It was right there in the case where I expected it (1916 Gibson A0). But before that, it was at Elderly. (Same for the previous one, a Flatiron A5 Jr.)
D.H.
It was right there in the case where I expected it (1916 Gibson A0). But before that, it was at Elderly. (Same for the previous one, a Flatiron A5 Jr.)
D.H.
Last one was from Elderly. Been hankering for a Collings MT or similar, lately, so that may change. The 2 prior to that was The Mandolin Store.
"If your memories exceed your dreams, you have begun to die." - Anonymous
Locally, on consignment. many years ago..
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
The classifieds, thank you MC
I'd been interested in a builders instruments for a while. I casually mentioned it to someone at a music camp who said, "oh, I've got one of those for sale".
I bought it and am no longer on the hunt.
My last mandolin was also my first mandolin.
I started on mandolessons.com with his Recommended $500 Starter Package. That included, among other things, a Kentucky KM-150 mandolin purchased from Elderly Instruments.
He recommends Elderly instruments because, just like The Mandolin Store, they do a full pro setup on every mandolin they sell. A pro setup on a mandolin MATTERS. Where ever you purchase your new mandolin from, be sure to have a pro setup & intonation job done on it before shipping, even if you have to pay a little more.
As it turns out I went with a slightly better mandolin, the Kentucky KM-250. I also bought an arm rest and a Tone-Gard, as well as strings and a few other accessories.
If I had it to do all over again I'd have gone with a Kentucky KM-272. It has a round sound hole instead of F holes, and a transparent amber finish that I find more pleasing to my eye.
Eastman MD-514 (F body, Sitka & maple, oval hole)
Klos Carbon Fiber (on order)
And still saving my nickels & dimes & bottle caps & breakfast cereal box tops for my lifetime mandolin.
Bought both my current mandos from MandoMutt. The Sucek/Kelly because it sounded like a good deal (and it was), and the Northfield cause that's what I was looking for. Plus, he was willing to trade and easy to work with.
Barry
2020 Northfield 4th Gen #14
Pavel Sucek F-5 w/Skip Kelly top
1996 BellMaster F-5 (Carl Cates)
A bunch of fiddles and a couple D-28s
Probably the best mandolin shop in Europe, The Acoustic Music Company in Brighton UK
Dave H
Eastman 615 mandola
2011 Weber Bitteroot A5
2012 Weber Bitteroot F5
Eastman MD 915V
Gibson F9
2016 Capek ' Bob ' standard scale tenor banjo
Ibanez Artist 5 string
2001 Paul Shippey oval hole
My last one came from The Mandolin Store. Dennis is a great guy to speak with about mandolins, guitars, and the industry in general.
I bought my last mando from Dennis at The Mandolin Store (I believe my fifth mando purchase from there) as part of my downsizing move. He cut me a very good deal and even did the set up himself (which is outstanding BTW). It has amazing tone (at least as far as my tin ear can discern). The other two in my signature came directly from Mike Dulak at Big Muddy. Both places - highly recommended - NFI.
Thanks
Several mandolins of varying quality-any one of which deserves a better player than I am.......
Through the Cafe classifieds...first a little back story. My '56 F-12 was in need of serious cosmetic sprucing up and fret work which would mean sending it off to someone (undecided who would repair it at the time) for an unknown period of time. The thought of it being gone was of concern to me so I decided to shop the classifieds here for a "backup" and saw a lovely '92 A-5L at Mando Mutt's and tried sending Kevin an email. Well, my email program let me down and never sent the email. Next day it had been sold. "Darn" is close to what I said. About a month later, the same A-5L was back on the Mando Mutt web site. Again, it sold by the next day. Strike two!!! A few weeks later it reappeared here on the Cafe for sale by a seller in Idaho. It was not going to be strike three, I vowed. A few days later it was being delivered to me here in Florida. Finally, I felt free to send my F-12 off to be repaired by Max Girouard in Rhode Island, my home state. Max did a superb job on the 12 and got it back to me in just under 6 weeks which I found surprisingly quick. Turns out, the cosmetic work he did and the fret work (pull, the frets, level the board and refret with EVO frets), and setup is so good that now I feel he should do some setup work on the A-5L.
BTW- the F-12 was acquired about 20 years ago in a trade with a guy in California facilitated by the Mandolin Cafe classifieds. I'm a happy camper for sure. Thanks Scott!!
Len B.
Clearwater, FL
Make America Grateful Again!
2013 Collings MF, 2017 Northfield NF2S, 2019 Northfield Big Mon F
1968 Martin D12-20, 2008 Martin HD28, 2022 Martin CEO 7
1978 Ibanez Artist "Flying Eagle" Masterclone Banjo
My Passernig F5 came from the store in Tennessee that Stephan always used (now defunct). My Pomeroy oval hole was almost new and was on consignment at the Mandolin Store. And most recently I'm almost embarrassed to say that my Kentucky KM950 (for travel and the cottage) came from the Canadian Amazon site because the price had dropped to 950 Canadian (about 750 U.S.). My most recent find was a Regal tenor guitar that came from Kijiji, from someone in Quebec.
Cary Fagan
I bought my used 2009 Collings MT2-O from Mandomutt. I have been very pleased with it. I also bought a beautiful new Collings MT from Down Home Guitars at about the same time. It is nice two very nice Collings MT instruments, one an oval hole and the other an F-hole. Both have a place in my repertoire.
Nic Gellie
Right here on the Cafe. My guess is many of the other sellers mentioned were discovered here as well.
Last from a dealer was from the Mandolin Store, when they were still in Arizona. Most recent mandolin was direct from the builder, Bill Bussmann, Oldwave Instruments.
Kit
Guitars, Mandos, Violins, Dulcimers, Cats
Last few mandos - Mandolin Cafe.
Reviewing my mando history...
1 - from a friend - first mando, cheap Pacrim import
1 - flea market - Bluebird pancake
3 - local independent music store - Mid Mo, Weber Alder, Weber Madison
1 - Mandolin Store - Northfield F5s
1 - direct from Sawchyn - Beavertail (why did I sell it???)
7 - Mandolin Cafe - Morris A5 (2), Girourd OM, Weber Sweet Pea, Collings MTO, Kimble 2-point, Pomerory F5
Pomeroy F5 2003
Weber Madison F5 2013
Weber Sweet Pea travel mando 2006
Eric Ouren open back banjo
Bart Reiter open back banjo
I bought my Eastmand from Dennis at The Mandolin Store. Great experience.
Being a poor public school teacher trying to build a house and raise a family, I could never afford a $3000 instrument, so I dove into learning to build them. It took 15+ years and five builds, but I finally have one that I would have to spend more than $3k to surpass. When I was at Elderly last summer buying my CS 18, I had time to play everything on the mandolin wall. I was pleasantly surprised that my #5 sound as good or better than everything I played, including an MT-2 I've admired for along time (different, but just as good IMO).
Ironically, now retired, I have the money and considering what I've spent on Martin and Bourgeois guitars recently, could easily justify buying a Pava or Girourd but I'm so caught up in playing these amazing guitars that the three Mandolins I already have get little play time. Maybe next year…
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