So im a tin whistle player and have no experience with mandolins or any other stringed instrument, but my significant other wants to learn to play was wondering what some of the options are as far as a decent quality, relativly inexpensive mandolin. He asked me and I figured Id ask the experts… So lets hear it… how did you get started, and on what type of mandolin, for how much etc… He has a decent amount of guitar experience and has played a mandolin in the past but i dont know how much. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Kel
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=39022
Lots of good advice in this thread.
Hi Kelly, welcome to the Chiffboard.
First, what style of music does he want to play?
Second, what is the price range he’s looking at? What would he consider “relatively inexpensive”?
In general, Mid-Missouri (AKA “Mid-Mo”) mandolins are a good choice for very good quality, good-sounding hand-made instruments at a reasonable price, unless he’s really looking to get into bluegrass.
Eastman mandolins are made in China, they also hand-made and are said to be very good instruments for the price.
Both of these are somewhere in the $400-600 market, less if they are used.
There are cheaper options than these, but i’d recommend you get them from someplace where they will be set up first, otherwise they may be unplayable. Elderly Instruments in the US is a reputable dealer who sets up the instruments nicely before shipping them. They have starters for around US$150.
If they set them up right, those Kentucky mandos from Elderly will be just fine. I have an older Kentucky A model which I bought from a local antique store and I really love it. I’ve done a bit of tweaking on it over the years and it plays beautifully. Every once in a while I get the bug for an F model and go around trying them out. Then I pick up my ol’Kentucky and realize that there’s no way the others are worth 5 or 6 times what I paid for the Kentucky.
Hes looking at mostly celtic/folk/ beginning bluegrass kind of stuff… mostly just playing around and jamming with friends, nothing too terribly serious. After reading your suggestions hes thinking about the Kentucky models and the mid-mo. Any other hints or reccomendations for a newbie player would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again
kel
Kelly,
I had a Kentucky 250 for a while that I bought solely because a couple of folks local to my area wanted to take lessons and didn’t own a mandolin at the time!
It was a decent quality instrument and served me well in its role as a teacher mandolin and at a few gigs here and there. It wasn’t loud enough for noisy sessions, but that’s a common issue with mandolin in general. I believe I bought that one from Janet Davis music, never had a problem with it. At gigs I either played through an old beat-up Beta 57 or a velcroed-on mini condenser and it always did a great job. Mine sounded best with GHS Bright Bronze strings, but individual instruments do vary.
I’ve played a few Eastmans the past few weeks and the workmanship on them was very good. As far as sound though, I’d have to say the Kentuckys were better when comparing A-models.
Rick
I used to have an identical Kentucky to Paul’s and I have to agree. Of course I got bit by the Tenor Banjo Bug which didn’t last long. The more time goes by the more I realize I am a Flute player.
I’ve owned a number of mandolins over the last 20 years. The Kentucky 250S was my starter, and it wasn’t bad at all. I moved up to an old Gibson after about 5 years, then went to a newer Weber. Kentucky, Mid-Mo, Eastman… any of those that are set up well will make him happy.
A couple of further comments.
I have a Kentucky KM340, from a few years back. I got it off eBay, as “new old stock”, which means it sat in someone’s music shop for years until they decided to dump it. It is quite loud, but volume does not equal tone. Also one reason for the volume is that the bridge height is set very high, so high that it is difficult to play. The adjustment screws on the bridge are set all the way down, so essentially if i want to lower the action, i need to replace the bridge. The tuners are kind of chintzy and don’t hold tuning well. Sure i can replace the bridge and tuners, but it’s a PITA and an extra expense i didn’t count on.
This particular Kentucky was made in Korea, after production moved from the shop in Japan (which made the “good Kentuckys”), and before the whole shooting works got moved again to China. Popular wisdom has the production standards declining with each move. I cannot comment on this specifically, as i’ve never played one of the Chinese Kentucky models (which are the ones currently available), but in addition to the Korean Kentucky i also used to own a Japanese-made Washburn which was far and away a better mandolin, no comparison.
IIRC, Paul’s Kentucky is a Japanese model; i don’t know about Rick’s or Avery’s.
I don’t own a Mid-Mo, but i’ve played several and have always been impressed by the workmanship, volume and tone. The neck feels good, the tuners are good, the tone is sweet. IIRC the fretwire is bigger – which would feel more at home to a guitarist – and in general playability is better. They’re not the most attractive mandolins (but then again, i can’t say i really like the nuclear-yellow sunburst on my KM340 either), but IMHO you can’t beat them for the price.
They also have a wide-neck (1-1/4" as opposed to 1-1/8") option which might suit a guitarist better as well.
One more thing to consider, though it might not be important to anyone but me.
I have a Busman whistle, which i got second-hand – it is a great whistle, hand-made by Paul himself. If i ever have a problem with it, i know who made it, and i can email or call Paul and ask him for help and i know he’ll stand behind his work.
If i had a Mid-Mo, and ever had a problem with it, i know i can call or email Mike Dulak and he’ll straighten things out. Don’t like the bridge height on the mandolin? Call him and he’ll send you a few others, free of charge (from what i’ve heard, anyway).
AFAIK, there’s no Joe Kentucky who i can call to ask about my KM340.
Anyway, one thing a KM250 or 340 or 380 will have over a Mid-Mo is suitability to bluegrass, because of the arch-top construction – better for chop chords, which is an essential part of the bluegrass sound. As far as other styles, the Mid-Mo should work fine, maybe even better. But if you do get a Kentucky, get it set up and then i would advise upgrading the tuners at least.
All the best in whatever you decide.
Not necessarily! I had the same problem on my Kentucky and asked about it on Mandolin Cafe. A tech there advised me to take the bridge apart and file down the part of the upper piece that rests on the adjusting screws. I did this with my Dremel, taking off about 1/8". This gave me plenty of leeway to tweak the action to exactly the way I like it. The whole thing took about 15 min. I was due for a change of strings, so I did that at the same time.
I’ll second that on the tuners. I replaced the 250’s tuners and the Trinity College I currently have with Grovers. HUGE improvement in the case of the Kentucky, and noticeably smoother than what comes on the TC.
Not hard to do, but then you have to ask whether you’d rather put that 50 bucks or so towards a nicer instrument.
Rick
I think mine was Chinese, but it was a couple years old when I got it around two years ago so maybe my memory is scewed. Anywho, it does take a bit of a setup, but it is a pretty nice Mando afterwards.
Just wanted to say thanks guys for all the great advice… We ended up with a used (gently) mid-mo in the right price range. Should work well for now. Thanks again,
kel