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Old 02-27-2017, 04:02 PM
Frogstar Frogstar is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 486
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The upside to getting a used Big Muddy is that if you were to decide it's not for you, you'd most likely get your money back out of it, and if you decided to keep playing, it's a solid instrument (I have two, one spruce/maple and one mahogany).
I was in the same boat as you, and so I grabbed one of the cheap Rogue mandolins on sale for $40. After I set it up, it plays fine, it just has that unmistakeable cheap laminate sound.
After that, I upgraded to a Washburn M1SDL, which at least has a solid top, and has an oval hole (I was curious to hear the difference myself). It was a pretty decent instrument as well. That one I got as a scratch-and-dent from Musician's Friend for $160 (and eventually sold for twenty bucks less than that, so not too bad).
I've played a couple Gretsch New Yorkers (one of the few mandos the stores around here stock) and they seem to be pretty decent options as well.
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