# Instruments and Equipment > Equipment >  Describe your MAS progression

## Daniel Infield

OK so my eyes have been opened how big a difference a good mandolin makes in terms of the enjoyment of this hobby.

A couple years back I played an entry Eastman (315- which I realize has a good overall reputation) but no amount of pro set up or mods could get me to fall in love.  

Restarted with a second hand american KF breedlove and it has been like night and day.  Love it love it love it.  Guessing a serious upgrade would not be until the range of a used car...

As a way for me to understand what the far off, but wisest next step up would be, could you guys describe the progression of mandolins that you've bought/played on your way to the 'one'?  This is really just for fun.

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## pheffernan

It’s never a bad topic to explore:

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...AS-Progression

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lflngpicker

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## William Smith

My MAS progression can be scary as I've had 100's of quality mnadolins-some I sure wish I could've kept "like my old Paganoni F-5, a 2004 V-Fern- a few others" but its allowed me to get some killer old Gibson's such as a very nice virtually unplayed 24 Loar, a 26 and 34 Ferns, some F-7's and some rare ones like a 35 F-12, some old elevated board A-50's, and one that's still getting a makeover to make it a great player the 1934 Joe Wilson F-5 "perhaps the first known Gibson type copy" David Harvey is still in the process of fixing that up but I have no doubt it will be one heck of a player and it looks great also! I'm just surprised it survived with no top bracing at all! So he's installing Loar style tone bar bracing, a dovetail deep neck set, a riser block, a new fret board, new nut, tuners, bridge and tailpiece assembly! It was made by a violin builder and the neck and block were one piece so it was virtually unplayable so that's more than likely why it survived?

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## yankees1

Started with an Eastman A5, then an Eastman F5 915 with an extremely poor setup and fret replacement from a dealer in Florida, then a very good Oldwave oval, then a Northfield with finish problems that were never resolved , two higher end mandolins that were returned as sound wasn't there, and finally now have an Ellis A5 , Ellis F5, Girouard A oval and a Girouard F oval . MAS is over with the Ellis and Girouard mandolins ! Love them !

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## John Soper

Be very careful.  Once the flame of MAS is started, it is very, very difficult to extinguish.

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Daniel Infield

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## Denny Gies

In chronological order.........Auria, 1916 Gibson A2, Kentucky 1000, Randy Wood F5, 1916 Gibson A4, 1920 Gibson F4, 1920 Gibson A3.  Still have the last four and now I'm done................

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## LadysSolo

Started with a the Loar LM 220, and leaped right up to a Pava player, Weber oval, and Collings MT (plus a few bowlbacks) MAS is now satisfied.
Forgot a Kentucky KM 805 (my only F-style) that I traded a guitar that didn't fit me for. It's nice, I am keeping it because it's my only F-style, but I don't like it as well as the Pava, Weber, and Collings.

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## fatt-dad

search the forum for, "My Collections Complete."  You can can read all about it!  Here are the cliff notes:

‘50s Kay
Aria PM-780 (marked “hand made,” f-style)
Gibson A-3
Alvarez A-100 (12-fret, a-model, f-holes, wood binding)
Framus Guitar-shape
Joe Hayes Unique with f-holes (folk art)
Ibanez A-5 (15-fret, snakehead)
Kingston Electric (hollow body)
'84 Flatiron 1N
Montana A Oval (Romanian-made)
Kentucky A-180 f-hole (MIJ)
Kentucky A-160S (MIJ)
Vega VM-10 (MIJ, laminate)
Ibanez A-model
Framus A-model
Flatiron A5-1 (Carlson)
Hondo A oval hole
Alvarez A-400 (Martin cant-top clone)
Fender FM-61SE
gibson “opryland” (tourist souvenir)
Aria M-300 (2-point)
Yasuma YM-130 (solid wood, MIJ)
Kentucky KM-180B
Aria Pro II A-style (very disappointing, laminate)
Alvarez 2-point
'30s Kalamazoo KM-11
Ibanez A-style (interesting distressed finish)
Ibanez D-hole
Kentucky KM-250S (MIJ)
Aria M-180
Stiver A5 (great!)
Washburn M-2
Muth F-5
Breedlove KO
A5 IV kit (donated away)
Cohen A5 (redwood/walnut)
Muth A5
’24 Gibson A2Z
Phoenix Bluegrass
Ellis A5 Deluxe
'25 Gibson A (or A1)
Eastman MDO-305
'83 Flatiron 1N

f-d

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## Jess L.

> ... describe the progression of mandolins that you've bought/played on your way to the 'one'?  This is really just for fun.


1. Cheap one. Because "it was there" and already had strings on it, so I picked it up to play it. It was the only mandolin in the house at the time. Horrible, horrible instrument. Awful. Awful! Old plywood Kay. Could not keep it in tune at all, neck was not stable. Stopped playing mandolin altogether because of that dreadful Kay. Somehow or another, my dad was able to make that mandolin produce actual music, but it must have taken special patience and talent which I did not have. 

2. Next, a nice one. Old 1910's Gibson mandola, which of course is the next bigger size up from mandolin. A joy to play. I had that for some time. But, I really needed a high E string which it lacked, as my primary interest was simply flatpicking fiddle tunes, so I didn't actually play it a whole bunch, just now and then. Hear a quick lo-fi clip of the Gibson here, recorded in 1981, I'm playing the Gibson mandola as backing for my dad on banjo. 

3. Then, my best-ever mandolin - an early Steve Grimes mandolin. (His stuff goes for a fortune nowadays, but he wasn't all that famous yet, back then.) I sure liked the sound of that thing, and it played like a dream. Unfortunately, it was sadly lost in a natural disaster.  :Crying:  No recordings are still in existence.  

4. No mandolin at all, again, for many years. Didn't play mandolin, didn't play much music at all, in fact. Too busy working. 

5. A loaner Soviet mandolin from a friend, one of those budget mandolins that originally cost $25 brand new. He thought it was time for me to start playing mandolin again. I disagreed with that philosophy at first, but I reluctantly agreed to take the mandolin home with me, figuring I would ignore it in the corner. But, since it was sitting there in my living room, I'd pick it up and play it, that was what got me back into mandolin. It had tuners that required a pair of pliers (padded so as to not leave marks, since it wasn't my instrument) to turn the knobs. I didn't much care for the sound of the thing, but it got me back into playing mandolin after all those years of not playing. 

6. Family attic-find bent-top Favilla with serious structural deficiencies. Hear it in action here. Shortly thereafter though, I had to 'retire' that mandolin due to increasing likelihood that the string tension (light gauge) would pull the instrument apart. Still don't have the money to sink it proper repairs for it, and I don't want to ruin it by allowing incompetent attempts at repairs. So it's sidelined.  

7. $50 Rogue. What a downgrade  :Sleepy:  but a Rogue can be made to be marginally tolerable with a cheap stick-on pickup and a little reverb on a Roland Micro Cube amp with the knob set at "Acoustic",  :Grin:  like this. 

8. No playable mandolin at all again. Way downsized. Probably temporary but we'll see. 

Morals of the story? (a) Better is better but it might not last so don't get too emotionally attached to it. (b) Cheap can be made to work, if your expectations are reduced accordingly. (c) Doing without, kinda sucks. (d) It's very difficult as a beginner to try to learn on a total piece of junk, because you blame yourself for all the deficiencies of the instrument. (e) After you already have some proficiency in playing, and your comfort level is higher, you can sometimes make even a derelict piece of junk produce some quasi-musical sounds by adapting your playing style to the wretched thing's many shortcomings (like this YouTube guy playing blues on an almost-toy guitar)  :Mandosmiley:  ... but you probably won't wish to do that for an extended period of time... it's a cool challenge and all but after a while it gets tiresome and you just want something that sounds ok and plays halfway decent. 
That's all I know.  :Laughing:  

Addenda 1: Evidently at one point I owned at least one other mandolin that's not listed above, because I recently found a batch of old pictures spanning a year or so where I was playing the thing. I don't remember it, must not have made much of an impression on me, although it looked nice in the pics. Appeared to be possibly some sort of early Asian import.

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brobmarketing

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## Tom Wright

Ryder 5-string electric
Weber Special Edition
Buchanan 10-string
Sold Weber
Almuse 10-string electric
Another Buchanan 10
Another Buchanan 10
Converted Ryder to 10-string

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Joey Anchors

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## Joey Anchors

Here’s my list..

Budget Gretsch (Forget the model)
Kentucky KM900
Eastman MD404
Crystal Forest jazz five string 
Draleon Royale (current mando)


And now lusting over this...

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## Daniel Infield

> Morals of the story? (a) Better is better but it might not last so don't get too emotionally attached to it. (b) Cheap can be made to work, if your expectations are reduced accordingly. (c) Doing without, kinda sucks. (d) It's very difficult as a beginner to try to learn on a total piece of junk, because you blame yourself for all the deficiencies of the instrument. (e) After you already have some proficiency in playing, and your comfort level is higher, you can sometimes make even a derelict piece of junk produce some quasi-musical sounds by adapting your playing style to the wretched thing's many shortcomings (like this YouTube guy playing blues on an almost-toy guitar)  ... but you probably won't wish to do that for an extended period of time... it's a cool challenge and all but after a while it gets tiresome and you just want something that sounds ok and plays halfway decent. 
> That's all I know.  
> 
> Addenda 1: Evidently at one point I owned at least one other mandolin that's not listed above, because I recently found a batch of old pictures spanning a year or so where I was playing the thing. I don't remember it, must not have made much of an impression on me, although it looked nice in the pics. Appeared to be possibly some sort of early Asian import.


