Matsikas MD303A

[Fmiglio1]

Hi all,

I hope you're keeping well in these most uncertain times! I'm looking to upgrade from my laminate 50 pound mando to a bowlback (I like classic italian folk music mainly!)

having bought a hundred year old bowlback on eBay with zero experience I've found out the hard way that the majority of these are unplayable within my budget.

I have seen this Matsikas MD303A:


https://m.thomann.de/gb/matsikas_md_...d_mandolin.htm

which I love the look of. I assume that because it is new it will be in much better shape than a hundred year old bowlback. I can't find any reviews etc online, what are the more experienced players thoughts? Are these worth the money? What should I expect?

Thank you for your time.

Frank

[allenhopkins]

MD303A is sold by Thomann US for $456, plus shipping of course. Greek-made, and i would assume all solid woods. Bowl is walnut, which is not a common wood in mandolin construction.

You're right about the risks involved in buying vintage bowl-backs, but it is possible to obtain a playable instrument for less money than that. There's a flood of century-plus-old bowl-backs on the market, going for $3-500, but because bowl-backs are lightly constructed, and many owners put too-heavy strings on them, quite a few have been damaged -- tops sunken, necks pulled out of alignment. Others have cracked over the years, with separations between the ribs of their bowls, or cracks along the grain of their spruce tops.

A local dealer here has two affordable, good-condition bowl-backs on sale, a Vega for $500 and a Lyon & Healy American Conservatory for $400. You don't list your location, but I'm guessing Europe, since you're considering buying from Thomann. While I wouldn't counsel against the Matsikas, I'd suggest, if you can, that you look for a dealer that handles pre-owned instruments, and who has a good reputation and a decent inventory. No substitute for a hands-on experience -- if you can get it.

The other consideration is having the mandolin properly set up; I'd guess that Thomann, a major on-line seller, doesn't do shop set-ups. The mandolin may come properly set up, or not. You already play, so you would have some idea what a proper set-up would be. If you need a shop to set it up, that's an additional cost. A brick-and-mortar dealer shop should provide a set-up for instruments they sell.

Apparently you've had at least one bad experience ("the hard way") with a used instrument in bad condition. It is, however, possible to purchase a used good-quality instrument in good condition. Takes some research. If that's hard for you to do, and you don't have access to a well-stocked reliable dealer, the Mastikas mandolin looks like an acceptable risk -- as far as one can tell from long distance.

[DavidKOS]

MD303A is sold by Thomann US for $456, plus shipping of course. Greek-made, and i would assume all solid woods. Bowl is walnut, which is not a common wood in mandolin construction.


The other consideration is having the mandolin properly set up; I'd guess that Thomann, a major on-line seller, doesn't do shop set-ups. ....

One business I worked for used to be a Matsikas importer. I've played several different examples of that model Sakis mandolin, it's a step up from the one I own, and it comes pretty well set up from the maker. If I recall it is solid wood, and a bit sturdier than most vintage bowlbacks and are somewhat consistent in terms of QC.

The walnut bowl is much like many of the Sakis (Matsikas) bouzoukis and is more common than one might think.