Coming back to Mandolin and have a few questions.

I had a beautiful F style Eastman years ago but had to sell due to financial situations. Now surprisingly in this climate, I am able to get something. I still have a few questions.

Firstly I have seen around that a great route is to just get an older Gibson A style for the best bang for your buck. is this still true? I love F-style as I am sure everyone under the sun does, but it seems you can get a much better A-style mandolin for a similar price. Should I just suck it up and go A-style / Vintage Gibson?

Sorry if this is a FAQ, I just want to make the best decision.

if you're talking oval-hole mandolins as opposed to f-hole mandolins you can't do much better than the current Eastman 504 or 604 models. check out The Mandolin Store as they usually have them in stock. old Gibson A models can be great, but there's superb alternative choices available these days. The Northfield Calhoun is another "less than a grand" superstar...

I was talking shape size, so scroll vs teardrop. can you recommend any F holes?

The old Gibsons referred to are going for closer to $2k these days and are oval sound hole which is likely not the sound you're after. In the $1000 and under range for F hole instruments, Eastmans seem to keep their owners satisfied. MD505 gets very good reviews. Upper level Kentucky's (used market) also make some folks happy

thanks im looking in the range 1.2k - 1.4k

as Rob Roy says... the Eastman and Kentucky lines are your best choices in that price range. the Kentucky KM1000 can be very impressive but the entry level Eastman F styles are good too. gotta find the right one as always...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Netsua

I love F-style as I am sure everyone under the sun does, but it seems you can get a much better A-style mandolin for a similar price. Should I just suck it up and go A-style / Vintage Gibson?

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I don't
You would.
I did.
I would do it again. But every one has their own preference.

If you want an old Gibson A-model with f-holes, look for an A-40 or an A-50. You can find them in your price range; they're usually from the late 1930's through the 1950's.

I've played a few of the vintage Gibson A model mandolins, and I found them to be a bit difficult to play, especially compared to contemporary mandos out there, and I wasn't sold on the tone. YMMV.

I had an Eastman MD815V that I liked a lot (sold it to finance a Collings MT-O), but if your price range is around $1K you could do worse than get an upper level Eastman A model.

Or you could spend a bit more and go for a used Collings MT. They sometimes come up in the Classifieds section for around $2K. Plus, they hold their value, so if it's not your "cup of tea" you could probably sell it for near the same price you paid.

In the 1.2-1.4K range, I’d also consider Silverangel, Ratliff, Sonny Morris, used Gibson A9, and used Weber Gallatin...

A style Gibson probably is a safe-ish bet, but there's plenty of great instruments out there in the same price range. Collings MT, Northfield Model M, Larry Muth Two Point, and Weber Gallatin are a few that come to mind. There's a lot of great options in the $2500-3000 range!