Easiest, Most forgiving mandolin ?

[mandroid]

They are all forgiving, I don't think the mandolin cares whether you hit the right note

or something accidental.

[wsugai]

Seriously though, I'm curios about this too. My old FF breedlove barked like no tomorrow, and as far as I can tell, the KF is the same mando, just with a chopped off scroll, essentially.

Details!

It's just a standard Quartz KF with an internal pickup, FT74 strings, strap button on the neck heel, per Breedlove, and an arm rest. I had my repair lady set it up, check string seating on nut and saddle, and check the mating of the bridge feet to the top.

Even with the Tone-Gard, The low end is much weaker than my A5G and F12, but the high end is nice and clear. Compared to the other two, there's really no bark and so-so midrange, but with that wider nut and radiused board, it is so easy to play. The neck profile is chunkier than the Gibsons or a Yellowstone that I just picked up, but that doesn't bother me any.

I used to string it with J74s, and I didn't detect very much difference. I don't have a heavy touch, so it could be that I will have to use a heavier pick and bang on it harder than I am. At present, it just gets lost amidst the guitars and banjo in the group that I currently play with.

There's a higher-end Breedlove McKenzie in a local music store that I played recently, and I can't say that I was very impressed with the volume from it either (not nearly so that I would pay the extra $ for it). I got to do an A-B comparison with a guy's Yellowstone at a workshop recently and compared to my KF, it was like his Yellowstone had a built-in amp. I also got to A-B the instructor's Heiden, with the expected results.

Not much more to say other than that the KF is a very lightly-built mando -- compared to the F12, it's like comparing an L-50 to an L-5. I take it everywhere because it's so easy to play and I could live with damage or loss a lot easier than I could with my other mandos (I am also very partial to the satin finish). Based on the $800 price of a used KF that was advertised recently on this site, it would be hard to match with a comparable USA-made mando. That's about it.

[bmac]

From the standpoint of willingness to take abuse it would be hard to beat my Mid-Mo. It is the one I learned on and I am legally blind so I am constantly banging into chairs, tables, doorways, etc. After abusing it for roughly 6 years my cost per hour of playing time is down to roughly 12 cents per hour of playing. It is still playable but needs work so I wouldn't try to sell it as is. But what a great investment it was!!! It is exactly as advertised, a reasonably priced quality American made mandolin for the committed mandolin player. And usually you can pick up a pretty good one in the classified section for $350 - $400.

This is the only new mandolin I've purchased so I can't speak for or against other makes. Dulak seems proud of his mandolins and I am sure would be helpful with support and advice regarding his product.

[gymboss76s@]

They are all forgiving, I don't think the mandolin cares whether you hit the right note

or something accidental.

Ha Ha Ha ,,,,sweet.

[gymboss76s@]

Ha Ha Ha ,,,,sweet.

Well first night with my brand new Big Muddy Mw-0w. Wow ,,,I am in heaven. B.T.W. I told Mike Dulak how many people mentioned his mandolin. He was both very kind and generous. I want to thank everyone for their support it is greatly appreciated.
Peace.

[Josh Kaplan]

Thanks for following up. Enjoy it!

Josh