Any Mandolin Players Here????

[Caper]

My brother left a Hyburn Mandolin with me for a while. It's just a cheap one he picked up, doesn't stay in tune very well, doesn't sound the best either, frets out, dead sounding, that's probably more to do with my abilities though

Anyway I was thinking about picking up a better quality one but I'm not sure what to buy. I'd seen a few Michael Kelly, Kentucky, Austin, Washburn, Epiphone and Fender just to name a few on ebay for approx. $450 Can, new I believe. Maybe I could look for something used for the same price but better quality but I'm not sure of what models to look for. I like the look of the F style.

[Bob Mc]

I have been playing for about 4 years now. I've been thru over a dozen instruments looking for the most mandolin for my budget. Rule of thumb; You'll get more quality (solid woods, better bracing) from a $450 A model then a $450 F model . I know you'd prefer an F (heck, so would I), but
I wound up with an excellent Breedlove OO A model for $500 so I consider myself very lucky. But if you spend the 450 on a good A (Tacoma for instance) you'll have an instrument that you can grow with.
The only F I could afford was an old Ibanez in need of a ton of work, and with a nut width that made it unplayable.
Bottomline, there are HUGE gaps in $ to goodness ratio.
Check this place out (I'm mandobob there):


http://mandolincafe.com/

[Caper]

Thanks for the reply and the site Bob, I figured the only differences in the two were appearances only, thanks for clearing it up. I won't rule out the A style now.

[Bob Mc]

The F model is super labor intensive to build 'correctly' the way I figure it.
Please feel free to PM me if you'd like.

[Ian]

A good Cape Breton boy like you dosen't own a mandolin???
Go with an "A" for your price range. I all the years back in NFLD,I saw mabey two guys playing "F" styles ,(I'm sure cost was a BIG factor btw), and they were Bluegrass guys. I'm in the market for a new/better Mandolin myself. I've got a Fender A style right now,that I got five years ago,but the neck is starting to back-bow. I want to put some $$ towards a nice one. Larrivee is bringing on a line of Mando's this summer, but the $$$ may be too far outta reach.
CHEERS!!!

[Rob DiStefano]

After working on Bob Mc's real nice mandolin, I had the urge again to get reaquainted with the li'l 8 stringer (my dad made a few flat top mandolins back in the 60's), so I started investigating and finally bought a Kentucky (Saga) KM250s A style ...



... solid carved spruce top, solid maple back and sides, very nicely constructed, thin hand buffed lacquer finish, no concerns or issues, good fretwork, nice neck feel, easy to adjust the action to super low and fast. I added a small neck heel strap button and crafted a thin strap from some supple leather I had gathering dust. I stuck on a set of D'Addario 11's and the tone was quite open and airy, with real good volume. I'm gonna try a set of Webstring phosphor/bronze 10's next.

Anyhoo, against all my own advice, I ordered out the KM250s on the web sight unseen, ears unheard and hands untouched, and got it and a wooden hardshell case for $225/delivered! Took some searching on the web, but that was a far cry better than $280 for both at MF!

This is a fun mandolin that's Easy to play and sounds like a mandolin should sound. Look out David Grisman, I'm a'comin'!

[Ray G]

Hey,

I was in the same shoes as you. I have a cheap Epi A style and I'm getting more into Mandolin and wanted a new one and I was on a budget too.

The Kentucky and Kelly mandolins are nice offshore makes for the money ($200 to about $800). Judging from the models I played I'd say you can't go wrong with either brand and they were pretty consistant.


As for USA models in the same price range that are made from solid woods I found two brands: Tacoma and Mid Missouri.
The Mid Mo. that I played was a nice A shaped, oval hole piece made from solid woods. It sounded nice to my ears and played very well. Only drawback is that it doesn't have a truss rod.
I wound up buying a new/old stock Tacoma M1. It's shaped like an F mandolin without the scrole work on the upper bout (that's were the sound hole is located,BTW). It's a flat top also. Solid spruce top and mahogany back and neck. It's got a truss rod as well. I'll be taking it to Rob for a bit of set up work but even off the shelf (been there for a couple years) it plays well. For the money I paid It was tuff to walk away from. If you can find one used in the $300 to $400 ball park it'd be worth it. I happened to get a deal on mine but I'm pretty sure they go for about $525 or so new.

If I hadn't found a deal on my M1 I would have gone with the Mid Missouri. They are easier to find and the prices are excellent $300 to about $600.

Good Luck feel free to send a PM!

[sethro]

Mandolin player?...you bet. I've played for about 35 years.

I think the recommendation of Mid-Mo as a starter instrument is a good one, if you want more cosmetics, the imports from Kentucky are well constructed and playable. In the price range you a talking about the difference between an A and an F is purely cosmetic.

I'll also second the recommendation of Scott Tichenor's Mandolin Cafe...it's a great site. I have three swing mandolin lessons posted there in the lessons sections and a couple of mp3s there as well.

I currently have three mandos: a Collings MT2SB (#93) that I use for acoustic (eg playing into a mic), a Flatiron '86 A5 that I use plugged in (to a tube amp btw) for jazz, jump blues and rock and roll and a 5 String electric made for me by Joel Eckhaus (Earnest Instruments) that I use for jazz and western swing.

