Hi all - I’m looking for a mandolin to purchase and I’m thinking this is the place to ask for suggestions. Been playing the whistle for a few years now and looking to add the mandolin.
I live in boston and could check out local shops or I could order online. Please point me in the right direction. I’ve done a search of the forum and was sort of overwhelmed, so I’m just posting.
mandolincafe.com is a forum that specializes in the instrument.
A couple of questions spring to mind:
IMHO there are not many mandolins under $300 that I would even consider for a rank beginnner. There are not many more under $500.
Mandolin really is an instrument where you need to spend a reasonable amount, even as a beginner, to get an istrument of reasonable quality that will encourage you rather than put you off.
In the lower price ranges the solid wood Kentucky instruments are becoming consistent in their reasonable quality.
A little higher in price gets you an Eastman or a J Bovier. Both are good mandolins at fairly low prices.
If you only want to play folk and ITM a Big Muddy would be worth looking at.
If you have a significant budget then the optionms widen significantly.
I do not agree with some who reckon that the most important thing is to get a mandolin at any cost, even if it is an inferior one, just so you can get playing.
I’ve seen people put off by near-unplayable cheap mandolins. I’ve also known people spend money to get a cheap mandolin set up so it is playable, only to find that they are so ashamed of the quiet, tinny sound of a cheap mando that they dare not play the thing in public.
It’s not like guitars, where $250 will get you a perfectly serviceable Washburn or Yamaha to tide you over until you can afford that vintage Martin acoustic or Fender electric.
YMMV, but I say if you want a cheap mandolin then get a Crafter electro acoustic Ovation copy, and then save for a real mandolin.
Avoid plywood F or A styles, no matter how cheap.
I know it might sound discouraging, but buddhu is unfortunately right in his assessment of price and quality. While not utterly impossible, it is difficult to find a mandolin that is servicable for very low prices, so the aspiring mandolinist usually faces the problem of investing proportionately more to get started than, say, a guitarist. It has to do with the economies of scale. There just aren’t as many mandolins made as guitars, and the manufacturing techniques that can produce a servicable $250 guitar just don’t translate to the mandolin. That is, you can’t make a decent mandolin out of laminated woods as you can a starter guitar (although there are plenty of them out there).
As you shop around, look for solid wood construction, and if your budget is tight, avoid models with lots of decoration. Many times an inexpensive plywood mandolin is dressed up with lots of fancy inlays and gold plate (that’s actually cheap to do). If you see two mandolins for $500, one being a shiny inlaid beauty and the other a plain, simple thing, the plain one is more likely to be made of better stuff. For mandolins the money is in the wood and craftsmanship, and is hidden in things you don’t see.
Be prepared at the outset to have the instrument set up by a competent technician. While a great many guitars are perfectly good sounding out-of-the-box, this is not true of the mandolin. You might be able to play it, of course, but it will not be operating at anything near its potential. Indeed, many mandolins found on the walls of the average guitar shop have not been set up properly (the owners often being guitar specialists and likely unaware of the requirements), so bear that in mind as you shop around.
Please forgive the bluntness of all this, but the mandolin world is filled with traps set for the unexpecting, and these basic truths need to be put right out in front if players are to avoid them.
I have a much different take than the previous two posters.
The first mandolin I played was a horrible little 45 dollar ebay deal that my friend bought…
Since then I’ve caught the bug and I can’t pass a mando/OM/zouk without picking it up and fiddling around on it.
I personally think that if you’re going to “start” you can do very well with some cheaper mandos, get one that’s playable but not perfect, your tone wont be that great but if the action is right you’ll be able to learn on it without investing a heavy chunk of change. I saw a used epiphone I believe it was up at guitar center for 100 bucks and when I played it, it was actualy a quite nice instrument. It didn’t have very good projection but it played fairly smooth and was in tune with itself (which is really easy to accomplish with a non fixed bridge instrument)
My suggestion would be to pick up a cheapy but not a “crappy” instrument. If you go with a respected maker and pick up a low end mando from their line you’ll have a quite serviceable instrument, then you blow another 30-40 bucks taking it to a mandolin pro to have it set up properly.
imo, the epiphone mm-20, 30, and 30E are all decent newby instruments. They play decent but the quality of tone is lacking a bit and their projection is lacking… but if you’re just learning you might like the fact that they’re a little quiet 
Of those three, the 30E is the most expensive at like 170$ average price.
I do agree that if you intend on taking it serious you should get at least a midrange mando which will cost you in the range of 500-800 dollars and be perfectly serviceable and just shy of stage worthy.