Wise words!!!  Thanks to you guys who have kicked in their experience- bringing a smile to my face

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Jess L.

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## foldedpath

I'm probably breaking some unwritten MAS rule here, but I'm still playing the first mandolin I bought, uh (counting on fingers and toes)... 13 years ago. A Lebeda Premium Plus F-style with a redwood top. 

I had played guitar for 30-odd years, and went through a progression of guitars ending with several custom, high-dollar luthier orders. So I had an idea of what I'd have to pay for a really fine mandolin. On the other hand, I didn't have an unlimited budget. At that time, there were several Czech builders like Lebeda, Pruscha (sp?) and others, making great instruments at prices a little lower than equivalent models made in the USA due to the exchange rate at the time, and selling through USA retailers. I did a LOT of online research, mostly here on the Cafe, and the Lebeda name kept popping up the the time. 

I found one for sale at a store in the Midwest with an usual redwood top and chocolate brown semi-transparent finish. I was intrigued at the idea of a redwood top where the wood had traveled from the US West coast over to Eastern Europe, then back to the USA, where it could have a home where I live in the Pacific Northwest. Bringing that wood back home, as it were.

IIRC, it was around $4,500 plus tax and shipping, similar to some of the custom acoustic guitars I had ordered. A bargain when considering carved archtop mandolins are usually more expensive than flattop guitars.

So I bought it, and it turned out to be a wonderful instrument. It has a very clear tone, with strong notes up the neck. Maybe not an ideal Bluegrass machine in terms of "warmth" or woody tone -- I've heard other mandolins with more of that tone. But I don't play Bluegrass. I've settled into the world of Irish/Scottish trad, and the tone is great for cutting through a mix of fiddles and the occasional piper. 

I've never wanted another mandolin. I did buy a nice Weber OM a few years later, more of a sideways move. I suppose if someone dropped 10 or 20 grand in my lap and said I had to spend that on a mandolin, I might try a Heiden or Nugget or something, but I'm happy with this Lebeda. If you find a good'un the first time, it can be a keeper.

Now I just have to duck the lightning bolt about to arrive from the MAS gods, for not jumping on the constant upgrade wagon...  :Chicken:

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Daniel Infield

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## Jim Garber

The first mandolin I played was a Martin A that a college friend owned. That get me wanting one and I ended up buying an American Conservatory bowlback from a store in New York City. Had that one for a while then started playing fiddle and I realized that bowlbacks were not cool and ended up trading for a Vega Cylinder back. Joined a string band and couldn't hear myself so I bought a 1919 Gibson A-3. Traded that a few years later for a 23 A2 that I still own. I have never been without at east one Gibson mandolin in my life but I also own a closetful of bowlbacks, some of high quality, plus the frontline being the ones I have accumulated over the years which are in my signature.

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## Jill McAuley

My list and my story:

1) Briefly had a Jimmy Moon AE flat top mandolin back in Ireland, but sold it a few months later as I was moving to the States.

2) A couple of months after my arrival in the States I bought a cheap Harmony Monterey as a birthday present for a friend, had so much fun playing it before I gave it to them that I decided a needed a mandolin of my own - I'm a tenor banjo player and I went from living in an isolated farmhouse in the Irish countryside to a tiny studio apartment in Oakland, CA where it was extremely difficult to play tenor banjo quietly! I figured a mandolin would be more "neighbor friendly".

3) Bought a '60's Gibson A50 off of eBay - the classic "guitar player buying a Gibson because of name brand recognition" and I had a history of being happy with Gibson acoustic and electric guitars I'd owned in the past. The A50 didn't sound great, and I started reading about Flatiron pancakes here, so I sold the A50 and started to look for one of those.

4) Got a nice Flatiron 2M off of eBay, in lovely shape, much nicer to play than the A50 was and nicer sounding too. Then MAS set in....

5) Saw a blue Weber Aspen II on Elderly's website, read good things about them here and pulled the trigger on it - nicely set up and more tonal range than the Flatiron.

6) Got a custom order Redline Traveler, with a Gold top finish as I've always loved that look on Les Pauls.

7) Got a Pomeroy A4 - my first carved top mandolin (not counting the A50 which was only with me briefly) - sold the Flatiron and the Redline.

8) Saw a lovely Weber Custom Gallatin oval F on the Mandolin Store's website - traded the Weber Aspen II towards it, and sold the Pomeroy.

9) Got a J.Bouvier electric mandolin so I could play late into the night unplugged as by this time I was completely obsessed with mandolin playing.

10) Got a Weber Vintage A from Greg Boyd's website. Had to sell the Gallatin though, something I always regretted as I really had a bond with that mandolin.

11) Lost my job and had to sell the Vintage A a few months later. A Cafe member purchased it and I got an Eastman 905 in part exchange. Sold the J.Bouvier too. A month before losing my job I had commissioned a build with Jim Hilburn and was determined to not have to cancel it.

12) Managed to cobble together 4 jobs to tide me over, offered a Mike Black A2Z and couldn't pass it up, was great to have a nice oval hole mandolin again, sold the Eastman.

13) Hilburn A5 arrived at the end of the year. By this stage I was back to working one stable job, which was a relief.

14) Had to sell the Mike Black to pay the taxman, sold the Hilburn to help finance a move. Didn't play mandolin or own one for a few of years.

15) Was playing a lot of tenor banjo again and found myself wanting a mandolin too, so got a nice 1927 Gibson Ajr. 

16) Loved the Ajr but the flat fretboard just wasn't working for me, saw a lovely Black face gloss top Collings MT-O on the Music Emporium's website and bought it.

17) Was perfectly happy with the MT-O until I attended Marla Fibish's first Irish Mandolin Winter Intensive workshop and played a lovely Girouard oval A that one of the other attendees had - went straight home after that first day and emailed Max about commissioning a build.

18) My gorgeous Girouard Concert A arrived in Dec 2018 and didn't disappoint - I still can't believe it's mine. My MAS has been completely cured, and in addition to the fact that everything about this mandolin is perfect for me, it also has my Beagle, Janey Mack, inlayed on the headstock, so this one is going nowhere!

(This list represents 7.5 years of playing, as shortly after the Hilburn arrived I stopped playing, so didn't touch a mandolin from January 2012 to December 2015 when I bought the Ajr).

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fatt-dad

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## LastMohican

Washburn M1SDLTBL
Breedlove American FF
Loar 590
Northfield F5S
TKD Falcon

The "plan" (and we all know how that goes!) is to, at some point, put the TKD up for sale and buy another Northfield. We'll see.

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## Daniel Infield

> Washburn M1SDLTBL
> Breedlove American FF
> Loar 590
> Northfield F5S
> TKD Falcon
> 
> The "plan" (and we all know how that goes!) is to, at some point, put the TKD up for sale and buy another Northfield. We'll see.


LastMohican,

What are you getting sound wise from the F5S that is over and above the sound of the FF?  Could you compare them for me?

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## jim simpson

1. no-name flat topped model with wood parquetry of a clown playing to the moon 
2. Harmony/Monterey A model with f-holes 
3. Washburn A model with oval hole
4. Gerald Anderson F-5 style (#24)
5. Ratliff R5 (F-5 style)
6. Weber Yellowstone
7. KM-1000 Kentucky, black 
8. Gibson F5G
9. Gibson A 1917 pumpkin top
10. Flatiron A Performer
11. Trinity octave mandolin
12. Fullerton Gloucester F5
13. Gibson A3 project
14. Gibson A 1915 project
15. Harmony Shutt style 2 point
16. Glenn F5 style
17. Gibson A9
18. Fender 5 string electric mandolin
19. Epiphone Firebird 8 string electric mandolin
20. couple of Kentucky A models (can't remember model #s)
21. Stradolin
22. Chris Warner Gibson F5 copy
23. National Steel 30's period faux wood grain mandolin
24. Nagoya F5 style retopped to F4 style
25. Collings black top MT 
26. Daley F5 std.
27. Gibson A Sheraton Brown
28. Flatiron mandola
29. Kentucky KM-805
30. Martin A – 20’s
31. Collings MF5
32. Poe F4
33. Sovereign flat top mandolin
34. Carlo Catalfamo F5
35. Kentucky KM-1000
36. Gibson Army Navy
37.	 Stradolin
38. Gold Tone 4 string electric
39. Gibson Army Navy
40. Collings MF blonde
41. Rigel A
42. Flatiron pancake
43. Gibson ’81 F5L
44. Gibson Fern’03
45. Gibson snakehead ‘23
46. Gibson F4 ‘12
47. Gibson F9 ‘02

Only the last five Gibson mandolins remain

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## mandroid

1974 I bought a $150 used Gibson A40   that's  how it began..

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## Daniel Infield

foldedpath-

sounds like you made a great call on the mando you do have!  Would love to hear a redwood topped mando at some point.

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## fatt-dad

> foldedpath-
> 
> sounds like you made a great call on the mando you do have!  Would love to hear a redwood topped mando at some point.