Here's what the Flatiron sounds like, into a pre-amp/EQ and then into a Fender Deville 410:

http://www.brentrup.com/mandolincafe/rosen.mp3

I'd post pictures, but I'm a digital photography moron :)

[tonytrout]

Mandolin player????? Nope...........tried it........sucked at it..........didn't try it again. :(

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally Posted by tonytrout

Mandolin player????? Nope...........tried it........sucked at it..........didn't try it again. :(

If ya pick up a mando and at any time even THINK like a guitar player, yer gonna have troubles. You MUST approach a mando for what it is, not what it ain't.

Get a decent mando that'll allow for a good setup (proper action and intonation are important), put on a good set of light phosphor-bronze strings, tune it right (GDAE), finger some simple chords, think: "David Grisman", and spend some quality FUN time making up tunes - that's a good way for a geetar picker to start out on the road to mando bliss, IMO.

[tonytrout]

Originally Posted by Rob DiStefano

If ya pick up a mando and at any time even THINK like a guitar player, yer gonna have troubles. You MUST approach a mando for what it is, not what it ain't.

Get a decent mando that'll allow for a good setup (proper action and intonation are important), put on a good set of light phosphor-bronze strings, tune it right (GDAE), finger some simple chords, think: "David Grisman", and spend some quality FUN time making up tunes - that's a good way for a geetar picker to start out on the road to mando bliss, IMO.

Thanks muchly for the advice.........I'll see what I come up with by just "fiddling" arround on it....LOL!

[Raymond]

I haven't played in 20 years!!!!!

These are the pictures of my mandolin. This is called in Venezuela a "criolla" or creole, which simply means that it was made by a local luthier; i.e., not imported from Spain. We play flok music in madolins but never strumming like in Bluegrass, just notes with a pick. Isn't she a beauty?





I used to play mandolin in a "estudiantina", which a group that plays venezuelan folk music with stringed intruments like cuatro, guitar, and mandolin. I was first mandolin. When I was 15, we moved to the capital and then I started a new group with my father in mandolin and myself in cuatro and a friend in violin until I graduated from college.

[Rick Towne]

I've had one for years and have never really used it.

I have a violin shaped Vega switched to left handed, and tuned d-g-b-e a la Tommy Tedesco.

If you really want to be the odd man out, get a bowl back bouzouki......

[sethro]

I tune it (low to high) C G D A E

ie like a mandola and a mandolin combined.

[wcap]

For what it is worth, my wife's Flatiron is a nice mandolin to play (good playability, nice tone, and good volume), and at the time she bought it (mid 80's) it was a pretty inexpensive mandolin. I have not played all that many different mandolins, but I try expensive ones out in the stores on occassion just to see what I am missing. Certainly you can get nicer mandolins than Flatirons, but I have found this to be a pretty nice mandolin, even compared to some of the really pricey ones I've tried out. I have not found myself lusting over the really expensive mandolins the way I do when I play really expensive guitars, so I'm thinking the contrast is not so great between the expensive mandolins and the Flatiron as it is between the really nice guitars and my guitar!

I have no idea whether Flatirons are still being made though.

[sethro]

wcap,

The 80s Flatirons are pretty darn good. In the late 80s Gibson bought the Bozeman Montana company and continued to make them there for a while. They then scaled down the line extensively and moved production to Nashville where they still make mandos under the Flatiron name. The can't compare imo to the pre-Gibson ones.

Some of the original Flatiron folks from Montana including Bruce Weber started Weber Mandolins. Some of those are pretty nice too

[Caper]

I went to the music store yesterday, checked out 3 models. An Epiphone $800Cdn, Fender FM63S $699Cdn and a Fender FM53S $400Cdn. The craftsmanship on the F series Fender was very poor. The A series had a much brighter acoustic tone, the Epiphone sounded the worst of the 3, mind you all have cheap light strings on them too. My brother gave me the cheap Hyburn model so maybe I'd be better off just upgrading the tuners and bridge on that for now.

[J. Hayes]

Mandolin was my first instrument! I started playing when I was about 15 and didn't take up guitar until I was in the Army. I currently have 5 of them in this order:

A 30's vintage Gibson F-style in a natural finish which is pretty rare. I got this one about 12 years ago for $800 from a guy who'd just blown the engine in his van and needed some cash! Best deal I ever made! I have a Fishman bridge on it for amplified playing. I had to replace the tuning pegs as a couple of the buttons had deteriorated to bad so I put a new set of Schallers on it.

A late 70' Epiphone A-style made in Japan which actually sounds better acoustically than the Gibson. I've experimented with different pickup configurations on this one over the years so it's all beat up with holes drilled here and there but it still sounds great.

An Aria florentine with an oval soundhole and an F-style headstock. I got this one in a pawnshop for $150 and it looks and plays good.

A Fender electric A-style. This is the one which comes equipped with the magnetic pick up and the volume and tone controls on the front. I use this one when I play with loud bands and to drive some effects if needed as it'll stay up with the Strats and Les Pauls when needed.

A Hondo F-Style which I bought in California about 23 or 24 years ago. It only sold for $149 brand new so that tells you something about the quality! I only used it for electric playing but at a gig a trumpet player knocked it off the top of my amp where I kept it and the neck was sprung and couldn't be adjusted anymore. I wound up making a clock out of it which still hangs on the wall of my music room. I had to take the battery out of the clock though as I never thought about an instrument being made to amplify sound. Those d@mn ticks were extremely loud when I was trying to record things!....JH