# Octaves, Zouks, Citterns, Tenors and Electrics > CBOM >  APC 308 Octave Mandolin review.  BUDGET OMs

## Ge23ev

Hey guys
A month ago I was in the process of choosing an Octave mandolin and someone suggested the Portuguese made APC but I couldn't find alot of info anywhere. 
So now that I have gotten one of my own I thought I'd give it a review as best as I can to help people in the future like me.  
So I first things first, I purchased the instrument to be shipped to Iran from Kieran from Moloney Music in Galway Ireland. Kieran was very helpful and patient with all my questions and took the time to explain everything and overall I was very satisfied the experience. 
The instrument: 
The instrument is a Portuguese made by Antonio Carvalho instrument. 
This one is a cedar top, ovanko back and sides with heringbone trims and mop soundhole rosette. 
Scale length is approximately 561mm or 22-1/4 .Nut width 38mm or 1-1/2 inches. 
I chose the cedar top since I heard the produced a warmer tone compared to spruce and I was looking for more contrast to my mandolin. 
Lots of people ask about a comparison between this and the Trinity College octave mandolin. 
The trinity college is a slightly shorter scale length. I don't have access to one to post audio comparison but I have played a couple of them before. I would say the TC has a more "zingy" and stronger base sound on the G and D string but with the E and A i would say the APC is the winner and over all I would prefer the sound of the APC over all but the shorter scale length of the TC is easier for mandolin players. 
With build quality I would say they are about the same. The TC has slightly better looking headstock but the APC has prettier bindings and trim. 
Describing the sound I would consider it a deep warm tone with lots of sustain and a descent zingy resonance that signifies the Irish bouzouki sound. 

I purchased the instrument for   339 and 39   for the Ashbury padded Soft case. I was offered a small discount for the small blemish on the neck from the factory. Comparing the price of this instrument to the Trinity College I would with no doubt choose this one. Even if they were the same price I might still choose this one considering this one is Portuguese and the TC is Chinese made. 
Over all I'm very happy with my purchase and very satisfied both with the instrument and Moloney Music. 
Below I will post some pictures of the instrument and some sound clips. 
Please excuse my somewhat poor skill I'm not an experienced player and I haven't had enough time to adapt yo the longer scale size. The buzzing and some of the muted notes are my fault. 

I hope this helps. If you have any questions or anything that i haven't covered I'd be glad to help .

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bbcee, 

Big Bird, 

bratsche, 

Dave Sheets, 

derbex, 

Paulmazz, 

Rob Zamites, 

Seter

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## Paulmazz

Thanks for the comparison, I've been really interested in these! How does the neck feel on the APC? I read somewhere that they can be a bit too thick. Also, how is the setup from Maloney? is there any buzzing or intonation issues?

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## Ge23ev

The neck might feel a bit too wide I'd you're used to thin neck mandolins. It won't feel as thick as a guitar but not as manageable as a regular mandolin for me . As for the set up I had them set it up with daddario j80 strings. The did fair job. Kieran checks them from their factory. There's no buzzing if I can play decently. So far the limitations have been mostly from my side

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Paulmazz

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## Seter

Good to hear the positive review, they have a few instruments I might be interested in getting down the road some day.

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## draugwath

I may recommend APC instruments, they are really very cool, especially considering the price.
I've been playing my bouzouki for over three years, and it's always been a pleasure. However, it has few cracks in the finish, and the frets are not very durable. I had to replace them after two years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpktOkdkGco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XxDa968g80
However, I find APC instruments to be the best choice if you are not ready to raid a piggy bank. And the wide neck is wonderful, especially after Hora instruments.

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fox

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## Ge23ev

Great picking my friend. You should have added more detailed description for those videos. When I was trying to find demos for APC instruments I couldn't find any and your videos are great ones.

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