My Cohen A5 is redwood and walnut.  Play it all the time.  Love it too!

f-d

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## MontanaMatt

Gold Tone, discovered I loved playing mando
Custom Weber, cuz I had friends working there and they convinced me to shoot for the moon, and it’s a NICE one
Custom Ratliff,  cuz I needed a bluegrass beast.
That is all, and it covers a 20 yr span.
Avoiding cheap ones reduced my numbers, but it didn’t limit my $$.
Happy pickin  :Mandosmiley:

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## Mark Wilson

$200 new Kentucky Oval via Amazon.  Arrived in cardboard box with strings and bridge in baggie
$400 used Flatiron via ebay.  Nice mandolin but high un-adjustable action
$2200 new satin Pava A via Elderly. Could not have been a better sounding/playing mandolin
$2000 new satin blonde Pava A via Mando Mutt.  Beautiful but brighter than any Collings I've played
$2000 almost new Collings A via Ebay.  Was lucky to get a nice sounding Collings online but still too bright for my taste
$2400 Kelley (local builder Skip Kelley) A from Mando Mutt.  Traded the Collings.  Still have it.  Great mandolin
$3500 used Ellis A  located local via MC classifieds. Worthy of it's reputation.
Commissioned a James Bernabe 3 point.  Local builder.  The only issue I have with a new instrument is it's so pristine I treat it like fine china and wouldn't dare take it camping.  Go figure
I'm done.  Blessed with 3 nice mandolins and cursed with skills not worthy of the $200 one.

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Daniel Infield

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## Daniel Infield

Mark- if you see this, two Q's for you

1. I noticed that you and some others have made the first real jump to a Pava.  Can you describe the decision process.... they seem like a good value???
2. Along the same lines, the second pava that was really bright (presumably more so than the first).   Was this expected from different specs or just a one-off difference?

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## Mark Wilson

At the time Pava mandolins were smokin hot on MC and I leaned on other's advice and opinion for some assurance of a 'good' mandolin bought online w/o trial.  I bought it on rep and was not disappointed in any way.  A very sweet sounding, nicely balanced, mandolin that still sounds great in the hands of it's new owner

The second Pava was a learning experience on how two mandolins made by same hands - maybe a year apart with same specs could be so different in sound quality. Along with that I understand how one picker can love brand X and another not care for it at all.  

That said, Pava would be on my short list every time for a satin A (up model Pava's have some very worthy competitors - imo). And after playing other Pava mandolins I believe the first one I had was the rule and the second one the exception

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## soliver

1. A friend lent me a cheapo Ibanez A model and I was hooked... 

2. felt like I'd should give the Ibanez back, so I bought a cheap $50 laminate topped thing off Craigslist, followed the Meldrum self-setup guide and made it sound decent. And played it for a while... started to recognize its shortcomings and wanted something nicer.

3. Saved up a little money (tight budget) and bought an Eastman MD305... love love loved that Mando and played it a couple years. With this instrument I grew a lot in my ability and learned a good deal. I made an armrest for it and when someone saw it, they asked for one of their own and lo and behold a small business developed to help me pay for mY MAS and not effect the household budget. 

4. I started to think I wanted to step a little bit higher in the food chain and that I would benefit from an Oval hole instrument, I gave serious consideration to custom ordering a Crystal Forrest Flattop, and after some deliberation and advice from Cafe members, I settled on a Flatiron 1N (again from Craigslist) to give the Flattop a trial before custom ordering something. I liked it a lot, but felt like it wasn't quite right for me, so I sold it here on the classifieds. But still wanted to step up.

5. I was pretty sure I wanted something a step up from the Eastman and still thought I wanted an oval hole. I didn't want to have to save forever so I started to investigate Silverangel Mandolins by Ken Ratcliff. I wanted to give one a try so I met up with David Mold (Oldsausage) and gave his a try and LOVED it. Also went up and spent a weekend in Nashville and played an SA at Carter's to confirm my wants. With armrest production in full swing, I had worked and saved for about 18 months to 2 years and made enough to custom order a Silverangel Econo A with a Red Cedar top and maple back and sides paid for completely by money made selling Armrests in the Cafe Classifieds. I decided I wanted an F-hole instrument after all as I mostly played BG, and that just made more sense.

6. Over my time of playing and immersion into the mandolin culture, I became pretty well acquainted with Marty Jacobson and while having him check a fret on the SA last year I mentioned that I'd still like to have an Oval hole A. Long story short, him being so generous, he gave me a first-run Nautilus Oval hole mando that he felt he could not sell. It has a crack in the top under the fretboard extension that you can't see. For all intents and purposes it is mine to do with as I please on the condition that I not ever sell it. If I end up not wanting it, I'll just give it back. It needs a little fret work and I intend to do that here soon.

7. Being a woodworker and cabinet maker for the last 20 years, I am hoping to make the natural progression into building. I have been feverishly working to get my shop suitable for Luthiery and am on the verge of my first build. I do miss the Flatiron 1N so my intent is to build a pancake mando as my first. I have plans from Terry Majewski from Crystal Forest and hope to start soon.

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LadysSolo, 

Rush Burkhardt

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## William Smith

Its easier to remember the keepers for me as many low and high end have went to get what I know have!

1923 Gibson MB-5-all silver plated and Loar style silver engraved A tuners with pearl buttons
1986 Grandpa Big Bill Smith F-5
1924 Gibson December 1st Lloyd Loar F-5 with Virzi
1926 Gibson F-5 Fern
1934 Gibson F-5 Fern
1935 Gibson F-12
1939 Gibson F-7
1939 Gibson F-7 Randy Wood re-neck "Loar Buster"
1935 Gibson A-50 elevated board "monster'
1958 Gibson F-5 Randy Wood re-grad and new neck
1961 Gibson F-5-in process of myself doing a re-grad
1924 Gibson Tenor Lute
1924 Gibson Tenor Lute to Mandola convert by Gary Vessel
2017 Gary Vessel Loar tribute F-5 with Virzi
1934 Joe Wilson F-5ish copy-still getting work done by David Harvey as it needed a bunch of work!
1933ish ViviTone electric mandolin
1933ish ViviTone Hawaiian guitar-museum quality!
2 Fender Custom Shop Clarence White B-benders
2001 Martin Clarence White signature edition D-18
1957 Martin D-18 with rare Adirondack top
1919 Martin OO-18 "attic find" still in the shop for resto.
2009 Fender Pink Paisley Telecaster 
1995 Martin HD-28 kit guitar I built when I was younger with my Gramps
6 or so 30's Gibson A models for conversions
2009 Gibson F-10 75th anniversary edition
2020 Apitius Rosine custom F-5, with my wood specs such as a wider grain top for the bass side and very fine for the treble side, that is in the process of being built-exciting! Delivery in September, just in time for my B-day! 
1970's Ibanez F-5 that was Gramps that Ronnie McCoury played at his first gig in California when my Great Uncle Dick Smith played banjo with Del and Dixie Pals around 80-81-needs resto!

Some above are on the chopping block as one can only play so many!

Many vintage quality rare and very hard to find cases-Loar and 30's F-5 oblong/rectangular, some shaped as well, many rare 20's and 30's mandolin parts!

Now the few I wish I could've kept!
2001 Paganoni F-5
2004 Gibson V-Fern
1982 Gilchrist F-5
1935 Gibson A-Century
2001 Gibson F5-G
1980 Gibson F5-L-it was re-graduated by original owner by Ward Elliot "I think?"
1944 Gibson J-45-5 piece neck and maple back and sides, spruce top-best old guitar I ever had!
           I'm sure there are a few more but cant think but they allowed and helped me get my keepers!

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Eric Platt, 

lflngpicker

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## LastMohican

> LastMohican,
> 
> What are you getting sound wise from the F5S that is over and above the sound of the FF?  Could you compare them for me?


So, I want to be clear...I'm a "one mandolin at a time" kind of cat. I've got a 17 year old that I have to get through two more years of private high school and then college!!

I sold the Northfield about a month ago SOLELY for economic reasons. It broke my heart to do it, but, as I say, I hope to be able to get another somewhere down the road. We'll see.

So, comparing the F5S to the Breedlove FF (and these comments will hold true as a comparison against the TKD as well: the Northfield has that big round tone with that ringing, bell-like quality and it has this all through the bottom and mid-range. Then, and I think this is the bigger difference, it just has the ability to "cut" way more up at the top. The higher tones are fuller and louder than either of the other mandolins. Said another way...I would struggle to define it, but I believe there is this "high end" mandolin sound that you really notice when you hear these upper end instruments live. I've almost ALWAYS heard that "sound" in Collings. And, in my opinion, the Northfield has that in spades!

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lflngpicker

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## JEStanek

This Blog Post is 12 years old and my mandolins are staying the same at this point.  To a certain degree, I believe you get what you pay for but I also firmly believe it's you who makes a mandolin sound really good.  At least when I have played much more expensive mandolins than anything I own, I may be able to hear some differences but, I still sound like me.  Strumming a Loar didn't make me play like Thile!

Jamie

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jim simpson, 

lflngpicker

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## Bill Bradshaw

Not a long list like some.

An Aria F that my wife bought for me.
A fun 1920 Gibson A that I found at an auction for $250; sold it
A 1993 Stiver A.  A good mandolin; eventually sold it.
A 50s? Gibson EM150 that was gifted to me.  A real beater. Still have it so the grandkids can play with it.
A Kimble A, woulda kept it but it got squished by a car.
A Kimble F, another good mandolin
The last one is a Heiden F; another good mandolin that gives me great pleasure.

Cheers

----------


## pit lenz

120 for a second hand Kentucky 150
1000 for a new Eastman 515
2000 for a second hand Northfield F5s. (Sold the Eastman)
6500 for a new Northfield Artist 5bar.  (Sold the F5s)

I think I was ill that day when in math class the exponential function was explained... :Confused:

----------


## mandroid

Added a David Hodson D'Jangolin. in a made for it red metalflake  (thermoplastic) case..   about 10 years ago..


