I am going to spend $1,500 on a new mandolin ...

[Darren Bailey]

I don't disagree with the logic of some of these anwers but you've also got to consider a further requirement - your heart!
I have two A mandoins, one of which produces a very sweet sound. But an F model is my prize and joy - just to take it out and gaze at it gives me pleasure. There is a certain aesthetic to an F mandolin that is unequalled; just a beautiful friend to have in the house who only gets better with age. You know yourself that no matter how great that A model is you're still going to have an eye for those curves that will ony be satisfied one way.

[Frank Farley]

I would look at a used Silver Angel A style. Really good mandolins with a unique sound.

[tburcham]

Lots of good options here. If it were me, I'd buy the Gibson A-9 in the classifieds for a grand, and use the $500 for lessons and accessories. That's a serious bluegrass mandolin for $1,000. The name on the headstock will surely help if you decide to sell down the road.

Yep, that would be a good decision.

[Josh Levine]

1500 definitely gets you close to some decent Fs, though. My F9 was 1500, although they seem to be going for closer to the $2000 range now. You could get a new Morris F5, pick out the colors and what not, and that would certainly make a nice mandolin. I haven't played the Kentucky's but I imagine them to be a little louder and grassier than the Morris, which just has a very nice even tone and plays super easy. It would just be easier to find a really good quality A in your range. The A9 should hold/gain value so when you wanted to trade up you could easily do that without losing $ in the deal.

[DataNick]

Does the Morris have a carbon fibre rod in lieu of an adjustable truss-rod?


If so, then something to keep in mind...the A9 certainly makes sense if you can get past the scroll; otherwise I stand on the JBovier F5 Tradition for $899 new...

[bayAreaDude]

I'm a big fan of the Collings MT, as you can tell by my signature, but I'm not sure anyone "should" be able to find one for that price. I can only recall one going for $1500 or less, and it had damage beyond average wear. Most seem to be listed in the $1700 range lately like this one: http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/74439. It's still great value at that price point, although it might not have the traditional bluegrass sound that the OP is seeking.

I'd just recommend he seek one out and play it to see how it sounds and feels, even if it's $200 over his budget. Better sounding to my ears for any style of music than any pac rim I've played.

[Josh Levine]

The Morris does not have a adjustable truss rod, so I guess it is a carbon fibre rod, but I forget.

I would certainly recommend trying a Collings in that price range, however, the Gibson sound is much more in tune to what my ears like. I just sold my Collings and got a Flatiron because my ears favored it more. Which reminds me a Flatiron A would certainly be in your budget if you could find one. The A9/F9 seem to have a better low end and chop while the Flats seem to sound better in the mids and highs in my experience.

[pheffernan]

Which reminds me a Flatiron A would certainly be in your budget if you could find one.

You can find one: http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/74236.

[Relio]

Myself and my dad both had this exact same situation this year (both play bluegrass and had $1,500 limits). I ended up with a used Collings MT and my father got a used Gibson A9. They are both outstanding instruments. I'd recommend either.

[DataNick]

...Which reminds me a Flatiron A would certainly be in your budget if you could find one. The A9/F9 seem to have a better low end and chop while the Flats seem to sound better in the mids and highs in my experience.

What year is your Flat JW?

The "Derrington" era Flats like mine (1999-2002) seem to have it all across the tonal spectrum; just curious!

My 99 Performer A has plently of bottom and has a boatload of "pop", and the mids/highs really cut through nicely.
My 96 Bozeman era Flatiron Festival A however is more of what you describe, less on the bottom, plenty in the mid/high ranges.

[Josh Levine]

It is a Derrington Era. It certainly plays well across all registers and has a very classic bluegrass Mandolin tone. The F9 just has it beat on the low end and the chop. The F9 is a 2003 I believe. It is very woofy.

[DataNick]

It is a Derrington Era. It certainly plays well across all registers and has a very classic bluegrass Mandolin tone. The F9 just has it beat on the low end and the chop. The F9 is a 2003 I believe. It is very woofy.

