There is nothing awful or junky about a Kentucky KM-276. I would never recommend a new player look for a Stradolin and I say that as someone who has owned a Stradolin and a KM-272. (BTW, the Kentucky is a MUCH better sounding instrument.) Frankly, plenty of Strads are, at least at this point, awful junk. If you do not know how to diagnose problems, if you don't have a local luthier, if you just want to learn to play, a vintage instrument is probably not right for you unless it comes from a dealer that has already gone over it and taken care of any issues.
Well, I have bought, refurbished, done set-up on and sold 16 Stradolins that ran the gamut in quality. Sold them very cheap. Never had one complaint. Most people absolutely loved them. Your mileage may vary.
Well, I for one, feel the OP chose very well and picked an instrument that for that price point is very often recommended here as a no brainer. This forum is not a place where we belittle others purchases.
Have fun with your new mandolin!
Rob
The majority of the guitars and mandolins I sell are to vintage dealers and retailers. Even in the Mandolin Cafe Classifieds, most of the sales are to experienced buyers (dealers). Believe me when I say, they are the least likely people to pay "inflated prices". They are going to make a 20% to 30% profit when they resell my mandos.
I'm not belittling others purchases. $500 Kentucky mandolins are the beginners choice and 100,000 will be sold this year. ...But there is an alternative. I just shipped a '$300 all solid woods, 1930's Stradolin'. Sold her to a retailer up north who will probably get $395 or more for her.
The difference between the Kentucky and the Stradolin??? THE STRADOLIN WAS MADE IN AMERICA and we just don't get to say that very often any more (not in this price range, anyway). The wood on the Stradolin has aged and should sound better... that's why collectors pay more for vintage. Yes, Vintage American Mandolins can be a little fragile and can need "tweaking" so go to The Music Emporium (when the pandemic is over). There is your luther/ repairman. Everyone on this site should google mandolin repair for your area, they are getting more common. Then you will have someone to do set-up or tweaking if you ever bump your mando (god forbid).
Lastly, let me get back on course and apologize for calling Kentucky mandolins Chinese Junk. My Bad. Everybody has their preference. There is no such thing as a bad mandolin, except for that 1970's paper lined bowl back I bought new. Will I get in trouble for saying that??? Oy vey!
Last edited by your_diamond; Apr-05-2020 at 9:15am.
She came in early! Delivered about 12:30 today, nicely packaged and detuned. Took me a while to tune her up as I did it gently and in stages, and she's definitely needing some opening up. But there's a noticeable difference in quality and tone. Here she is with my original Donner from Amazon (which is going to go to Goodwill). The strings do look a bit old, so I'm likely to get those replaced* when I take her over to Maple Street for evaluation and setup.
As of yet I've not done a whole lot with her as I want her to get used to the house, and because the case hasn't yet come in so right now she's simply sitting on a table in my husband's office -- which is about the safest place for her to be. But I have picked a couple tunes and chords very quickly and I'm excited. Yeah, I know it's not a nice $2000 American-made model but we're going to have a good time together.
...as soon as I figure out her name.
* and if it weren't for the Coronavirus situation I'd have them show me how to restring her; I'm having trouble making sense out of the online tutorials. But they're doing drop-off/pickup only right now so, this time around, I'll just need them to do it for me.
Congratulations on your new mandolin purchase! And if you’re in Atlanta, Marty Jacobson is someone you need to know. He’s a local mandolin luthier here, does great work at reasonable rates... He helped me with the setup and dressing frets on my Gibson. If you can work with his schedule, you can get the work done quickly -instead of leaving your mando 2 - 4 weeks with Maple Street.
K’hat
I remember my first mandolin, a $100 PacRim plywood special. You are doomed. : )
'20 Ellis A5 Tradition, '09 Gilchrist Model 1, “July 9” Red Diamond F-5, '12 Duff F-5, '19 Collings MT2, ’24 A2-Z, ’24 F-2, '13 Collings mandola, '82 D-35, Gibson Keb Mo. http://www.bucktownrevue.com
Frets.com is a valuable resource. I use the his method for restringing. If you need more help, just holler. Lots of people here can help you or point you to videos.
Hey collingwest,
You've been through sore hands, cuts and bruises and more. Don't let the minor difficulty of restringing hold you back. Buy two sets of strings and have at it (we have all spent more money on something less important). I can tell from what you've posted, If anybody can do it, you can. Do one string at a time.
Too bad were on corona virus lockdown, you're in a a great area for a mandolin player. This virus thing too shall pass. After this passes, go visit Maple Street Music AND (I'm not a Bluegrass player but if I lived in Boston) you might want to see what's going on at Boston Bluegrass Union ( bbu.org ) just because, as Yogi Berra said, "You can learn a lot by watching". They have a FaceBook page, while we're on lockdown.
Now, when a person says "Yeah, I know it's not a nice $2000 American-made model"... I get from that, your not done buying mandolins. lol So here's MY FAVORITE MANDOLIN CAFE ARTICLE https://www.mandolincafe.com/news/pu...s_001443.shtml
Finally, enjoy that Kentucky mandolin and you might want to keep the Donner Mandolin to take to the beach... for now. You can always give it away later. Maybe to an underprivileged student.
Rock on!
Last edited by your_diamond; Apr-09-2020 at 8:13am.
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