Honestly, the comparison of a 250 guitar as serviceable is subjective, to some one like my friend who’s classically trained picking up a 250 dollar guitar makes him shudder and he says it makes him a bad player… but the stuff he has trouble with on a cheapy guitar (that is actualy perfectly serviceable) I can play fine and we can both play great on his 5000 dollar classical from madrid 
learning on a lower end but still fully functional instrument can teach you things you’ll never learn playing on a high quality instrument.
So, cliff’s notes: Buy a low end model of a respected company and you can bet you’ll get a good enough instrument to learn on, take that instrument to a pro and have it set up. you’ll want to do that with any instrument, and if you can.. sit with the guy doing the set up and talk to him/her, find out what they’re doing and why and have an open conversation with them about what you’re trying to do and work with them so they set it up for YOU not just what they think is right.
forgot to mention: buy at a local retailer if at all possible. Everyone is a little different, pick up instruments in your price range and pick around on them, find one that you like.
Even with instruments I don’t know how to play I can usually find one that I’ll learn well on by playing around with a variety. When you buy online you’ve no idea what you’re getting till you get it unless you’ve touched that style/brand/model before or if you’re an experienced person with those instruments and can tell what you’re getting based on the information present in the online offering. (dimensions, set up, etc)
Thanks for all of the advice!
For a budget , I am looking to spend $500, but would go up to $800 if there was a significant quality/performance increase. Which sounds like the case from your responses.
I only play ITM. Mainly common session tunes right now. My goal would be to start bringing a mandolin to sessions and switch off with my whistle. It’d be cool to explore some bluegrass stuff at some point.
I think I’ll search around for a competent mandolin shop thats local to boston this weekend. Even if I order online, I’ll still have to find a good shop to do the initial service on the instrument.
Well, in that budget you can look at Eastman and J Bovier oval hole A instruments (basically Gibson A4 style), both are fine brands for the money and good enough for a session/jam without shame. Same is true of Big Muddy mandos. Those are very well thought of amongst those who know them. They are possibly a little less versatile than the A4 styles, but if you’re sticking with ITM they could be just what you’re after.
You might also look at an oval hole solid woods Kentucky, but I have no first hand experience of them. That said, I did try one of the new Kentucky KM-1000 instruments - a lovely mando, and it looks as if their current output is vastly improved in quality. I can’t vouch for the lower end models, but I have heard promising things.
Personally, I would probably look very closely at an Eastman 504 (I used to have one which I miss. It was great for ITM) from Gianna Violins. Steve Perry’s “Mandovoodoo” set-up is legendary, as is his service and expertise in general.
No financial interest.
Given that budget the only thing I would add to buddhu’s reply is that you’ll want to compare the sound of the oval holed mandolins with similar models that have f-holes. They have different voices and you may prefer one over the other. Many players of ITM prefer the oval hole for it’s woody, mellow sound while others use the f-hole versions to get more punch and volume to compete in louder sessions. The f-hole versions often have a bit more Bluegrass kick to them as well. We refer to it as ‘chop’. It’s a percusive characteristic basic to the Bluegrass mandolin when it’s played as the rhythm backup instrument. Not so important in ITM where the mandolin is predominantly a melody instrument.
That said, you’ll find both types in ITM sessions and BG jams. It’s a matter of personal likes. Most importantly, look for the best wood, the highest craftsmanship, and solid tone. You won’t go wrong.
Best of luck mando hunting, and let us know how you do!!
It’s not like guitars, where $250 will get you a perfectly serviceable Washburn or Yamaha to tide you over until you can afford that vintage Martin acoustic or Fender electric.
I don’t know… I play an OM12B whcih I got for about $200, it plays relatively well, as did the other cheapies at the store, and peopel have always commented that it has a very beautiful tone. Maybe I was just lucky, or the store I went to (Different Strummer- Old Town School of Folk Music) is just picky. But that’s my experience.
None here, either, but I’ve watched Steve interact on the cafe for a few years, and read posts from his customers; I think you could do way worse than to buy from him, if he’s one of the options.
I agree that (in general) its best to not skimp on spending the $$ for an instrument, especially as a beginner (something I can’t stress enough to my beginning students).
That said…
My first mando I bought on Ebay about 4 years ago; f style, made in korea, laminated top, minor cosmetic blemishes… for under $250. I’ve done minimal work on it (new tuning gears, minor bridge adjustments) and I’ve been happily playing it ever since; never really had the need to upgrade (but I’m looking anyway ).
You can get lucky with a cheaper instrument, but buying one blind like I did in not advisable. I consider myself very fortunate to have gotten a good one. If you’re going to try to buy a cheaper quality instrument, check out local music stores to see if they have any, and play them there. You might find one that plays well, is well made, and won’t break the bank.
There’s been some really good advice posted here so far, bravo all!!