 :Whistling:

----------


## Mark Seale

An early '80s Kentucky A model
Borrowed my dad's A model he built from a kit from Givens
Bought Blondie - Gibson Master Model by Derrington - incredible mandolin
Traded Blondie for 2010 Gilchrist F5 - *still have it*
Bought a Monteleone Style B
Bought a Kentucky KM900, varnish finish
Traded the Monteleone for 2002 Gilchrist Model 3 - *still have it*

----------

sgarrity

----------


## Victor Daniel

I started out with a cheepo from a pawn shop. I can’t even recall the brand. My first nice mandolin was a 88 RL Givens, which I still love and enjoy. Since then I've purchased several more A styles, a 2point, an old Gibson oval hole. When I get something new its usually to satisfy a specific tonal quality I'm looking for at the time, or to get a unique sound from my other mandolins. My latest mandolin is a AL Smart F5 and it checks all the right boxes for me. It seems like it has all the positive characteristics of many of my other mandolins rolled into to one without any of the drawbacks. Its actually kind of ruined my MAS. The classifieds don’t have the same thrill when your not hungry for something new.

----------


## Mando Mafia

First one was a pawn shop bowl back with cracks that finally fell apart. But I was bitten by the bug.

Next up was another cheapo no-name that got me through several years of learning by playing along with records. I broke the headstock off that one. Ha!

Next was a Kentucky KM 650. Scroll envy took me there, but the sound wasnt anything to shake a stick at.

Then a James Jones Octave Mandolin bought from him at a craft fair in about 1988. I fell in love with the sound, and it took me through all my active playing years with Mando Mafia.

I acquired a teens Gibson A shovel head in a trade with a friend for building her a massage table..playable, but it had a severe crack in the headstock. But hey, it was kinda free.

And then a Kentucky KM 180 .. a deal from classifieds, which I bought intending to resell or trade.

1918 Gibson H2 Mandola. The top is sunken but stable, and at some point I intend to have it re-topped. Its currently strung with octave pairs(except the top strings which are unison)..I got that idea from Steve Smith, who had a similarly strung Mandola.

Then a stroke of luck...I was going to a wedding in Michigan, and decided to stop by Elderly Instruments in Lansing on the way as I was itching to upgrade to a significantly better mandolin. I took the Kentucky A and the Gibson with the cracked headstock and used them for a partial trade on a Monteleone, which happened to have been in the store on consignment for two or three days. Its #6, made in 1976, two points, with a unique headstock, like the old Gibson Moccassin headstocks they used to put on banjos at one time. John Monteleone said it was the prototype for his Baby Grand two point model. Its a beauty.

Next up, a Northfield archtop octave mandolin. I had seen Joe K Walsh playing one, and just had to get one and its probably the instrument I play the most currently. Now I hardly ever play the James Jones, though I still have it.

A couple of years ago, I bought a cheapo Fender A Mando to take on a trip to Ireland as I was worried about losing any of my instruments to CITES regulations, but I ended up taking my 20s Gretsch tenor banjo instead, and had no problems. The Fender went as soon as I got back. It was pretty awful.

My latest mandolin is a late 30s Gibson A00, solid but awful repairs to the headstock and top. Its a beater for festivals, and plays and sounds OK.

Along the way, I got a Gretsch mandolin banjo and guitar banjo to match my tenor, same laminated neck, same inlay in the headstock. Its a banjo family like the three bears or something! The tenor gets a workout every once in a while. 

And finally a luthier friend put a new mandocello scale neck onto an old Framus semi-acoustic bass guitar body (same model that Bill Wyman used to play in the early days of the Stones). The original neck had cracked and pulled apart from the body at the neck joint so a new neck was in order. It has only four strings to lessen the tension on the neck joint, tuned now like a Mandocello. The floating pickups from its bass guitar days dont work as the bridge is in a different place, so no pickups. The sound is as you would expect of a semi acoustic instrument, thin, but it can be miked.

Thanks for an excuse to go on a trip down memory lane.

Pete

----------


## MontanaMatt

Don’t be intimidated by Bill's list, he’s padding his numbers with guitars and lutes!  LOL :Laughing:  :Mandosmiley: 
I’m surprised he didn’t sneak some banjos in there :Disbelief: 




> Its easier to remember the keepers for me as many low and high end have went to get what I know have!
> 
> 1923 Gibson MB-5-all silver plated and Loar style silver engraved A tuners with pearl buttons
> 1986 Grandpa Big Bill Smith F-5
> 1924 Gibson December 1st Lloyd Loar F-5 with Virzi
> 1926 Gibson F-5 Fern
> 1934 Gibson F-5 Fern
> 1935 Gibson F-12
> 1939 Gibson F-7
> ...

----------

lflngpicker, 

William Smith

----------


## MontanaMatt

> Not a long list like some.
> 
> An Aria F that my wife bought for me.
> A fun 1920 Gibson A that I found at an auction for $250; sold it
> A 1993 Stiver A.  A good mandolin; eventually sold it.
> A 50s? Gibson EM150 that was gifted to me.  A real beater. Still have it so the grandkids can play with it.
> A Kimble A, woulda kept it but it got squished by a car.
> A Kimble F, another good mandolin
> The last one is a Heiden F; another good mandolin that gives me great pleasure.
> ...


How did your mando get squished by a car?

----------


## snakehead_a2z

For me it started with a new Kentucky KM 600, in 1984. Then, I got a 1925 Gibson A2-z in 1985, and sold the Kentucky. In the mid 80s, I picked up a Vega Little Wonder mando banjo, and after a year or so, sold it to get a Mark Locke octave mandolin. In the mid 1990s, I got a Vega Tu-ba-phone short scale tenor banjo. In 2002, after becoming concerned about flying with the Gibson, I got a new Rigel A + Deluxe. Around 2006 or 7 at Clifftop, I bought a prototype Tenortone tenor guitar from Jaime Dugan. And lastly, so far, around 8-10 years ago, I found a 30s Kalamazoo KM-12 on eBay. The Rigel almost immediately became my gigging mando, and I gigged with the Tenortone quite a bit too (not so much lately), and these days, I play the Kalamazoo most of the time around the house.

----------


## John Flynn

Mine is not too exciting. 
Early 90's: "Lotus" A style, made of select Korean plywood, traded itA year later: Alvarez A-800 F style, my main mando for about 10 years, then traded itLate 90's: Mederios Travel Mandolin, which I had for about 10 years but later sold and wish I hadn'tEarly 2000's: Rigel A+ Deluxe, which I still haveMid-2000's: 
- Old Wave Oval, still have it
- Parsons Flat Top, still have it
- Mendel Octave, still have it
- Epiphone Mandobird, got rid of it
- Risa Mando-Solid, still have it
- Concertone GDAE tenor banjo, circa 1920's
My MAS pretty much got cured by the 2009 recession. We are doing OK now, but unless one of the instruments I have now just won't do what I need it to do, I will not spend the money. I don't see that happening.

----------


## LKN2MYIS

1914 Gibson "A"
Newson "A5"
Eastman "A" (2 point)
Ratcliff "A"
Phoenix Neo-Classical

All gone.

Currently:

Austin Clark 2-point
Kimble 2-point
Gibson F5C - Korina (incredible)
Gibson F5L
 and
Girouard F5 (soon to be on the chopping block)

Too many mandolins.  I should just learn to play one and keep that one!

----------


## Phil Goodson

So this list starts at the bottom in 2006 and works up to the present when I have but one mandolin left.  Manodlins in *BOLD*  are the ones that I thought sounded *great* and played *wonderfully*!   :Smile: 
Most of the others sounded very, very good, too.  (Seven or eight of these could easiiy and happily have been life instruments.)

*Heiden	2 Point*  - (remaining)
*Heiden	A style*  2015
Collings	MT2, Blonde
*Duff	        F-5 , 2013*
*Kimble	A style*  #103, 2006
Ruhland    A style
Harmony     Monterey 
Henderson    F-5, custom built 2007
Campanella    Dué
Northfield    Model M
Weber	Bitterroot A Octave
Gibson	A-2  
Gibson	DMM F5, 2005
Altman	M-F5
Brock	F-5 Torch & Wire
Elliott	A-5
*Duff	A-5  * 
Collings    MF
Michael Kelly - A Solid

----------

Daniel Infield, 

Denman John, 

William Smith

----------


## Obiwan

$30 broken   tuners
Ibanez stayed in tune
Sold for
—————
Loar 520
Eastman 305 
Sold for
———————-
Weber absaroka with a hump in the neck
Sold for 
——————-
Girouard mandolin A
Gibson A9
Weber Y2k
Sold for 
———————-
Gibson flatiron F 2001
Sold for 
———————-
Weber Gallatin mahogany early model sold
—————————
Weber Yellowstone x bracing  wanted fully bound
Gibson f9 sold
Ratliff F country boy
Sold for
—————-
Rattlesnake 2001 still own 
Giannini to plat choro never paned out sold
—————-
Pava satin 
Mid Missouri M-11 sold 
Gibson f5g 2011
Sold for
——————
Kimble A still own 
Waterloo wl-m newly acquired 

So now 
Rattlesnake F
Kimble A
Waterloo  flat

Im very happy with my collection i don’t pland on selling these mandolins 
It took me A while saving money and selling to move up.
But it dose not mean im not going to buy anymore.   
I could golf or buy a sports car i choose playing and enjoying mandolins instead.

----------

Daniel Infield

----------


## Astro

Eastman MD 305--Hooked

Gibson 5FG-- Done

----------

lflngpicker

----------


## C2WAVE2

I've only been playing mandolin for about a year and a half,
in order of acquisition.

New Rogue 2019 RM-100A  
New Kentucky 2019 KM-270
Used Loar 2014 LM-700
New Eastman 2020 ER-M  Electric
Used 2018 Gibson F5-G

I haven't sold any mandolins,I am enjoying what I have,
MAS is slowing down, but most likely never to be extinguished  :Smile:

----------


## Bill Bradshaw

> How did your mando get squished by a car?