Thanks...that must be some F9!

[Josh Levine]

I love them both. Surprisingly they have different tonal characteristics even though they both came out of the Nashville Gibson Factory around the same time. When the Flat entered the collection the Collings had to go.

To bring it full circle, a Gibson or Flatiron A would be a great choice that would come in under your budget, although do some research based on the year of the instrument if you are going to buy it and ideally play it. Collings also makes a beautiful instrument that sounds great, just different from the Gibby family. I would definitely go used though and try to find something that will retain its value should MAS ever strike.

[Steve Ostrander]

Used MT
km1000
km900

[DataNick]

...I would definitely go used though and try to find something that will retain its value should MAS ever strike.

And that really is the bugaboo with pac-rim mandos. Being the owner of 2, one of which I have used as a stage axe, the re-sell value is nil. So although my JBovier may have really good tone, monster whomp/low end, loud as all get out and "pop" like Orville Reddenbacker's; after the partial re-fret and swith to Grover tuners that I'm having done; it's re-sell value is still next to nothing. So it's really only "worth" a lot to me, and selling it would be "giving it away". The 99 "Derrington" Flat however could still fetch $1k on the market, especially since I've had it re-fret with the Jescar EVO Gold 0.80 fretwire...

[pheffernan]

And that really is the bugaboo with pac-rim mandos. Being the owner of 2, one of which I have used as a stage axe, the re-sell value is nil.

Do you think the issue in resale is their pacrim origin more than simply the devaluation of a new instrument? I just did a cursory search and found among other things an Eastman MD515 listed at The Mandolin Store from last August for $799. Granted, that's a dealer, and the instrument was described as mint, but that's 80% of retail. I'd be surprised if you couldn't get $700 in a private sale for your Eastman and 70% of new ($455) for the JBovier. Then we could start shopping!

[DataNick]

Do you think the issue in resale is their pacrim origin more than simply the devaluation of a new instrument? I just did a cursory search and found among other things an Eastman MD515 listed at The Mandolin Store from last August for $799. Granted, that's a dealer, and the instrument was described as mint, but that's 80% of retail. I'd be surprised if you couldn't get $700 in a private sale for your Eastman and 70% of new ($455) for the JBovier. Then we could start shopping!

I think it's a combination of both Pat...my inclination is that the pac-rims don't hold value like the USA brands; also factor in that most pac-rims top out at say $2k (there are exceptions like Northfield), but after I got my Eastman the re-fret it desperately needs, and if I took it to the local store here, I'd be lucky to get $200 for it, maybe $450 on the classifieds if I was willing to wait. To me that's giving it away, which is what I might as well do to a worthy party, or just keep it.

[sykofiddle]

If you're relatively new to this, but willing to make a serious investment (like $1500), I'd have three considerations (in order of importance):

playability (ease of fretting, intonation, stability of tuning, etc.)
sound
resale value

Considering all of those, a used MT or A-9 cannot be beat. I'll go out on a limb....if I had $1600 and could only own one instrument (of any kind - guitar, mandolin, fiddle), I'd buy a used MT.

[Steve Zawacki]

Do you think the issue in resale is their pacrim origin more than simply the devaluation of a new instrument? I just did a cursory search and found among other things an Eastman MD515 listed at The Mandolin Store from last August for $799. Granted, that's a dealer, and the instrument was described as mint, but that's 80% of retail. I'd be surprised if you couldn't get $700 in a private sale for your Eastman and 70% of new ($455) for the JBovier. Then we could start shopping!

Mass-produced anything doesn't hold value because there will always be many more of them brand new next week entering the marketplace. Resale value involves a combination of retained (or increased) quality and scarcity. While the pac-rim istruments may indeed satisfy the quality factor, there is no scarcity of them when they arrive daily by the boatload. That's why the hand-crafted instruments made in small numbers by the private builders rarely drop dramatically in value.

