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I've played a few MTs and owned one for a few months that were excellent mandolins, with extremely fine build quality, fit and finish, etc, but the ones I've played (all Engelman topped, FWIW) had a...

Well, now you’ve gone and gotten my mandola acquisition syndrome fired up again! Nicely done!

tmsweeney, you’re getting into some serious delay/FX there! I remember the first time
I saw The Edge from U2 talk about his rig and approach, and my mind was blown. It sounds sometimes like he’s...

I usually buy packs of Ernie Ball Slinky 9s and 10s and use a combination of the strings to match the Emando set as closely as possible (it's not exact, but close). I'm usually able to get 2 string...

Also, a Howard Morris mandolin just popped up in the classifieds, reminding me that he builds some excellent instruments that can be found at your preferred price point. I'm not sure if he builds...

All good advice above. Any of the three Breedloves linked to Reverb will check your boxes. I also play guitar, bass, uke, banjo (well, I own one and can play a few songs on it), and octave mando, so...

Being relatively close to Lowe Vintage and having taken a couple of trips to Carter's and Gruhn's, I've been able to get my hands on some good 'uns. I've played three Loars (two 1923s and a 1924). 2...

In my admittedly very limited experience primarily playing at church (sometimes through the PA and sometimes with a Fender Passport), it’s hard to get them preset at home because each room is going...

Maybe instead of, “In that case,” you could state, “Once I can understand your perspective, I won’t ask again.” The English major in me is thinking, “Make him tell you why it’s really a ‘no.’” Pin...

The young lady who did the latest Klos CF review did a nice job with her demonstration, and I agree that her type of approach tells you more about an instrument than someone tearing it up who I’ll...

Both are spectacular in that clip…and generally the rest of the time, too!

Very nice work, Spencer, and sounding great! Bill, I see where you’re coming from regarding the fir staining…Spencer, you just need to advertise this as “naturally distressed” and charge a little...

That cracks me up, too!

If only you had a decent mandolin to pick on. Sigh.
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Of course I’m joking! Nicely done, sir, and that Nugget really sings in your hands!! I’m going to have to play with this one tonight...

That’s a great day right there, JB!

Jeff, I totally hear where you’re coming from, but this particular guy has some health issues requiring immunosuppression and needs the social outlet (especially the past few years). He knows that I...

Oh, NO YOU DIDNT!! ;)

(I don’t hate WW like some, and if it gets the crowd stoked, agree, go for it)…

So gorgeous, Dagger! Thank you for posting that. Your Sobell sounds amazing in your hands!!

So, prior to 2020 the youth praise band at our church tried to do this a couple of times to rehearse and work through new material when getting together in person was difficult (after school...

I'd add Giacomel to the list as well, but I have an odd fascination with his J-5s, so there's that. Played side by side with mandolins from many of the other builders listed initially (at Carter's...

Very nice, indeed! Great work, Graham!!

Think about it in terms of arch tops. Arch top guitars, because of the additional carving/voicing required, tend to be 2-3 times the price of a comparable flat top, though admittedly not always....

Jim,

I had that experience once with an Ibanez 000 sized guitar that had a solid top and laminate B/S. They just got it right, set up was great, and it was like $399, with onboard pickup and EQ....

If you want to play bluegrass with others, get the 305. The projection, chop quality, and cut through a mix will be better. If you want to play anything but bluegrass, the 304 will give you more...

It's more having the EQ and tuner options for me. Sometimes I'd have a board and a sound guy, sometimes it was just the band running through a Fender Passport, which has some EQ, but it was easier to...