Don't want to hijack the thread, so I sent you a private message.

Cheers,

Bill

----------

MontanaMatt

----------


## DHopkins

My MAS only vacillates commensurate with the amount of money available.  It's always chronic but every once in a while, it becomes acute.  A couple of weeks ago, it was acute.  I ended up treating it by buying a Gibson F-5L from Mandomutt. (Great to do business with but that's for another thread.)  The treatment also included trading in my Recording King resophonic.  I never played it and it was gathering dust.  The MAS is back to chronic at this writing.  

Perhaps when "all this stuff that's goin' on" is over, the band can get back to making a little money (with emphasis on the word "little") and I can start reading the classifieds a lot closer,  On a side note, it's a sad commentary when, after being told to "shelter in place," you realize your life didn't change.

----------

Daniel Infield

----------


## JeffD

My process has been to get the last mandolin I will ever need. I've done that a good five or six times now.

----------

DHopkins, 

John Soper, 

LadysSolo, 

lflngpicker, 

Phil Goodson

----------


## mando-bob

In chronological order, starting in 1990 - *Bold* means remaining, instruments I loved for their sound are underlined.

no name A5
Gibson A1
Washburn F5
*Gibson F2*
Michael Kelly F5 Dragonfly
Gibson K2 mandocello
*Michael Sanden 8-string bouzouki* (for sale)
Gibson H2 mandola
Lebeda F4 mandola
*Gibson K4 mandocello*
Gibson F5G
Gibson F4
*Collings MF5* (for sale)
Gibson A Jr.
Gibson A snakehead
Flatbush A5 mandola
*Lawrence Smart H5 mandola*
Weber Absaroka custom
*Stefan Sobell 10-string bouzouki / cittern*
*Thijs van der Harst Octave mandolin*
*Northfield NF5A 5VIE* (for sale)
*Ellis A5 special deluxe*
Ellis F5 special (ordered, coming next year)

----------

lflngpicker

----------


## LastMohican

> My MAS only vacillates commensurate with the amount of money available.  It's always chronic but every once in a while, it becomes acute.  A couple of weeks ago, it was acute.  I ended up treating it by buying a Gibson F-5L from Mandomutt. (Great to do business with but that's for another thread.)  The treatment also included trading in my Recording King resophonic.  I never played it and it was gathering dust.  The MAS is back to chronic at this writing.  
> 
> Perhaps when "all this stuff that's goin' on" is over, the band can get back to making a little money (with emphasis on the word "little") and I can start reading the classifieds a lot closer,  On a side note, it's a sad commentary when, after being told to "shelter in place," you realize your life didn't change.


You damn sure moved from "acute" to "chronic" through the purchase of a damn fine instrument! How does it play/sound?

----------


## DHopkins

> You damn sure moved from "acute" to "chronic" through the purchase of a damn fine instrument! How does it play/sound?


I'll know Wednesday.  Right now, UPS is taking it on a sightseeing tour of NC, SC and GA.  I don't normally buy sight unseen but there's a handful of people on this form that I trust implicitly.  Mandomutt (Kevin Douglas) is one of them and he rated it highly.

----------


## LastMohican

> I'll know Wednesday.  Right now, UPS is taking it on a sightseeing tour of NC, SC and GA.  I don't normally buy sight unseen but there's a handful of people on this form that I trust implicitly.  Mandomutt (Kevin Douglas) is one of them and he rated it highly.


That's good stuff. Give us an eval/pics after you've spent some time with it!

----------


## Daniel Infield

> Eastman MD 305--Hooked
> 
> Gibson 5FG-- Done


Efficient!!  :Smile:

----------

Astro

----------


## DHopkins

> Eastman MD 305--Hooked
> 
> Gibson 5FG-- Done


Yeah.  Famous last words.

----------

Astro, 

LadysSolo

----------


## DHopkins

> That's good stuff. Give us an eval/pics after you've spent some time with it!


Okay, I've played it a couple of days.  It's gonna take some getting used to.  I've been playing a Breedlove for several years now and there's enough of a difference that, like I said, it will take some getting used to.

It really sounds great but I've got to be honest.  I don't know that it's really much better than what I've been playing.  My Bend, Oregon, Breedlove Legacy is a really great mandolin in terms of tone, playability and workmanship.  So is the Gibson but at a much higher price.

The Gibson has great sustain and a nice warm tone.  I'm gonna keep working with it because, hopefully, I'll only get better with it.  I certainly don't regret the purchase.  On a side note, Mandomutt (Kevin Douglas) is great to do business with.

----------


## MediumMando5722

I started in 2016 on the no-name F style in my avatar. A few months later, my family surprised me with an Eastman MD315. I played it for a few years, then fell off of playing for another few years. I sold the Eastman a few months ago, convinced I was done.

Earlier this week, my dad passed away, and I think it's time for me to get back into it. I went from zero mandolins to:

'15 Gibson Doyle Lawson
Sparks F model
late 70's Ibanez F
the no-name F
early 1920-something Gibson A
virtually unplayable Harmony A that belonged to my dad's father

----------


## Ken

As I've mentioned in another thread I've only had mandolins that I've built.  My first mandolin, a stop gap while I was starting to build was a banjo uke, peghead holes filled and re-drilled, skin head replaced with an 1/8th inch thick piece of redwood left over from my dulcimer building days.  Homemade non-adjustable bridge. First scratch built mandolin was an asymmetrical oval hole A model, crude, but better.  As I've gotten better at playing, I've also gotten better at building to meet my needs. This is 40 years now, and my building and playing have improved over time. Earlier on I had thoughts about building mandolins to sell, and I have sold some, but eventually I realized that I was really just building for myself and selling the extras.  That's OK too.

----------

John Soper

----------


## TheLeadFlatpick

Well I bought one of the early before they were good Kentucky KM-630 pressed top mandolin for $200, found it was identical to the generic branded mandolin I had been borrowing, then sold it. Now Im about to buy a $2k-$2.5k mandolin.

  I hope my MAS doesnt progress any further, especially at these price jumps Im making :Mandosmiley:

----------


## Brad Grafton

This should be good therapy for me...
1. Weber Yellowstone- good  start 
2. Moon Something A Model
3. Unicorn A model
4. Pomeroy F-5
5. Kentucky KM-1500 Sumi
6. Gil Model 1
7. Batwing
8. Kentucky KM-1500 Sumi
9. Kentucky  KM-Dawg  Keeper
10. Gil Model 5 Built for me keeper
11. Campanella #100  F-5 keeper

I have a couple on my MAS list but I must save for now :Smile:

----------

MandoHog

----------


## Eric Hanson

Kind of interesting list, I guess.
1) Johnson A Style. Gift from my dad only months before his death. Still have. Of course.  

2) Click F5. First ordered custom build.
  Sold so I could afford another custom build. 

3) Collings MT2V. 
  Don’t think this one will ever leave.  Bought with money from the Click, and some added funds

4) Suspected Pango prototype F5. 
 SUPER Surprise. Bought it for $275 as an “out of house” mandolin. Thought it was “good for what it is”. Replaced bridge with a full contact bridge. Set the truss rod correctly. Replaced the cheap nut.  Was told flatly, and directly. “No. This is a very good mandolin. I once owned a nearly $2000 mandolin. It sounded nowhere near this one.”  Don’t think this one will go anywhere either.  Played it a bit last night. It softly gives to you with a very light touch. And barks at you when you want to dig in.  

5) Was promised by my dear wife that if I could wait two years I would be able to part with the funds for another custom build. This time it will be a Tyler White F5. It has been two years.  I gladly look forward to when my name comes up on his build list.  
 He has been very kind and allowed me to play each of his newly build instruments. (He live less than 10 mins from my home) I have really come to appreciate his artisanship and care for near perfection.  His builds come out not only looking quite attractive, but have a sound that is very powerful. It will great to see what he comes up with. 
The wood for the back is going to be a prime piece of Quilted Maple, one piece back.  Tuners will be Robson, worm over. (TYM Tom from Vermont!) The other appointments are yet to be confirmed.  

I disagree with Chattachef. It is BOTH an addiction, and an investment.  Both equally accepted and appreciated.   :Grin:

----------


## Bunnyf

On reading recommendations here on MC, I bought a used 09 American Breedlove A style f-hole about 5 years ago. Its a very nice instrument and easy to play. It certainly isnt holding me back and I havent felt the need to upgrade. In my hands, I really dont think Id sound significantly better with a different instrument. I think f-styles look cool but I cant justify the expense for me. Now if money were no object, Id say what the heck, why not.

----------


## Drew Egerton

1 - Joshnson F style beginner junk, sold
2 - Morgan Monroe MMS-6 (I think), better, sold
3 - Flatbush V4, Huge step up, sounds and plays great, made in Denmark. Still have this one
4 - Skip Kelley F5, wanted a more traditional shape and sound F5, this thing is killer, absolutely love it
5 - Added a couple other non-mandos: Eastman mandola (it's OK), Northfield flat top octave (love it)

----------


## Rdeane

My journey has been short:

Kentucky KM505
Collings MT2  Italian Spruce, wide nut, cream top (a keeper)
Build #1 from a Saga kit, given to my son
Build #2  Griffith Loar A style (a keeper)
Carvalho octave mandolin (on a UPS truck to me today!)

----------


## Eric Platt

The journey has been in a couple of parts - about a decade ago dipped into some mandolins - at that time ended up owning (in no particular order)
Kalamazoo KM-11
Mid Missouri M-0
Flatiron Pancake
Rigel A Natural. 