A few months ago, I decided to give mandolin a try. I planned to keep total costs for this venture within $1,500-2000. Within that number was instrument(s), books, tuner, accessories (e.g., armrests, straps and such), lessons and whatever else would come along the way. My guitar experiences have taught me that the instrument cost is only a portion of the musical learning process, and that a music budget can get blown away in short order. First mandolin/case was $150, the next was $550, another for $150, then three used for about $1,200 and now the $550 will go on sale next week. Accessories (armrests, tone gard, tuner, etc) added up to about another $400.

Bottom line is that a budget can easily be outstripped by the learning process. For me I've learned I'm not an F-style guy and it's going to be sold (two A-styles have already gone to grandkids, so they don't count). I've learned how to set a mandolin up, do minor repairs, which strings sound best and why, and a few other things. I now realize why certain mandolins sound the way they do and which work best with the music I prefer.

If the OP's total budget (including all other ancillary costs for the next few months) is $1,500, then the advice to keep the cost of the instrument well below the budget maximum is prudent and realistic. Getting a $1,500 instrument if the total music budget is $1,500 can cause a lot of frustration when the desire to do many of the things recommended on this forum can't be funded.

[pheffernan]

I think it's a combination of both Pat...my inclination is that the pac-rims don't hold value like the USA brands; also factor in that most pac-rims top out at say $2k (there are exceptions like Northfield), but after I got my Eastman the re-fret it desperately needs, and if I took it to the local store here, I'd be lucky to get $200 for it, maybe $450 on the classifieds if I was willing to wait. To me that's giving it away, which is what I might as well do to a worthy party, or just keep it.

I'd be surprised if you could only get 45% of new on a private sale, Nick, and I'd be inclined to leave the refret for the next owner.

[DataNick]

Well it's almost 4 years old (purchase date), has some wear marks and dings, and the frets are in pretty bad shape...

[pheffernan]

We clearly need to work on your advertising, Nick.

Well it's almost 4 years old (purchase date)

You mean "it's a seasoned instrument that has opened up considerably with noticeable improvements in tone and volume?"

has some wear marks and dings

You mean "it has mojo and other signs that it isn't some unplayed closet queen?"

and the frets are in pretty bad shape...

You mean "in the spirit of full disclosure it has play wear consistent with an instrument that has been well loved for four years?"

[bratsche]

First thread I'm reading today (lurked on it up to now, due to little interest from a personal perspective), but that last exchange made me spurt coffee up my nose.

Seriously, Nick, I really think you need to hire this guy!

bratsche

[FatBear]

If 1500 is your budget for the mandolin, what are you budgeting for things like a ... I would spend 1000 on the mandolin and make sure I could instantly sign up for lessons...

I can certainly second that! I struggled to teach myself for two years before I was able to find an instructor within (distant) driving range. All of a sudden BAM! I'm a star. Well not really even close, but it made a huge difference in my playing.

Instruction is not cheap. I spent as much or more on the lessons last summer as I did for my instrument (I paid $525 for a Big Muddy MD-0w, not $1500.) And it was money well spent. I am migratory, but when I head up north again this summer I will probably continue my lessons as my improvement has slowed considerably without them.

I see that a lot of people take Skype lessons but I cannot even imagine it. But that is an option for some people I suppose.

[DataNick]

We clearly need to work on your advertising, Nick.
You mean "it's a seasoned instrument that has opened up considerably with noticeable improvements in tone and volume?"

That is true, and the tone and volume is quite impressive...

You mean "it has mojo and other signs that it isn't some unplayed closet queen?"

That is also true, though the scroll on the headstock is broken off just like Mr. Monroe's Loar...happened by accident. I have the piece and it's a clean break, just haven't bothered to spend the $$ to repair it.

You mean "in the spirit of full disclosure it has play wear consistent with an instrument that has been well loved for four years?"

This one would get me in trouble! When I say the frets are trashed, I'm being generous. Those on the cafe who have seen it could verify that. I don't dare try to sell it until I get a re-fret.

But 2 outta 3 ain't bad...LOL!