|
|
#1
10-14-2015, 11:40 PM
|
|||
|
|||
Is a $200. mandolin a possibility?
My son has played guitar for 30 something years, and has a degree in music. He loves guitars and other fretted/stringed instruments, has ukes, a Cuban tres, a baritone, an Andean charango...you get the picture. But he doesn't have a mandolin, and now he's been playing violin so that he can help his daughter with her violin practice, and I thought it would be fun to get him a mando for Christmas. I don't want to spend more than a couple hundred, though. Is that even a possibility? I was thinking eBay. But what do I look out for?
|
|
#3
10-15-2015, 06:08 AM
|
|||
|
|||
Kentucky KM-150
__________________
"What you focus on determines what you miss." Blackbird Lucky 13
|
|
#4
10-15-2015, 07:15 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
If your son has som many instruments (and no doubt some are very good quality), then a low budget mando won't impress him. Give him a gift certificate to Sweetwater or somewhere similar.
__________________
Mike My music: https://mikebirchmusic.bandcamp.com 2020 Taylor 324ceBE 2017 Taylor 114ce-N 2012 Taylor 310ce 2011 Fender CD140SCE Ibanez 12 string a/e 73(?) Epiphone 6830E 6 string 72 Fender Telecaster Epiphone Dot Studio Epiphone LP Jr Chinese Strat clone Kala baritone ukulele Seagull 'Merlin' Washburn Mandolin Luna 'tatoo' a/e ukulele antique banjolin Squire J bass
|
|
#5
10-15-2015, 07:16 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I bought one of those Fender "kits" a couple of years ago. Chinese-made, laminate A-style mandolin. It's not bad at all... Certainly up to duty as an "entry level" instrument.
You might need to tweak the action a bit, but these have adjustable bridges.....
|
|
#6
10-15-2015, 12:31 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
We all know the answer to these questions. If they are structurally true to begin with, with a good setup you can learn to play on a cheap import instrument, be it a uke, mando, banjo, reso, flattop, as well as you can on a much more expensive one.
But it will never sound or respond like a nice one. It's cool to make that decision for yourself. It's not cool to make it for someone else without a little conversation first. One of the first things my inlaws gave me 25 years ago now was a swiss army knife. A chinese "swiss" army knife that eventually fell apart sitting in the drawer it never left! My father in law's hobby was woodworking. He knew better. For another $15 it could have been the real deal, and I'd still be using it today unless I carried it so much the odds caught up with me one day and I lost it. We were never close and he died 10 or so years ago. If we had been close, at one point I would have asked "Dude... You know blades. You saw I carried Spydercos which indicates I know a little about blades. What were you thinking?"
__________________
I only play technologically cutting edge instruments. Parker Flys and National Resonators
|
|
#7
10-15-2015, 12:43 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I have one of those laminated FM-100 mandolin packs from Fender. It took a bit of work to get it set up well, but it plays fine with a consistent sound and it stays in tune pretty well. If I were a serious student even of beginning level I could wish for something a little nicer, but for occasional dabbling it's fine. If I were shopping for one for myself my choice would have been to spend a couple hundred more for one but this was given to me completely by surprise and I was thrilled to receive it and still enjoy it.
|
|
#8
10-15-2015, 02:22 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
The Kentucky KM-150 used, is as close to a decent $200 mando as I've played.
It is just under $300 new and there's seconds sometimes on Ebay. That is what I started out on about 15 years ago or so. On the other hand, if you hit the lottery prior to buying his present, Elderly has a 1924 Gibson F-5 for a measley $165,000. 
|
|
#9
10-15-2015, 02:54 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
 If I did hit the lottery, I doubt I'd spend that much on a mandolin anyway. He can try to hit the lottery his own **** self!Thanks Dave, I will look for the Kentucky KM-150.
|
|
#10
10-15-2015, 03:07 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
__________________
Pogreba Baritone Weissenheimer 'Weissenborn style" (awesome!) Lazy River mahogany weissenborn style Lazy River short scale weissenborn Mainland Tenor Uke
|
|
#11
10-15-2015, 05:03 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Eastman always has a sale on their models around the holidays. Check with a dealer who sells a lot of them, such as the Mandolin Store or Folk Musician. You can get a pretty good deal on a better model. Might be a bit more than $200, but at least it will be quite playable. You might also try the Mandolin Cafe classifieds.
|
|
#12
10-15-2015, 08:00 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
check TheMandolinStore. They send them out with a good setup as well, all you have to do is raise or lower the saddle height to personal preference. sometimes they have used or trade-ins.
a well established shop with a high degree of positive feedback on the MandolinCafe http://themandolinstore.com/product-...yle-mandolins/
|
|
#13
10-15-2015, 09:04 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#14
10-15-2015, 09:06 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#15
10-16-2015, 06:40 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Jack
__________________
http://www.youtube.com/user/JCGuitar?feature=mhee
|