Then just concentrated on guitar for a while. A band breakup caused me to rethink things and I decided to try mandolin again. Since that time about 3 plus years ago
Loar 310(?) (ended up giving it away)
Big Muddy
Breedlove Cascade (one of the very early ones)
1929 Gibson A Jr.
1910 Gibson A (moved it along after some others showed up)
Flatiron pancake
Eastman MDO-305 (octave mando)
2018 Collings MT
1935 Gibson A-50 (elevated fingerboard)
1993 Flatiron Festival
1935 Kalamazoo KM-21

There's probably been a few others that I don't remember right now. The Junior and last 5 are all still around and get played. The Kalamazoo has a sinking top, and the tuning can move quickly day to day, but might have the best neck of all of them.

----------


## DHopkins

> That's good stuff. Give us an eval/pics after you've spent some time with it!


Okay, I'm actually playing it now.  (Refresher:  A new to me Gibson F-5L.)  Tom Haywood replaced the mostly worn frets and the nut on it.  We went from low to medium frets and increased the nut accordingly.  D'Addario J74 strings topped everything off.  It's like a new mandolin.  I love the tone and sustain.  While it wasn't difficult before, it's easier to play now.  It was money well spent.

----------


## Nevin

Found a mandolin in a junk shop.  They thought it was broken because the bridge wasn't on it.  The bridge was in the case.  Bought it for $30.  A luthier friend helped me fit the bridge.  That was about 15 years ago and I have been playing it ever since.  I have seen lots I would like but none that have made me reach for my wallet.  Of course I am really a bass player.

----------


## MandoMaximus

$348   -   $1,100   -   $1,750   -   $3,200   -   $5,600  .  .  .  .      :Wink:

----------

MontanaMatt

----------


## John Soper

> $348   -   $1,100   -   $1,750   -   $3,200   -   $5,600  .  .  .  .


Yes, MAS can result in just about exponential growth in cost, and worth every penny!

----------


## DougC

Collings MT the only mandolin I will ever need. But wait, someone gave me a bowlback mandolin. A very nice old one. And then a guitar trade resulted in a very high end custom Collings MT2. Then I fell in love with a Collings mandola. (Thanks Mandolin Store). And I missed my guitar so a Larrivee Parlor guitar came aboard. I still play a couple of very nice violins. And a friend 'loaned' me his new Pono Octave mandolin and I'm picking it up today from my luthier friend who did a set up. Can't wait.  Is there a psychologist here that could help???

----------

Daniel Infield, 

lflngpicker

----------


## GMeyer

I had fun reading your various trips down the MAS road - Thanks to all!  

I would have to give it some thought before I could write my list down, but in the meanwhile if you are interested in MAS GAS, where your infliction runs in both 6 and 8 string mode, take a look at my posts on the unofficial martin guitar forum.  I paired some of my mandolins and guitars from the same years:

https://umgf.com/viewtopic.php?p=2505740#p2505740

----------


## John Soper

GMeyer:  Some people have twice the fun.  Guess I'd better start looking for a black topped mandolin to pair with my L00, and a National Style 1 guitar to pair with my National Style 1 mandolin.  Carried to your extreme MAS/GAS would probably be spelled D-I-V-O-R-C-E for me!

----------


## GMeyer

Good reply, clever.

Luckily my family and my wife just think I am a little crazy... and they are right.  

Style 1 guitar seems like a reasonable place to start...

----------

John Soper

----------


## Cary Fagan

Suzuki bowlback
Fender
Breedlove
Amateur-built Sullivan F style
Collings MT2
Holoubek F5
Passernig F5 (13 years ago now)

Oval holes--that's another matter.

----------


## lflngpicker

My progression/education/MAS experience is one that evolved into becoming a hobby seller and buyer.  My love for guitars and tube amplifiers has also complicated this progression, as I also have a bad case of GAS!  I have played the guitar seriously since 1962, at the age of 7, a total of 58 years. My case of MAS is a progression that began with two: a Monterey A 1960's student type in 1979 and in 1981, a Gibson A from 1913. then restarted with the first Kentucky listed below that I purchased used in 2014.  Most of these, nearly all, were purchased used:
Monterey A5 1960's
Gibson A 1913*
Kentucky KM200S (Japan 1980's)
Kentucky KM650 (Japan 1980's)
Mid Missouri Flat Top
J Bovier A5
Kentucky KM1000
Gibson F9 2006
Morris A4
Collings MT Blonde Gloss Top
National RM1 2005
The Loar LM600
Eastman MD605
Redline Flat top
Weber Gallatin A5
Gibson A5G 1995 
Kentucky KM805
Breedlove 00 
J Bovier F5 Custom 
Gibson A 1912*
Flatiron Festival 2001 F5
Eastman MD805V 2018
Collings MT GT Wide Nut White Binding 2017*
Ratliff R5 1999
Eastman MD815V 2007*
Strad-o-lin 1930's*
* _Own Presently_

----------


## Bob Buckingham

It all started with a Lyon and Healy Flatback about a half century ago. It had a cool butterfly pick guard below oval hole. There have been several over the years including Gibsons, Ibanez, Kentucky and I own none of them now. I do have some nice mandolins and they know more than I about what they can do.

----------

lflngpicker

----------


## DHopkins

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I believe I have my MAS in remission.  Actually, I don't call it a pandemic anymore.  I refer to it as “everything going on” because it has had such a wide-reaching effect.  Anyway, my last purchase was a 2001 Gibson F-5L.  I had it re-fretted with medium frets because the old frets were original and small and many were worn.  That also necessitated replacing the nut.  

While the Gibson wasn't cheap, I did get a good deal but my MAS fund still took a big hit.  Well, with everything going on, the band hasn't had a gig in several months.  Even before then, we decided to take a bit of a break so it's been a longer than expected hiatus.  The missing gig money hasn't allowed me to replenish the MAS fund so I'm not really looking at anything new anymore.

The fact of the matter is, however, I don't have the desire to add or change anything I have.  The Gibson is an outstanding mandolin.  As you can see below, I have some others.  Both Breedloves also sound great and they're not going anywhere.  The Gibson F-4 is also great sounding but it doesn't have the volume I want.  I still play it because it's fun, easy to play and, like I said, sounds great.  The McCormick electric also sounds great.  I use it on stage occasionally for some of the “twangy” songs that beg for the electric sound.

Logic isn't usually held in high esteem when it comes to MAS but I've noticed two things:  1) I don't have the desire to add anything to the herd, and 2) I don't have the money (short of selling the motorhome or condo).   Now, I will occasionally look at the classifieds but mostly to see the prices people are asking for their instruments.  Everything is great (except for my arthritis, blood pressure and that stupid mask I have to wear sometimes but all that's for a different post.

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lflngpicker

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## SolusAsh

So I grew up with a Kiso-Suzuki bowlback in the house (model MR-150). I played around on some Fender F-styles, and growing up I always thought I'd play an F. The curves of it just appealed to me.

So last year I started saving up for an Ibanez F, being an Ibanez guitar player (I've a metric tonne of), and since I own a Uke by them that's yet to let me down. Figured "What the heck, they make a damn nice F-style, it looks good, I've played it at a few outings with mates, let's go for it!"

Then the damnedest thing happened. I found the same model bowlback my da plays on the Electronic Bay for sale, and for under £200!

Needless to say, being the nostalgic fellow that I am, that sort of became what I snagged. I mean, now I have the same model acoustic guitar he plays, AND the same model mandolin, AND I have both of the electric guitars he owned when I was but wee. So now my kid gets the same musical experience I had, and the circle continues unbroken.

Not to mention now when we go out gigging (assuming we ever get to again) we can basically pass as twins, playing the same instruments to boot!

Now, does this mean I won't ever buy another? Nah. I have an extreme case of GAS, and I'm afraid it's terminal. And I DO still want an Ibanez F-Style--preferably in Dark Violin whatever they call it. But my go-to is always going to be that MR-150 Kiso-Suzuki bowlback.

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lflngpicker

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## Koko

Hmmm... not very many seem bitten by MAS in the bowlback world...

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## bobrem

Tradition A oval (Korean, $40) => Kentucky F => Heiden F => Heiden F => Red Diamond F => Gilchrist A => Miller F (rosewood).

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lflngpicker

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## Eric C.

Indiana (I think? was $90) > Epiphone F5 (the one with the pick-up built onto the pickguard) > Morgan Monroe A Style mahogany.
Those 3 are long gone.
Current stable:
Kentucky KM950
Northfield F5S
Kentucky 272
Flatiron 1N

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## SolusAsh

> Hmmm... not very many seem bitten by MAS in the bowlback world...


I mean, when you start off with perfection...  :D

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Cobalt

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## lucho

I know I have > 50 plectrum instruments.... 7 of them mandolins.... and all was started while at college with a Kentucky Km-140 that sooner it was sold and traded for a Flatiron.... everything else is history....  so every saturday is the day I have to tune them and practice tinkering a bit in a few of them....  Beware when I change strings.... it takes time...MAS doesn`t go anywhere.... salu2  https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/album.php?albumid=70

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## Bob Buckingham

Too many decades but my first mandolin was a Lyon and Healy about 1973.

