Are Michael Kelly Mandos Still Thought of as A Pretty Good Mando?

[Nalapombu]

Hey all,

Many years ago my first mando was a really nice Michael Kelly Dragonfly. I thought it was a great looking and sounding mandolin, but what do I know? My teacher at the time thought it sounded good and said it was better than many mandos that he sees with his other students.
Before I bought it I read quite a bit on here. They got really good reviews at the time. I ended up selling mine and getting a better mandolin, a Weber.

Now I might have to get another low cost mandolin to start learning again on. I thought I'd ask about the Michael Kelly mandos and see what they are like now and what kind of feedback they are getting. I see that you can no longer buy them direct, like I did. I paid something like $450 for my Dragonfly and they are much more than that now for the similar model.

So..how would you rank them in the sub $500 category and what others would be a better choice in a nice USED or new mando?

Thanks
Nalajr

[pheffernan]

So..how would you rank them in the sub $500 category and what others would be a better choice in a nice USED or new mando?

Michael Kelly mandolins have a reputation for being aesthetically pleasing and sonically underwhelming or at the very least inconsistent. On the budget end of the mandolin market, they seem to have been passed by Kentucky (KM150, Eastman (MD305), The Loar (LM220), and JBovier (A5T). I'd also add that a domestic flattop, like a Mid-Missouri / Big Muddy, could fit your budget if you're not planning to play out at a bluegrass jam any time soon.

[Tobin]

When I bought my Michael Kelly Legacy FS-E in 2009, it was considered a decent contender amongst the Asian import brands. Mine was made in Korea, but I understand they are now made in China.

pheffernan is right - the MK brand has been eclipsed by some of the better import brands. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend buying a MK mandolin new at this point, as there are better options for the money. This isn't to say that a MK mandolin is "bad" at all. Just that you'll get more bang for your buck with the brands he mentioned, if you're buying new.

If you can find a used MK out there that's pretty cheap, though, it's still a decent starter mandolin.

[JEStanek]

If I had $500, I would look at a used Big Muddy / Mid Mo first. But I really like flat top, oval holed mandolins. I had a Morgan Monroe in 2003 that looked real nice but the finish really hurt the sound. I think contemporary MKs had similar issues. I could hear a big difference between the MM and the Eastman I got a couple years later.

I can't speak to the quality and performance of MKs made lately. If I wanted an archtop, I would recommend the Eastman or Kentucky I have had good experiences with in hand.

Jamie

[SCIFIDELITY]

I'll re-iterate what others have already said. Save up until you have the extra $200 over the $500 you'd spend on an MK, and get the eastman 315 ($700). It's at least twice as good for less than twice the price...

[mrmando]

I don't know that they ever WERE thought of as a pretty good mando. Certainly not by me.

[Nalapombu]

Back when I got my MK mandolin, a DRAGONFLY in Walnut finish, not only was it a very pretty mandolin, but it also sounded good.

That was when they sold them direct, not like now where they are marked up 2X from what they once were priced. I don't know that I would buy one today with what they charge for them. Their top line F Model, some iteration of the Dragonfly with the fingerboard inlay, sell now for right around $900!! I paid $450 or so for mine and it was the top model they had at the time. It had a carved top too.
Shortly after I got mine, I was just starting lessons, and I noticed a hum when I plucked the D and G strings open. I called them and they told me to send it in, which they paid for, and when it came back it had a brand new updated bridge and was thoroughly gone over and set up by their best guy. It sounded and played much better after that.
By the way, I bought mine off of Tracy Hoeft, the guy that started them, I think. He had all the mandolins contracted to be made in KOREA instead of China. The Koreans that made them were said to be some of the TOP builders in Korea. Now they are made in China, from what I have read and heard. Also, Tracy Hoeft was absent for many years and now he has returned. He has said he is going to establish a new dealer network and he stressed the quality of the mandolins is going to be top notch and be the best Far Eastern mandolin available in the USA. They do have some pretty nice looking mandolins in their new line. I really like that Black top model with the grey back and sides.

