How many here play Mandolin?

[ikravchik]

I'm getting into recording and I need something to solo over rhythm guitar - a bright, clear sound that will cut through the mix. I have a very cheap Rogue mandolin which I tried using, but it just doesn't deliver. Are there any mandolin players on this forum? What mandolins do you use/recommend? I would be willing to buy something under $500.

[charlieD]

I've played and enjoyed an entry-level Kentucky mandolin for years. For under 200, it's a great value.

For about 500, there's a pretty wide selection of Asian-made brands, including Kentucky, Eastman and Loar. I'd suggest checking out the reviews on the Sweetwater website, and also go to mandolincafe.com to get a sense of the market.

Good luck!

[Zissou Intern]

Used Eastman MD305 or 315.

[Wade Hampton]

I played mandolin before I even started playing guitar, and it's still one of my main instruments.

The Eastman mandolins are good, especially if you can get one used. A couple of Kentucky mandolin models that I've consistently found to be an excellent value for the money are the KM-350S and the KM-380S. They're all-solid wood and are a very good design.


whm

[Silly Moustache]

Yes. During the '70s, finding myself alone in a strange town, I attended a bluegrass jam with my old faithful D35 and was immediately recruited into two bluegrass bands. However when I arrived, they said that they needed a mando player.

My then paramour emptied her savings to buy me an Ibanez 524 carved top F5 type mando. (I haven't yet paid her back!)

In those days in semi ruralm England ther wasn't any way that I knoew to learn mandolin, so I simply listend to old records and made it up, developing my own bluesy style.

In recent years I haven't played mando much especially as my main musical teams have included two very proficient mandoliers,and I have tended to be the lead singer and guitarist.

However I have recently started playing as sideman to another singer-guitarist so the dust has been brushed off of my 2005 Lebeda F5 Premium (made by hand in the Czech Republic from where so many fine bluegrass instruments have emerged).

Mando Bob used to have a similar Lebeda which he played until it sung like an angel and then traded it for a Weber Fern.

I prefer my Lebeda (and his).

[Bingoccc]

I play. It sounds like you're in the market for a Kentucky KM-150. Solid wood, F hole. http://themandolinstore.com/product/...-with-gig-bag/

Heavier strings can add to the volume too.

[UncleJoe]

Originally Posted by charlieD

For about 500, there's a pretty wide selection of Asian-made brands, including Kentucky, Eastman and Loar.

Mine is an Eastman. I don't recall the model number and it isn't here right now. Around $450.

[Greg Rappleye]

Check out the Eastman MD-605. New, it's just a bit above your price range but well worth the budget-stretch. If you can get a good price on one used--Whoa!--you will be happy forever.



Greg Rappleye

[815C]

I do (that's my grandpa on the left). I play a Breedlove OF Quartz Custom.

[Zissou Intern]

Originally Posted by UncleJoe

Mine is an Eastman. I don't recall the model number and it isn't here right now. Around $450.

That there is a MD315. They are all solid maple back and sides with a solid Sitka top, and they always sound good and can be absolutely killer. With the thin satin finish, the woods are free to move. They tend to open up quickly when played a lot. $450-550 is the normal selling price on the used market.

[JCook1]

Yes, I've played mandolin for a number of years. Guitar is and always will be my first instrument, but I took up fiddle back in the 70s, playing Irish and Scottish music. Some years after that I got a really bad, cheap mandolin at a flea market and started playing that. It's basically the same as the fiddle so all my tunes were instantly transferable. This mandolin didn't last long, as it really was an awful instrument (no amount of setting up would have helped it). So, I finally bought a Kentucky KM150S from a friend about 6 or 7 years ago for $185 and it's been great. It's just about the bottom of the line of Kentucky instruments, but it's a VERY good inexpensive mandolin. New I think they are about $285 or thereabouts. Kentucky makes very good instruments (in Asia) and have been doing so for many years. You won't go wrong with a Kentucky.

Eastman also has a very good reputation, so decent mandolins can be had for little money, especially if you buy used ones. A VERY fun instrument to play.

Jack

[zombywoof]

I putz with one. I play a 1940 Strad-O-Lin and own a 1933 Gibson-made Recording King which is not playable at the moment. The Strad-O-Lins are, in my opinion, the best budget priced mandolins ever made. I sold my 1910s Gibson A after I got the Strad as I liked it better. There are plenty of them out there and they can usually be snagged in the $300 to $350 range.

[The Bard Rocks]

Played a little bit off and on for decades. now have a great old vintage one, A-style. My partner says he doesn't know how I lay so loud. Note: loud does not mean "good".

[kydave]

The Loar LM-400-VS



All solid, hand carved woods.

$479 at Reverb.

I have one of the prototypes of this mandolin, that I got from the Music Link and gave my girlfriend for xmas a few years ago.

We both play F-Styles now, but they cost more than $500.

I play the Loar LM-700-VS (mine is an Adirondack one-of-a-kind prototype) & she has my old Kentucky KM-750, no longer made.

Here's the 400 proto:



My 700:


The Kentucky:


The mando adds to the recording, for sure!

Here's one from my last album.

Last Letter Home

[Nate74]

Originally Posted by kydave

The Loar LM-400-VS

I'll second the recommendation for the Loar. I added a K&K pickup to mine and it sounds fantastic plugged in and recorded.