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## lenf12

"Too many decades" for me too but my first "good" mandolin was and still is my 1916 Gibson blackface F-2 that was upgraded to look like an F-4 with double flowerpot headstock inlay and back binding well before I acquired it in 1975. The bridge is a "Loar era" adjustable bridge. It is still in my stable and is now strung with D'Addario Flat Wound stainless steel strings. Lovely!!! For other sounds, my permanent stable is a 1956 F-12 re-voiced by Randy Wood and a 1992 Carlson signed A-5L. Toss in a couple of entry level specialty instruments like a Kentucky KM 340-S with a JJB pickup for the amplified acoustic sound and a Morgan Monroe tele-shaped electric mandolin. It's enough to keep me endlessly immersed in mandolins at the moment  :Wink: 

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

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## UsuallyPickin

From borrowed to unobtanium. R/

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## Denis Kearns

Have had chronic GAS for years, sometimes the associated IAS.  My visits to the Cafe have caused a significant flare-up my MAS.  My first guitar was a cheapo plywood import that someone left at my brother’s.  He told me I could have it if I learned to play.  I didn’t like the finish, so laboriously scrapped it off with a razor blade, then installed steel strings, so you can imagine the playability and tonal qualities of this instrument. It was, however, my entry into stringed instruments and basic guitar chords.  Having no business sense, but with occasional “spending” money, I’ve purchased over the years a number of guitars and mandolins, a few saxophones, a clarinet or two, a few banjos (the first I traded for a sweet Regal mandola - model 2361), a couple of accordions, a stand-up bass ($35 when I was earning $2 per hour), a requiento, a charango, even a full-sized harp.  Most have been serendipitous purchases and only a few sought after, but have definitely fell prey to the allure of online sources!  I now have a Weber mandolin family and am kinda looking for a blackface mandola to join my A4 and K2 Gibsons.   Have also looked longingly at the occasional blackface mandobass, but apparently still have some shreds of fiscal responsibility left.  As a widower with fledged offspring, I now have less constraints, although my wife was pretty tolerant of my acquisitions (it helps to write a song for one’s partner).  I am also fond of the Harmony and Regal instruments.  I do need to thin the herd somewhat.  Some of my more interesting acquisitions include a Steve Parks’ tenor, an OM that Phil Crump built for me, and a “Frankenmando” that I need to do a little surgery on.  Collecting instruments is like having art you can play with! Below are photos of these last three.    A Guild D40 with the Parks’ tenor.

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tjmangum

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## mikerofone

Liar 600>Kentucky KM1050>Northfield Big Mon

Each has been been a noticeable step up

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## Jeff Mando

Well, over 60 years of playing, I've owned a lot.  To summarize -- my first beginner guitar in the mid 60's cost my parents $35, actually it was not THAT bad for the money!  After a year my folks bought me an electric, a red Hagstrom, which was my guitar for 20 years, then it got stolen.  I upgraded to a Gibson, then a Mosrite Ventures guitar, and after that too many to count.  I stayed single well into middle-age, so I basically I could buy anything I wanted, before other things became a priority.  At some point, the "collector" becomes the "dealer" and buying and selling became a way to fund my hobby, first noticing some of my instruments had become "vintage" and not merely "used!"  Somewhere along that path, my attitude toward prices changed.  I suddenly found with a little negotiation I became a wholesale buyer, only paying retail if it was something I really wanted.  Part of this was after accumulating more than enough instruments to cover the basics (and then some!) which cooled my MAS.  The advent of eBay fueled its return due to the fact that things once impossible to find locally, were suddenly available by mail at the click of a mouse!  Then the dealer in me came alive and I found myself selling 4 or 5 instruments a week on eBay -- most sold quickly within a week, SOME sold in less than an hour, believe it or not, which I got a chuckle out of -- especially after working at "retail" music stores and seeing stuff hang on the wall for 6 months to a year, or longer.  Again, I was able to accumulate more than I needed, which came in handy over the years as a "savings" account for lack of a better term.  These days I still buy stuff, mostly vintage, but there hasn't been anything on my personal want list for years.  YMMV.

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## Jeff Mando

> Well -- especially after working at "retail" music stores...


I should add that working in a good music store 25-30 years ago really played a role in curbing my MAS.  Fortunately for me, a lot of impossible to find instruments were still hanging on the wall for sale, at least impossible to find now outside of private collections and a handful of top shelf vintage dealers (whose inventories are mostly consignments...)  Anyway, I got to "try" everything I wanted and quickly got educated on classic old instruments.  It taught me that, sure, a 30's Martin is way better than a 70's Martin, just as a 58 Strat is oodles better than a made in Mexico strat -- but at what price?  That was the question then, and that is the question now, it seems.

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## Mark Marino

Ex guitar player so Id had some experience, but saw someone playing at a festival and thought I should try that .  Started innocently but my first instrument was a 1916 Gibson A.  Rang like a bell.  Then I got a Newson A, bluegrass monster.   Then had been flipping through Siminoff book on how to build a bluegrass mandolin for a few yeasts, decided to buy parts and build one.  That turned into two, then tree, then five. Now I gig with the ones I built exclusively.   Been a very cool journey, heres the most recent

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Zissou Intern

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## John Bertotti

I just be the odd guy out my first was back in the very early 2000s. I don't remember exactly when. I bought a Vega bowl back from Jim Garber here. A few years later I ordered a Oval A from Old Wave. Still have both and have not added another. I do occasionally get the urge to add an F style but not so much so that I have done so yet. So I have only ever had two and have never moved either on. How odd is that considering I'm quickly approaching 60!

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Eric Platt

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## Chris Gray

2005 Morgan Monroe (I think?) > 2006 Micheal Kelly Dragonfly > 2007 Breedlove FF > 2017 Weber Gallatin > 2018 Gibson F5g > 2019 Heiden Artist F5 

Years are when purchased…not the year of the instrument

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## Eric Platt

Update from post #63 -

In the past 2 years have basically turned over everything except the A Jr. and Eastman octave.  Last year found a used Peter Coombe flattop that made me rethink a lot about what I wanted in an instrument. It could have easily been the last one. Great tone, easy playing and loud enough for my bands.

But then, ended up stumbling across a Brentrup Model 23. Very early. It was another eye opening experience. It's the narrowest neck I've played so far. And the tone is magical, but a different magic than the Coombe. It's been my constant player since getting it. Both bands I'm in like it. And the sound carries well when not using a microphone. 

Don't see any reason to look for something else at this point. Then again, said that about the Coombe and look what happened after that.

An excuse to post a photo of it -

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## pheffernan

I'm heartened to see that my list hasn't changed much since participating in this exercise four years ago, and I have managed to stick to the one mandolin in / one mandolin out policy (not so with mandolas).

1998 Mid-Missouri M0 (sold to Dan)
1984 Flatiron 1N (sold to Rex)
2009 Redline Traveler (traded to Josh)
2007 Gypsy Vagabond (sold)
1924 Gibson A
2005 Collings MT (sold to Richard)
2013 Pava (sold to Jim)
2005 National RM-1
2007 Hester A5
2009 Passernig A5
2013 Silverangel A (sold to Catherine)
2009 Stanley A5 (sold to Don)
2013 Redline Traveler (sold to Dan)
2015 Black A2-z
2017 Poe Scout
2011 Passernig F5 (sold to Tom)
2019 Hogan F5

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## GMorgan

I never meant to take the "Road To Mandolin."  After I retired, I had come back to classical violin after a hiatus of many decades.  I had a phenomenal teacher who helped me learn to play again.  During a break in one of our lessons, I made mention of n old musical ambition.  I had always wanted to play guitar, had bought several over the years, and was always, always terrible at it.  I imagined aloud how cool it would be if there was an instrument that you could play like a guitar, but was smaller and tuned the same as a violin.  My teacher suggested I might enjoy the mandolin.  I had never touched a mandolin and knew nothing about them.  I'd always pictured a mandolin to be something you carried  to Renaissance Festivals while wearing a Jester's hat.  I wear a cowboy hat.  I had no idea they were tuned the same as a violin, had eight strings or were an important instrument in Blue Grass and many other genres.  Or, how beautiful they could be.  I went to a Guitar Center shortly thereafter, found a relatively inexpensive mandolin and discovered that in less than a minute, I was playing Bach.  Even so, It didn't sing, it produced more of an unpleasant, metallic dink.  Fun, but not sonically pretty.  I decided to wait.

In early 2017, I went to Fiddler's Green, which used to be located in the heart of Austin, with the singular goal of finding an entry level mandolin.  I left there with my Eastman MD515, a very sweet way to start.  And that is when MAS really took hold.

Months later, I also bought a very cheap campfire mandolin at GC, just because I wanted to not take my good instrument into overly harsh conditions.  I do live in Texas, which probably explains everything.

When the pandemic locked us up, I put in even more hours of playing with my Eastman.  I added "amateur mandolinist" to my email signature and I lurked for years in this Cafe forum learning as much as I could about the mandolin and the fascinating and engaging community.  Of course, I began to hunt for my next MAS fix.  I wanted to some day own a mandolin that could sound better than I ever expected to be.  I wanted to know that if I didn't sound too good, it wasn't the instrument, but rather just me needing to practice more and play better.  The Eastman is a really nice instrument, but the calling was stronger than my will.

After the first vaccines came out, I checked out the local shop that produced some of the finest mandolins available.  Although still a relative novice, the artists at Ellis Mandolins crafted a mandolin for me that was every bit as sweet as the finest violin I had ever played.  Tom and Pava let my wife and I watch the creation happen, from the selection of woods to the final finish.  I would not have known about Ellis if it were not for Fiddler's Green and the Mandolin Cafe.  Thank you all.

I truly believe the Ellis is my "forever" instrument, but I would not be surprised if I some day find another mandolin to just expand my tonal horizons.  i keep reading about so many other wonderful instruments here in the Cafe and I still feel the MAS itch.  We'll see what happens...

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LadysSolo, 

tjmangum

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## John Bertotti

Funny, I remember the first mandolin I saw was in an old Gene or Roy movie. One of the cow hands was strumming on it.