The ONLY reason I bought it was because I did I LOT of research HERE. I would read and read and read about "budget" mandolins and at that time there were no EASTMAN mandos. Kentucky was the main competition and the quality of those had went way downhill at the time. Many, MANY members here were very high on Michael Kelly mandolins and would routinely recommend them to those that were just getting started. I'm not downing or criticizing you, there were also those that hated them. When I first joined here and posted that I had never played an instrument in my life and I wanted to learn the mandolin and would like some suggestions for a mando for a beginner. I had quite a few that told me, rather forcefully, that I should stop trying to be "Bill Monroe" and buy an A Style. It sounded almost snobbish the way they would infer that those of us that wanted to get an F style as our first mandolin were only wanting to pretend to be Bill. Some would frequently add that I should get a hat with my F style. Kinda turned me off for a while cause I expected that when I asked for help, I would have lots of members WELCOMING me to the world of the mandolin. I did get some of that, to be fair, but there were others, maybe 15% of those that would respond to my questions, that acted as if the mandolin was an exclusive club and that they didn't want me and other new players in it. It was weird to me as I thought that as long as someone was eager to learn and get involved that it wouldn't matter what they came to the table with, or whether they build a home made junker mando, they would be looked favorably upon. That wasn't always the case. Like I said, about 15% didn't respond kindly to the questions posed by those like me that wanted to learn.

Oh well, people are different and no group has a universal opinion that is identical to everyone.

Nalajr

[allenhopkins]

Well, it's unfortunate if your "welcome" to the Cafe´was marred by some condescending posts. Standard advice for new mandolinists who ask "what to buy" -- and I'm sure you're aware that this question is probably asked once a day -- is to get an A-model rather than an F-model; this is because, in general, the purchaser gets an acoustically better instrument for a given price.

The extra carving, whether by hand or machine, that goes into making an F-model instrument's scroll and body points, can mean that one can buy an all-solid-wood, carved-top A-model, for the price of a laminated, heat-pressed F-model. In most cases, the A-model would be a better-sounding mandolin.

I'm sure that many, many Cafe´members love the F-model silhouette; you don't have to be a Bill Monroe wannabe to do so. And we sure don't want to discourage people from taking up the mandolin -- the more the better -- whatever you may have inferred from those earlier responses to your question.

With regard to Michael Kelly instruments, my (limited) experience has been that to some extent acoustic quality has been sacrificed in favor of attractive cosmetics -- unusual finishes, extensive inlay, etc. The same emphasis also seems to be found in Morgan Monroe instruments. In similar price ranges, Eastman, Kentucky, and Loar mandolins are available that emphasize features generally agreed to contribute to better sound.

Of course, each individual instrument differs in subtle or substantial ways from other instruments, and a great-sounding MK is certainly not out of the realm of possibility. We're talking in generalizations here, and apparently you had good experiences with your MK mandolin. Perhaps you should have kept it?

But, you asked the question, and I think the consensus is that Michael Kelly mandolins aren't the top choice. and that Kentucky, Loar, and Eastman instruments are generally better-regarded. As they say, "your mileage may vary."

[Nalapombu]

Hey,

Yeah, I wish I would've kept it. The reason I couldn't keep it was because about a month into taking lessons I became pretty good friends with my teacher. He had a guy that was also taking lessons from him that came in right before I did. My teacher and I were talking mandolins one day and I was asking about really nice mandolins cause I had been spending too much time here looking at all the GORGEOUS mandolins that you guys would post and talk about. It doesn't take long until you want a nice mando too. Of course I thought the mando I had, my MK, was a fine sounding mando. Anyway, my teacher told me about the other guy and how he was opening a bluegrass instrument store in our small town. I was curious. I ended up emailing back and forth with the guy and talking about his upcoming store. He was a pretty experienced player in his own right.
After about a month of talking via email about mandos and banjos and such, he tells me that he was going to take a new job and wasn't going to open his store. He then dropped a bomb on me and asked if I'd like to have a really nice mandolin. He said he had 2 I could pick from, both were brand new Weber F style mandolins. One was a Bitterroot and the other was a Yellowstone. He told me that he would sell me either one for exactly the amount he had in them. He just needed to be rid of them and not lose his money. I was STUNNED when he told me how much I could have them for. Naturally I took him up on the offer to get the Bitterroot. In order to get it, I had to sell my MK. So that's how I got the mando I still have today and what happened to my Michael Kelly mando. In fact I sold it to a guy from California, I think, that was in a Church group and needed a mando to use for some of the church songs. So I felt good about where the mando ended up.

