I bought an Econo A a few years ago. I live in Switzerland, and when Ken shipped it, the clerk was off-by-one and it ended up in Swaziland. Ken and his wife did everything possible but after three months, we gave up and figured it was lost forever. We had an agreement on a replacement, and he had actually started on it, when suddenly it showed up, in perfect condition. Sighs of relief all around. Ken is an absolute straight-up guy.
I love the mandolin. Is it flawless workmanship? No, there are a few (very) minor things I wouldn’t accept on a $4k mandolin. Is the wood exquisite? Yes. Is the finish well-done? Yes. Does it play well? Yes. Does it sound good? Yes, very good. You won’t get anything near this quality at this price.
Mandolin is my third instrument, and this is a much better instrument than I deserve. I’m not going to go out and buy a F; I don’t rate it and it wouldn’t bring me anything. If I were to replace the SA with anything different, it would be a vintage oval-hole Gibson, but for the bit of blues I play, the SA more than good enough. It is no compromise in any important way.
If you can’t live with the minor flaws, send it back,but anything else at the price will be inferior.
And yes, Ken builds for EJ75s. I tried 74s and Martin Retros on mine and went back to the 75s.
Steven
Last edited by stevo58; 04-19-2022 at 12:56 AM.
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