells new for about $1000 or a Loar 600 or 700 would be my suggestion in thje $1000 range. The Loar 700 is a tad more but I think worth it.

t