Yeah I didn't pay too much attention to the negatives when I first joined and I realized after a while that it would be a smarter choice to buy an A rather than spend the same money on an F for the exact reasons you listed.

Now I am in the process of looking for a replacement to use. I am likely going to have to sell my Weber to raise money for some medical treatment that my insurance won't cover fully. I need the medical treatment because I have a disorder where my spine is fused from top to bottom, called Ankylosing Spondylitis.
Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but now that I have a renewed interest in the mando, I am going to need something to replace my Weber when I sell it. I can't spend that much money on it either.

In this situation I can easily see me ending up with an A style. I don't mind the Breedlove A styles either. I also like the Breedlove KF and KO styles, but those are much more money than $300. I'd probably like to keep the price at that price point or close to it. A used mando is also a possibility too. I don't need something fantastic. I just need something decent that I can continue to learn and practice on and probably take a few lessons with. So an A is looking pretty darn likely at this point, but I won't know until the time comes that I actually sell my Weber.
I don't mind the looks or the style of the A. In fact I like the looks of them. I've never handled or played one though so it will be a totally new experience for me if I do get one.

I'll confess another item, I think some of the most beautiful mandolins are those 3 point or 2 point styles. I first saw one here in the Eye Candy section where a NUGGET 2 point is posted. It's a kind of orangish shade and from the instant I saw it I was hooked. I sure would love to have one of those styles of mandolins. I like the Phoenix mandolins too, which is the same style I guess.
Eastman makes one of those styles that I also think is beautiful and would love to have one. Alas, they are a heck of a lot of money for me and not in the cards for a long time.....unless I hit the LOTTO and then I would get a LOAR and that NUGGET that I like so much. Not that I could do either of them justice, but I would want them for their beauty.

Thanks for the help and advice. If you want to post more suggestions as to what would fit in nicely in the budget I told you about, feel free. I can always use the help and advice from you guys and gals. Also remember that I am not opposed to USED mandos, no matter the style.

Nalajr

[pheffernan]

If you want to post more suggestions as to what would fit in nicely in the budget I told you about, feel free. I can always use the help and advice from you guys and gals. Also remember that I am not opposed to USED mandos, no matter the style.

Since you've had a good experience with Weber, you might consider one of their lower price offerings. There are a pair of Y2K flattops currently listed in the classifieds here http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/79888 and here http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/79856. Each is posted at $500, with the former "asking" for that price, and both have been on the market since the turn of the month. Either could give you that same pride of ownership that you've found in your current Weber at a lower price to help accommodate your medical bills.

[Nalapombu]

Today I stopped in a local Guitar shop just to look around. I had never been in there, I had no need up until now. I was wanting to buy a new set of strings to put on my mando.
They didn't have much at all for mandos. One one kind of strings, the D'addario Mandolin Strings....I'll try them, but save the old Elixir strings that come off of it just in case.

Anyway, right there on the wall was a mandolin, an A. I asked to see it. I didn't recognize the brand. I don't know where it was made. It likely came from China, but could've came from Mexico or anywhere else CHEAP mandos come from. It was priced at $110 new. I strummed it a bit and played a couple of chords. I didn't do anything else cause I didn't want to embarrass myself. It didn't sound that bad at all. Now it wasn't anywhere NEAR my Weber, naturally, but I would have no problem playing around on it should I sell my Weber like I think I am going to have to at some point in the coming month or 2. I had the wrong opinion of A style mandos. Now I think I'd kinda like to have one. I'm going to start looking at the lower priced A styles that you all are mentioning just to see what's out there and what looks good. I like what you all have told me about in the A styles you can get a much better quality mando for the same money you'd spend on an F cause there is no intricate hand work that goes into the A like on the F. No scroll to make and painstakingly get nice and pretty and then finish to make sure there are no problems at all. I'd like to play around with a nice A with my Weber right next to it just to compare them to see what the A can offer by way of sound and performance.


Please keep the suggestions coming. F's, Flat tops, 2 points, 3 points, I don't care what it is, I'll just want a nice sounding and feeling mando that looks good and not have to spend a lot to get it. The only difference now is that I'd like you all to start adding recommendations for A styles that you all like and think are really good mandos for the money.

