[rpguitar]

I'm in your shoes, as a 40+ year guitar player who just bought his first mandolin. I got the bug after descending for a couple of weeks listening to all kinds of contemporary bluegrass. I'm normally a jazz guy. But Sierra Hull, Chris Thile, wow...

I have quite a few really nice guitars including a 1928 Gibson L-5 so my expectations are very refined. So I was not looking for an el cheapo mandolin, but neither can I justify a $5K mandolin just to see how I like playing one. So I was aiming for a personal sweet spot of between $1-2K.

Anyway I spent 2 hours at Lark Street here in NJ playing every mandolin under $2K with no bias about what I should buy. I listened to the tone and assessed the playability, adjustment potential, and condition. I played a couple of new Eastmans, a couple of Rigels, a few vintage Gibsons, a Flatiron from the 80s, a Loar and and old Martin.

I will spare you all of the individual impressions but I ended up with a 1939 Gibson A-50 for about $1200. Lovely warm, sweet tone, and nicely playable. I have since filed the nut slots, lowered the action, and tweaked the truss rod (I do my own setups). Really nice instrument. I confess that I am a vintage Gibson archtop guitar nut, so I am happy on that front as well.

I am almost positive that if I keep at it, I will buy a nicer mandolin eventually. I'm still way too new to really understand the subtleties of the instrument and what tones are possible with other models. But I think my choice was good for a first quality instrument, which is what I set out to find.