|
|
Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4044
Location: Utah | Because I trust you guys, I gotta ask what to look for in buying a mandolin. My 11 yr old, who is a very good violin player and plays his teacher's mandolin sometimes, wants to buy himself a mandolin with his saved up Christmas and birthday money.
I figure we're in the $350 and under price range, approximately. He wants an instrument with a pickup.
Are there any mando-specific things to look for? He can play different ones to see how they feel and sound, and we can inspect them for workmanship. Is there anything else to know? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | In that price range Fender makes some pretty good stuff. The Fender FM52E is acoustic electric and is about $250. Nice instument. Biggest consideration for an 11 year old is probably going to be A-style vs. F-style. If I was 11 years old I'd probably think the F-style was too gay. If he wants electric only then also check out the Mandobird. That'll impress his friends for sure. Not sure what the violin teacher would think of it.
There's a long thread I wrote someplace in the archives about the applause/celebrity/ovation mandos. The applause and celebrity are cute but thay are shit. Electronics are OK, but quality control is poor, acoustic sound is poor, and you will struggle like hell to get them setup correctly. Other members will object "I love my celeb mando,,," blah blah blah whatever. Trust me I completely pissed every every penny I spent on both an applause and later a celeb plus hundreds of dollars in trying to get them playable. A total waste of money. Only when I bit the bullet and got a USA model was I satisfied. The Fenders are a MUCH better choice in the price range you are looking.
Check out the websites www.mandolincafe.com and www.themandolinstore.com
Dave |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | EDIT: |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | EDIT: |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Who was the guy who was here a couple of years ago who had a custom built Adamas mando? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Mando hack |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4044
Location: Utah | Tup, thanks for the links and info. His teacher would be ok with the electric mando. She's not just cool and a great musician, she's a real kids' teacher who understands that kids have to have fun. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | sounds like a mandobird! Does that have an adjustable neck? I looked at one once and I don't think it diid and you'll probably want that. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | As I recall, the epiphone mandobirds do not have adjustable necks. Fender used to make an electric mando, but I don't know if they still do.
I'd recommend an Olympia Mandolin. They sound pretty good to me, and can be found in your price range. The Olympia's are made by Tacoma and have a cool factor. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
April 2007
Posts: 225
Location: Stow, Ohio | Fender doesn't make anything that comes from outside the U.S. it's made by Samick, amd just says Fender. with the fenders you are just paying for the name on the headstock.
unless it is custom shop. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | I took a run at learning mando and looked around a bit. Dave is on target.
http://www.mandolincafe.com
Is a focused forum.
I found that the Mid Missouri or "Mid-Mo" units were cost effective and user friendly. Now I see that there has been a fire, a lawsuit and a change of names.
But their back...
http://www.midmomandolin.com/products.php |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 56
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma | The best mando-related advice from my neighborhood luthier/tech: Get one with a truss rod. He was dubious about being able to guarantee setup quality on an instrument without one.
Many of the lower cost mandos do not have a truss rod, I noticed. |
|
| |
OT: How to buy a mandolin?