Keep the info coming. I really appreciate your help and you taking your time to help me
Thanks all.

Nalajr

[Folkmusician.com]

Most of the import mandolins switch factories every so often (3-10 years), so it is often the case that a current model has absolutely nothing in common with one made a few years back. Michael Kelly has been working on moving the mandolin production for a while now. They have been working on prototypes and the new versions should hit dealers anytime. They are now CNCed at a new factory. I have seen images and specs and given some input, but haven't seen the finished mandolins yet.

[Twilo123]

Today I stopped in a local Guitar shop just to look around. I had never been in there, I had no need up until now. I was wanting to buy a new set of strings to put on my mando.
They didn't have much at all for mandos. One one kind of strings, the D'addario Mandolin Strings....I'll try them, but save the old Elixir strings that come off of it just in case.

Anyway, right there on the wall was a mandolin, an A. I asked to see it. I didn't recognize the brand. I don't know where it was made. It likely came from China, but could've came from Mexico or anywhere else CHEAP mandos come from. It was priced at $110 new. I strummed it a bit and played a couple of chords. I didn't do anything else cause I didn't want to embarrass myself. It didn't sound that bad at all. Now it wasn't anywhere NEAR my Weber, naturally, but I would have no problem playing around on it should I sell my Weber like I think I am going to have to at some point in the coming month or 2. I had the wrong opinion of A style mandos. Now I think I'd kinda like to have one. I'm going to start looking at the lower priced A styles that you all are mentioning just to see what's out there and what looks good. I like what you all have told me about in the A styles you can get a much better quality mando for the same money you'd spend on an F cause there is no intricate hand work that goes into the A like on the F. No scroll to make and painstakingly get nice and pretty and then finish to make sure there are no problems at all. I'd like to play around with a nice A with my Weber right next to it just to compare them to see what the A can offer by way of sound and performance.


Please keep the suggestions coming. F's, Flat tops, 2 points, 3 points, I don't care what it is, I'll just want a nice sounding and feeling mando that looks good and not have to spend a lot to get it. The only difference now is that I'd like you all to start adding recommendations for A styles that you all like and think are really good mandos for the money.

Keep the info coming. I really appreciate your help and you taking your time to help me
Thanks all.

Nalajr

i am in a similar position. let me preface by saying i am new to mandolins. i have however been playing guitar for 20+ years so i have some understanding of music in general. it will take me years to pick up the little nuances of the different mandolin sounds. that being said i have another thread http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...bacco-Sunburst where i basically purchased an all solid chinese MK mando for $179 and i do some sound clips against my 4x more expensive Eastman MD315. while the MK is a bit more tinny sounding than the Eastman to my basic ear it sounds similar is most respects. if that's the case then do i really need to pay 4x to get a good starter or even intermediate mando? or should i start for a couple years on this much cheaper all solid chinese mando and save up to get an even better high end mando when i am ready...i went through something similar in guitars. yes there is nothing even close to a custom commissioned, hand made, luthier built guitar but by not getting that right away i was able to get what i would say are very decent beginner/intermediate/even high end guitars. notice i say guitars plural. so now i have money to expose myself to 6 strings, 12 strings, classical, steel string, electric, acoustic, soprano ukelele, concert ukelele, tenor ukelele, baritone ukelele, puerto rican cuatro, bass, mandolin, octave mandolin, irish bouzouki, etc. the list goes on and on. i can get a decent intermediate 1 of each listed above for total way less than 1 of some of the custom high end instruments.

[allenhopkins]

These are the kinds of questions that other Cafe´members cannot answer. We can advise what mandolins we have found -- in our own individual experiences, or by reading others' opinions for years here -- to be more or less satisfactory.

Beyond that, it's up to your individual preferences, budgets, and evaluations of comparative quality. You have some experience with mandolins, and with other instruments. As pointed out, there is a big world of stringed instruments out there, with a huge range of prices, designs, materials, work-person-ship, etc.

What level of generally-accepted "quality" satisfies you? What can you afford? How much are you willing to spend to get some level of improvement? What are your esthetic tastes -- what shape, finish, ornamentation, neck profile, sound quality, volume, manufacturer's pedigree, etc. appeals to you?