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GMorgan

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## Deblues

I had a cheap Kentucky mandolin about 8 years ago that I bought from Elderly Instruments for. about $150 or so.  I didn't get much enjoyment out of playing it so I got rid of it.  6 years later I decided I wanted to try mandolin again and bought an Eastman 615 which was nice and I got bit by the mandolin bug.  So I ended up selling that and getting a Northfield NF5sa and then adding a Northfield Big Mon with engleman top.  I'm trying to figure out if I should add a Big Mon with an Adirondack top to that or not.  My NF5 has an Adirondack top it just isn't a big mon.  And so M.A.S. hits me like G.A.S. has hit me for the past 20 years.

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## John Bertotti

Getting bit off topic, when I was a kid I was happy to have one of something. I didn't want or need more. Baseball cards and such excluded of course. Instruments, other items people tend to get gas over now, didn't happen a lot back then. What's changed? I tend to blame media and internet forums. Consume consume, or on forums its the exposure to all the different models of something people share. Not a bad thing but the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. Maybe that realization and saving until I could get an excellent instrument the first time is how I have managed to keep my instrument gas at bay for so long.

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LKN2MYIS

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## JeffD

My MAS progression has been just one mandolin after another.

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Jeff Mando

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## catmandu2

I had a nascent MAS when I first hit ebay and acquired some Flatiron, Mid Missouri and Peterson instruments.  But I quickly acquired a mndln/violin double case, which spawned more fiddle playing - subsequently my mndln playing quickly waned.  Then I got into oud - which is the most expressive plectrum instrument, and still about the only plectrum instrument I play these days.  But I play a lot of 5ths-tuned fiddle and cello, and get out the CBOMs once in a blue moon for something different..

I've got GAS up the wazoo though - with ouds, cellos, violins, guitars, harps, free reeds, woodwinds...an interest in too many styles of music to keep up..

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## tmsweeney

I just added an Electric Oud to the 6 mandos, 6 mandolas, 3 octaves and 2 mandocellos, does that count?

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## Nashville

My wallet is never as happy as I am when I buy another mandolin. There are so many to choose from nowadays. And I find so many that I like and want to take home. It takes me a month or two of playing daily at home to really get up close and personal. Finally after an extended romance I come to understand if it's love or just lust. Rinse, Repeat.

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## Gary Leonard

My MAS is in full remission. 

Too many woodworking hand tools to buy, and my Girouard mandolin is enough for me.  I ended up selling my octave, and only have my 17 fret open back tenor banjo, and 1890s open back 5 string banjo to keep the Girouard company.

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## gh_mando

Started in mid 1970s --Borrowed Kay A style > 1970's Aria F style > 1924 Gibson Snakehead > 1998 Rattlesnake F-5 > 2000 Gilchrist F-5 > 1922 Gibson F-5 > Nowhere to go now!! ALL DONE

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## jim simpson

I believe I bought my first good mandolin in 1992, it was a Gerald Anderson F-5. I've enjoyed trying and owning some good ones since, I've managed to hold the count down to 5 at present. Now guitars, they're starting to populate, lol! Here's my list, I may have forgotten some that didn't make the list:

1. Harmony/Monterey A model with f-holes 
2. Washburn A model with oval hole 80’s 
3. Gerald Anderson F-5 style, #24
4. Ratliff R5 (F-5 style)
5. Weber Yellowstone
6. KM-1000 Kentucky, black
7. Gibson F5G (late 80’s?)
8. Gibson A 1917 pumpkin top
9. Flatiron A Performer
10. Trinity octave mandolin
11. Fullerton Gloucester F5
12. Gibson A3 project
13. Gibson A 1915 project
14. Harmony Shutt style 2 point
15. Glenn F5 style
16. Gibson A9
17. Fender 5 string electric mandolin
18. Epiphone Firebird 8 string electric mandolin
19. couple of Kentucky A models (can't remember model #s)
20. Stradolin A model
21. Chris Warner Gibson F5 copy, early 70’s
22. National Steel 30's period faux wood grain mandolin
23. Nagoya F5 style retopped to F4 style
24. Collings black top MT
25. Daley F5 std.
26. Gibson A Sheraton Brown
27. Flatiron mandola
28. Kentucky KM-805
29. Martin A – 20’s
30. Collings MF5
31. Poe F4
32. Goldstar 4 string electric
33. Sovereign flat top mandolin
34. Carlo Catalfamo F5
35. Kentucky KM-1000
36.Collings MF blonde
37. Gibson F4 1912
38. Rigel A
39. Gibson F5L ‘81
40. Gibson F9 (early model)
41. Nichols Road
42. Gibson Fern ‘06
43. Flatiron pancake
44. The Bluegrass – F5 by Glen Dean Cecil
45. Phoenix Select
46. Gibson A2Z – 1923

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## urobouros

I started out with a Kentucky KM-150 & then picked up a Loar LM-600.  My first upgrade was a Weber Absaroka after selling the KM-150 & the LM-600.  I also got two Weber mandolas, an oval & an F hole, which I eventually traded to Elderly for a Collings mandola.  I got an Eastman MDO305 which I soon sold & bought a Weber A20.  I got my Big Mon, Miss Maybelle, & my Skip Kelley A5 last year as well as a Northfield flat top OM.  I thought I was done but just pulled the trigger on a Pono MND-HC30 & am working on a trade for an archtop OM too.

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## HonketyHank

I won't clutter things up with details, but I will say I have worked up from a no-name 1920s mandolin banjo and a Rogue 100 in 2015 through various trades, sales, and purchases. I have had some real dogs and some really nice ones.  If I counted up, I think I could get to 20 or 25. If you go back through the Newbies archives, you'll find traces of my path. Many time I have said, "OK, no more. This one is THE ONE." If there was a 12-step program for mandolins, I would be one of the backslider members.

But I am glad that unlike with booze or smokes or whatever, money spent on a mandolin does not necessarily go down the drain. You buy an asset that can be re-monetized to at least partially feed the habit when the next bright sparkly-toned mando attracts your eye or ear.

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## Dave Hicks

In 1983 I got a Kentucky KM150, 1985 a Flatiron A5 Jr, 2000 a Ryder EM44, 2015 a Gibson A.  Still have all but the first.  That's it (so far).

D.H.

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## Bill McCall

> I believe I bought my first good mandolin in 1992, it was a Gerald Anderson F-5. I've enjoyed trying and owning some good ones since, I've managed to hold the count down to 5 at present. Now guitars, they're starting to populate, lol! Here's my list, I may have forgotten some that didn't make the list:
> 
> 1. Harmony/Monterey A model with f-holes 
> 2. Washburn A model with oval hole 80’s 
> 3. Gerald Anderson F-5 style, #24
> 4. Ratliff R5 (F-5 style)
> 5. Weber Yellowstone
> 6. KM-1000 Kentucky, black
> 7. Gibson F5G (late 80’s?)
> ...


Lists like this show I don't really have a problem :Mandosmiley:

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GMorgan, 

jim simpson

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## wreded

Well, let's see...
Bought a no name East German A-style mandolin in West Germany in about 1985 or so.  Sorta traded it for a Kentucky KM-180s (there's a story there  :Grin: ) and still have it.
Saw a Flatiron Performer A on sale at one of the on-line stores and bought it, still have that one too.
Mandolin Store had a Flatiron F5 for sale, bought it, maxing out my credit card in the process (I keep a pretty low line of credit anyhoo).  This is my go-to mando and is *MUCH* more than I deserve or can make use of.  But I'll keep it.
Mando Store had an oval hole F-style Eastman on sale for a steal, bought it just to hear how an oval hole sounds.  Recently traded it for a banjo.
Heard an Eastman mandocello on the Mando Store site, just had to have one.  Fella on here had one for sale, bought it.  Love it.
Mando Store had a Flatiron mandola for sale, bought it...  Hey it's a Montana made instrument, can't go wrong.
That's where I stopped.
When your instruments are (*MUCH*) better than you are, better to stick with 'em.

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## Zissou Intern

Kentucky KM675
Weber Yellowstone
Gibson F2 
Flatbush V4
Pomeroy F5
Pomeroy F2
Dearstone D1A
Kentucky KM100
Newell F5
Kentucky KM1050
Kentucky KM272
Eastman 315
*Lafferty (Schneider) F5B 

I could've and should've stopped at almost any point along that path and just made music with what I had. The grass is always greener...

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## Ruknrole

1. The Loar LM-600-VS

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## LadysSolo

Glad to see my list is still unchanged, am still working on improving my playing. I still read the classifieds regularly (nearly daily,) but am still satisfied with what I have. I don't think I will ever live up to the potential of my mandolins.  :Mandosmiley:

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## webber

After a college friend lent me their Kentucky A-style, let's see...

- I started with a rental Eastman 305 and didn't connect with it.
- The same college friend gifted me a 60s Sonata that had belonged to another friend's dad, who passed. I fixed it up and got it back in working shape, but the neck is warped and that means that, at a usable action, it only plays up to the twelfth fret or so.
- I bought my first nice mandolin, a Gibson Nouveau that played easy all the way up and down the neck (to a ridiculous and surprisingly usable 29th fret).
- After my band started booking regular gigs, I treated myself to the Northfield F5S in my signature. I've been playing the heck out of it, even in the goofy 108º#weather we've gotten in Texas, and don't see myself ever parting with it!
- I intended to purchase an even nicer instrument to celebrate a recent job promotion and the upcoming recording of our first studio album, but I was surprised to find that I didn't like the sound of any of them more than I like the sound of my Northfield! With that, I ended up purchasing a used Northfield Flat Top Octave instead, and found that it's replaced my guitar as the go-to instrument to pick off the wall and play around the house.

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