Re: Expensive mandolins
To me the whole concept of "better" or "more valuable" is quite subjective and varies from person to person. I recently got a chance to grab an Eastman MDO-305 OM before it could get snatched up from the local store. They also had a Weber in stock, so I spent quite a while sitting there going from one to the other; a $699 OM and a $3,999 OM. Was the Weber better? I remember thinking so at the time, but sitting here now I couldn't tell you what I heard that made me think so. To my ear they were both beautiful sounding instruments, fit and finish were excellent, etc. But sitting there going back and forth, there was nothing I heard that said, "Wow! Now I understand what everyone is talking about!" They were both just very good octave mandolins; one of which I could afford to take home and one I couldn't. What I did notice was that the Eastman's neck was much more comfortable to my hand than the thick neck on the Weber.
I'd like to think that I am capable of hearing differences in quality, as a number of years ago I was involved in helping a church purchase a grand piano, and we listened to probably a dozen models. It became very easy to sort out the differences as we went up the scale from $6-7,000 Korean models to the low-teens/mid $20K Yamahas, Baldwins, etc., up to the $49K Steinways. But maybe I'm just not as attuned to the differences in mandolins. Or maybe the differences between a $700 OM and a $4,000 OM aren't as noticeable as some folks think.
-- Johnson MA-100 Mando
-- Eastman MDO-305 OM
-- 3 Seagull Merlin dulcimers (2GDG, 1DAD)
-- 1952 Harmony Roy Smeck guitar
-- Ortega Lizzie Ubass
-- Leigh Campbell electric violin
-- Pfretzschner violin
-- Glaesel viola
-- Ibanez acoustic/electric guitar
-- Misc: a cello, 2 cigarbox guitars, charango, djembe, slide dulcimer.
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