These are questions only the individual prospective purchaser can answer. We can't. We can say Mandolin X is better constructed, by generally accepted standards, than Mandolin Y. We can say that, in our opinion, Mandolin X is a better value for the money than Mandolin Y.

What we can't say is whether you'll like Mandolin X better than Mandolin Y -- whether it works better for you. You guys are on your own(s) there.

[Nalapombu]

Yeah that's true. No matter how much you all may like and think Mando X is a much better instrument than Mando Y, if I, or other players, really like Mando Y, no amount of talking, comparing or anything else is going to get me to switch. Fortunately I like ALL kinds of mandolins. I prefer F styles just because I think they are much prettier and classy looking than the others. I am likely going to end up getting an A style, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all. I've never owned or played one and to tell the truth, I am kinda excited to get a new mandolin here in the coming month or so.
Of course another style of mando that I really like and think is absolutely beautiful are the 2 point mandolins. Such pretty mandolins. The bad thing is that none of them are inexpensive. All the ones I have seen are priced at over $2,000.

Oh well, who knows what I'll end up with. It could be an A or an F. Whatever it is one thing will be certain, I'll really LIKE it and enjoy playing and learning once again. Which, when you take everything into consideration, is all that really matters anyway.

Thanks
Nalajr

[Tobin]

Of course another style of mando that I really like and think is absolutely beautiful are the 2 point mandolins. Such pretty mandolins. The bad thing is that none of them are inexpensive. All the ones I have seen are priced at over $2,000.

Just FYI (and NFI on my part), Doug Edwards builds a pretty mean two-point for less than that. He has one listed on his site:

http://hillcountrystringworks.com/instruments.html

[Eddie Sheehy]

Still? I've never considered them as good. The ones I played were not good, their Mandola was terrible. Maybe it was just me...

[barney 59]

Someone once had a listing on ebay that is maybe my favorite listing of all time. "Michael Kelley Piece of #%&t -$2000"

He went on to explain the problems he had with the mandolin and the problems he had with the dealer and the company that would give him no redress or make any effort to correct the terrible mandolin that they sold him. He had a big bunch of very clear photos and cleverly used 3x5 cards to highlight what he wanted you to see. The string spacing was way off, the neck was tweeked, the top had sunk. The mandolin was exactly as advertised in his listing. At that time Michael Kelley Mandolins were all over ebay and it was probably their most important marketing tool. Anyone coming upon that listing would never consider a MK as a possible purchase. It might have been for revenge but most likely he was probably hoping that someone from the MK network of dealers or the manufacturer itself would realize how much damage that listing was causing them and make him an offer so that that listing would come down. A form of justified blackmail. Since then I don't think I've ever even bothered to pick up a MK when I've come upon one. he convinced me!.

[cgvm]

Oh well, who knows what I'll end up with. It could be an A or an F. Whatever it is one thing will be certain, I'll really LIKE it and enjoy playing and learning once again. Which, when you take everything into consideration, is all that really matters anyway.

Nalajr

If you are still looking for a moderately-low priced mandolin which produces good sound you shoukd checkout the Kentucky KM-150 Standard A-Model available from MusiciansFriend (not set-up prior to shipment) or Elderly (set-up prior to shipment). MusiciansFriend has a Black Friday sale until Monday, 1 December 2014.

[Steve Ostrander]

I had a Dragonfly for a while. It sounded like it had a sock stuffed inside it.

[Northwest Steve]

I ordered a Kentucky KM150 for a beater. Have not received it so can not report. My first mandolin was an Eastman 305. I liked it a lot and thought it was a great starter mandolin and probably should have kept it. There is an Eastman 505 and 304 in the classifieds that might be worth a look. Also Sonny Morris builds mandolins and has one for a great price
http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/81496

[George R. Lane]

This one looks like a good candidate.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/81663

[JeffD]

If you are looking for bang for your buck, and not addicted to an arch top mandolin - take a good look at the flat tops, like Big Muddy. There are a lot of attractive affordable great quality mandolins that are a world of fun to play, outside of the arch top universe.

[Caleb]

That Eastman 505 in the Classifieds is a really good deal. You could do a lot worse for $425 shipped.