Guys, I don’t think anyone is trying to disparage the $250 starter guitar. Just the opposite, we’re saying that you can get a decent start for little money in guitars. Nor is it impossible to find a starter mando for a couple of hundred, it’s just not as likely. There are always exceptions. You can get lucky with the Epiphones and such (I did many years ago with a BG-440 and still have it after 30 years), and let’s not forget the Fullerton Gloucester that was closing out for around $175. Those are now famous, and everyone lucky enough to snag one of those seems to be thrilled with it. But that was a remakable wind-fall deal on a solid wood mando.
If you can cherry pick your way through a bunch of laminate-top mandolins you might find one you like. If you’re not expecting to put a lot of demands on it your odds are even better. But for every decent $200 mandolin out there, there are a couple of hundred opportunities to waste your money and be disapointed and discouraged.
You’ll always be able to find a few folks who have gotten lucky and love their cheap mandolin, but you have to walk a loooong way to find someone utterly disapointed in their Eastman 504.
You have to put the odds in your favor.
You should go to The Music Emporium in Lexington, Ma just west of Boston/Cambridge. They have the best selection of mandolins around town including Big Muddy, Eastman, and Kentucky models in your price range. Spending some time reading current and archived posts on the Mandolin Cafe before you buy would be your best bet before buying anything.
The really cheap mandolins in the $300 and under range sometimes have problems you might not even realize are problems until you’re playing a while. Badly spaced nuts, poor fret jobs, twisted necks.
The classified ad section of the Mandolin Cafe is a really good source of used instruments. I think there are some good deals on Mid Missouri/Big Muddy mandos right now.
The J Bovier company is supposed to introduce a new line of flat top mandolin family instruments with cedar tops, radiused ebony fretboards and cast tailpieces soon. They might beinteresting.
All of the above is good advice. I’ve been playing mando for about 21 years. I started on a Kentucky 250S, and moved up to an old Gibson A-, then a Weber Beartooth, and now a 1950 Gibson A-50.
The bad news is ‘you get what you pay for’, (and you can pay thousands!). That said, there are more decent entry-level instruments than ever before. Properly set up, a Kentucky, Eastman or any number of the other imports will be fine to get you going. I agree that it would be wise to shoot for the $500+ range, if you want to get something that you’ll really enjoy playing.
Good luck!
I have just bought a J Bovier Tradition F5 style mando, and it is incredible for the money. I absolutely love it - in fact I chose it over one of the new Kentucky KM-1000s which I also tried. If their flat tops are of similar quality, I’ll be shopping again.
Something to be said for getting a cheapie for starters: if you like mandolin enough to spring for a nicer one, you can still keep the cheapie to take places where you wouldn’t want to risk your good one eg camping,really crowded sessions with a lot of inebriated people, etc.
On the “you get what you pay for” subject, it seems that this is not a straight linear relationship. I’ll certainly allow that a vintage Gibson F model will play and sound better than my $139 Chinese clone, but dang mine sounds and plays pretty good and I can’t believe that the real Gibson is plays 100 or 200 times better (however you measure that). But that’s just me-- maybe ignorance IS bliss
Sorry, double post.
Two observations from my experience of 15+ years of mandolin playing and buying. For a $500-800 budget look for used Gibsons oval holes. If you are willing to play a great sounding not perfect looking mandolin, there are loads of old A-Jrs and As that have a crack or finish flaws but sound worldclass. Do you want a player or a looker? I’m not putting down people who want perfect looking collectors items, but for the rest of us musicians, there are some great sounding mandolins out there. Respectfully- Mike
The line starts to drop off eventually, it’s like that with pretty much any instrument, but when you get to a level where even the smallest increase in instrument performance is a huge step for you then it becomes worth it I suppose.
For guitars, if you’re an amateur you can get by fine on a cheap guitar as long as its not “too” cheap… playing on a 5000 dollar instrument isn’t going tomake you better and you might actualy sound worse because it takes more skill to play a highly tuned and well set up guitar without messing up…
When you get better you hit a limit on the instrument and have to move up to those mid tier toys, once you get to where you’re extremely good you start thinking “another thousand on the price is worth that purpleheart body and hand french polished finish” because at that point in your playing career you know that if you can handle the instrument as well as it can be handled then the better the instrument the better you sound and perhaps the better you’ll play, but the steps in playability and sound become much smaller than the increments in cash you have to spend.
In my opinion, EVERYONE should start on a rough cheapy instrument but only to the point of getting familiar with what the instrument is, once you’re familiar you pick up a nice mid range version, something that a pro wouldnt light on fire but probably wouldn’t carry around and that’s what you do your proper learning on.
Picking up a rough instrument for the first time to familiarize yourself with it gives you a great appreciation for what a decent mid range tool can do and imo it really speeds up yoru learning process because suddenly things are so much easier to work out.