I posted a picture of me and my $169.00 electric mandolin playing backup for Nashville's Russ Hicks at a Wheeling Jamboree event. That particular instrument was purchased from Elderly Instruments some years ago, they had advertised it as a "basic workhorse" and it has been just that. It's my only electric mando...it suits me fine when the gig calls for me to "plug in". I play sub $500.00 mandolins at paid gigs on the average of once a week...shop careful and you can find a lot of mandolin for not a lot of money. I noticed members here mentioning having their instruments set up properly...good for you! That is the secret to success with a more inexpensive instrument, mine came from Elderly with a flawless setup and I have done nothing but string changes and routine cleaning/maintenance since. I am always amazed when I handle a higher end mandolin with a mediocre or poor setup... You have a good group here - enjoy your mandolins and play the thunder out of them!
thanks
Learn to set up yourself from info from the cafe
Fredy, you are absolutely right. I try to do as much of my own as I can...and bridge fitting/adjustment, tailpiece and tuner replacement...things like that, I have gotten pretty good at through the years - had to. Now doing the nut right is a different story! Don't know why...can't tell you...but I have buggered up more bone nuts trying to get them "just right"! I ended up just buying the pre-notched ones and working from there. Smartest move that I ever made was going to a mandolin building workshop one time. Learned a whole lot about the instrument there...learned a whole lot about how much that I didn't know too! After that, I started watching ebay real close for kit mandolins that folks had bought and never started to build, or started and never finished. If I could buy one at a good price I did, and I studied them a bit and put them together at my leisure, making mistakes on my own time. I built a half dozen that way and sold them El Cheapo or gave them away to musician buddies as backup mandos (all kidding aside they are all quite playable and to my knowledge are still out there...they were too ugly to die! ) Sooo....that said, a kit picked up at the right price can be a viable option for some. And unlike some of the snobs here at the Mandolin Café, I will tell you that if one of the plywood kits from Grizzly or wherever is all that you can afford or have tools to assemble - go for it! You will have an instrument...you put it together....it's your baby to tinker with and have fun with!
Very encouraging post Steve! My cheapo rogue is fun to play and I'm sure as I learn to " set it up " properly it will only get better. Bought a uke kit from grizzly to make for my wife. Can't wait to get it done.
A couple thoughts on that Grizzly uke kit FWIW... 1. They can be made to look and sound as good as any of the less expensive ukes currently flooding the market today...and you built yours! 2. Pay particular attention and spend lots of time when you glue the neck to the body. This is crucial. 3.I'm far, far, from an expert...but I've met a few, and they all told me to use Titebond glue. 4. Give that neck joint plenty of time to dry, and use the best clamping means that you have access to. 5. You might be amazed at how a better set of strings will brighten up a laminate uke...or any laminate instrument for that matter. Try a set of Aquila or Fremont strings on that uke when you finish it and first set it up...I believe that you'll be quite happy with them! Have fun...that's why we do it!
Thanks for the input Steve! Need all of the advice I can get!
I recently got a lovely new acoustic F style mandolin for my birthday (for less than half the RRP of £459 ($697 USD), inc hard case!) but only recently, I realised all over again just how good my beginner instrument is. My learner mandolin only cost me £60 new (around $91 USD) - it's a Stagg M50E - and it's still a valuable tool in my armoury. It's an electro acoustic and with the built in pickup (which is actually pretty decent), I can make quite good recordings. I record it through my multi-effects processor - a Zoom G2.1Nu - which also means I have fun playing about with all the effects too - although, for preference, I record and/or amp it clean with only a little adjustment to the tone via the EQ. (The effects processor I got because I play guitar & bass, but it's a handy piece of kit for electric mandolins too.) Even acoustically, the Stagg sounds pretty decent strung with D'addario's. It still looks good too. I think people are too quick to deride inexpensive instruments. Of course there are some right old lemons out there, but just because it doesn't cost much, doesn't mean it's rubbish. Inexpensive doesn't always mean "cheap". My Stagg will still be with me for many years to come.
The secret of low end mandolins is in their settup. When most instruments come from the factory they are not set up at all... Just put together. They must be fine tuned. The nut must be adjusted for comfortable playing and the bridge must be located and adjusted for proper intonation. In addition the frets might need to be leveled.... These are not rocket science but have to be done on virtually all lower priced instruments. Either the seller does it, or you do it and since the price is low the seller very seldom does it. frets.com has excellent information on setting up fretted instruments for comfortable playing and accurate intonation.
bmac - I couldn't agree more. Coming from and electric guitar and bass background, one of the first things I learned to do - well, after learning the basics of playing, that is! - was how to perform a set up my guitar. It's an invaluable skill and for those unsure about damaging their instrument, by all means let a pro do it, but if you want to learn yourself, do what I did and practice on a cheap instrument. Initially, I'd never have attempted to set up an instrument I'd be loathe to lose! But from practising on a cheapie and following the plethora of guides on the subject online, I've built up a fair few skills and would feel perfectly okay about setting up my own instrument now.
Often the factory-installed strings on an inexpensive mandolin (or any stringed instrument) are not too good. They tend to be very sharp on the fingers and don't stay in tune well. Also, often despite a set-up, the string height over the first few frets is uncomfortably high, making the factory-installed strings mighty sore to play. So, changing to a good-quality "light" set of strings can add a lot to the comfort factor of play, as well as sound better. Changing the strings early on my Rover RM-50B and Fender FM-101 made a big difference.
I'm two years now into my Stagg M20. And I'm very happy with it. No, I can't really compare it to anything else. But after getting it set up, it seems so play like a charm. For a beginner like me, it was £58 (about $70-80) well spent. I recently read somewhere that other people have had issues with Staggs. They come out of the box in lousy shape, sometimes the wood in the f-holes haven't been punched out well. But mine (a leftie) is sturdy and rather tough. I went to a local music store and checked out a Gretsch New Yorker. It was selling for more than £200. And it didn't seem to be made half as well as my Stagg. The wood seemed thinner. But I couldn't play it because it was a righty (as are all New Yorkers - except me), so I can't compare sound. But I agree with Mr Zawacki. Get a good set up and some nice strings when starting out. It can make a big difference.
