Which mando do you most hanker after?

[300win]

Already got 'em, took me 43 years but I finally was able to get not one but two Gibsons, one F-5, one A-9. Them will do me from here on out.

[Rick Cadger]

I'm so impressed with the Kentucky KM-505 I've had for the last year or so that I would honestly set my sights no higher than another Kentucky: perhaps a nice KM-900 as A models are fine with me. Or maybe a KM-1000 or KM-1500.





I have no particular yearning for a US or UK made instrument, nor for a specific brand on the headstock. What I do have is a tendency to be loyal to brands who have delivered good value and service. My KM-505 has delivered what I expected and more.

Come to think of it, if I can never afford another mandolin, I'll be happy enough sticking with the KM-505.

[Tim2723]

I hate to sound like a party pooper, but the one I have is my ideal. The Ovation does everything I need it to do, exactly how I want to do it. I have no desire at all to yearn after anything else. I know, that's a very different point of view, but there ya go.

[Capt. E]

That's easy: A pair of instruments made by Tom Ellis: An A5 Deluxe and an A4 Oval together in a double case.

[jimbob]

I want a Gibson MM. 2004. Derrington signed.

[bjc]

Great, now y'all have given me even MORE to look at....But for some reason Pheonix mandolins always catch my eye...

[Matt Hutchinson]

Great, now y'all have given me even MORE to look at....But for some reason Pheonix mandolins always catch my eye...

I know what you mean - haven't seen one in the flesh but there's something really visually appealing about them isn't there. Think Trevor might have one or two in stock at TAMCO, maybe it's time for a bit of window shopping in Brighton!

[Dagger Gordon]

Quite a lot of people seem to be quite happy with what they've got, which is nice. Maybe the MAS thing is overstated!

I've got a Sobell and a Collings MT. I also have a cheap Korean Encore, which I recently took on holiday and enjoyed playing. So while it is nice to try other instruments (and I'm not saying I wouldn't like them), I don't feel that my playing is being held back by the instruments I've got, so it seems to me that I've got all I really need.

Having said that, I used to have an old Gibson A model which I never really bonded with and traded it in to get the Collings, so I can certainly appreciate that we may keep searching for the 'right' one.

And sometimes it's just good to change.

[Andrew DeMarco]

An Ellis A or F or a Passernig F.... *drool*

[Matt Hutchinson]

Quite a lot of people seem to be quite happy with what they've got, which is nice. Maybe the MAS thing is overstated!

I've got a Sobell and a Collings MT. I also have a cheap Korean Encore, which I recently took on holiday and enjoyed playing. So while it is nice to try other instruments (and I'm not saying I wouldn't like them), I don't feel that my playing is being held back by the instruments I've got, so it seems to me that I've got all I really need.

Nicely put. I certainly feel as though the instrument I have is all I need at this point and have no real desire to get anything else - I just think there are so many incredible instruments out there these days and I'm always seeing something and thinking 'wow!". I guess the idea of this thread was to give a nod to the mandolins I've seen and really like the look of - as I can't appreciate them by buying them it's the next best thing!

Cheers
Matt

[Jim MacDaniel]

Stephen Holst's creations have always grabbed my attention as well, especially the finish colors, modern soundholes, and contrasting wood inlays on the fretboard and headstock.

[Shawn Gambrel]

Ummmm The adam steffey black top Daley duhhh

[mandomiss]

Stephen Holst's creations have always grabbed my attention as well, especially the finish colors, modern soundholes, and contrasting wood inlays on the fretboard and headstock.

I'll second that. I've never played one of his mandos, but my old bass teacher has a Holst archtop guitar that is phenomenal in most every way. From the looks of it Holst's mandolins are made with the same attention to detail.

[Marcus CA]

Nicely put. I certainly feel as though the instrument I have is all I need at this point and have no real desire to get anything else - I just think there are so many incredible instruments out there these days and I'm always seeing something and thinking 'wow!".

Real. That's the magic word for me.

I definitely see and hear incredible mandolins out there. With the ones I've gotten to play, there usually is something that manages to isolate that lust in my heart in a remote corner of a ventricle. Sometimes, it is the shape of the neck. Usually, it is the price tag and its relation to my playing ability and my wallet. But still, my eye doth wander.

The most extreme example was a drop-dead gorgeous, totally lustworthy ten-year-old Gilchrist F model that I got to play. The asking price was $20K, and with a Gilchrist, most people insert "only" before saying/writing that amount. The mandolin sounded as good as it looked, and was SOOOO easy to play. However, even if I had that much paper to trade for wood and metal, I could never honestly say that in my hands, that mandolin sounded anywhere near 20X better/sweeter/richer than my Breedlove FF, even though it costs nearly 20X as much. So, for the time being, I'm just hankering after becoming a better mandolin player. However, if the Gilchrist owner would decide to drop a zero from the price ...

[Fliss]

I'm fortunate to have some really lovely mandolins, but if money were no object I'd commission Andy Manson to make me a mandolin. I would love a mandolin version of this mandola

Fliss

[Goodin]

good one fliss! i always enjoyed looking at that dola. it appears to be similar specs as a teens gibson H dola. so your dream mando would be like an old gibson A. i thought about getting andy to build me a scaled down mandolin version of the blarge. kind of like a mini-blarge!

[wadeyankey]

I'd like an arch-top, f-hole bouzouki like the one Sarah Jarosz plays (if that's what that is).

I think it's a Fletcher Brock GOM (guitar bodied octave mandolin), and yep, that one would definitely go on my list.

[Austin Koerner]

Ummmm The adam steffey black top Daley duhhh

Oh yeah. Add that to my list.

[BumbleWasp]

Although I am quite novice, I would absolutely love a Breedlove Orca, except with a bright RED finish.

I'd throw out an idea much more financially eye-popping, but I like this, because for me, it's realistic; or else it will be, some day

[Earl Gamage]

Matt, Rigels are very nice. I jam with a guy that plays one. I think I I like the sound vs. cost of the Collings mf.

[dkinyon31]

Looking forward to the arrival of my Kentucky KM-1000 on Wednesday! This will go along fine with my Martin HD-28.

Dave

[mandroid]

Ok,
a Mix F5 with both a humbucking Armstrong floating pickup, finger-rest attachment, and the Schertler soundboard C DynS,
and dual jacks <[unless there is a clever way to have a 4 pole plug in, to keep the 3 leads out of the Schertler
and add the hot lead out of the magnetic pickup..
grounds for both of course can be common.]>

[jdchapman]

Dream mando doesn't exist, at least until I turn 40. At which point, if we've got the bread, I'll ask a luthier to make it exist. A Harmony batwing electric replica, only with walnut back and sides, no "sunburst", a decent top, and also it should be a mandola. I love electric mandola. Not as screechy as electric mandolin, easier to play than acoustic mandola, sounds all garagy and makes me feel young again.

[jdchapman]

Except some days I most want a wine-colored Weymann mandolute. I tried to post an image, but it was too big. Fitting reflection of my desire....

[Fliss]

good one fliss! i always enjoyed looking at that dola. it appears to be similar specs as a teens gibson H dola. so your dream mando would be like an old gibson A. i thought about getting andy to build me a scaled down mandolin version of the blarge. kind of like a mini-blarge!

Wouldn't a mini-blarge defeat the object? You'd have to call it a "bmini" instead! I do like the old Gibson A mandolins, and it's true that Andy's design is based on that, but Andy adds his own magic to it. His instruments have an artistry and a fineness to them that is all his own.

What's happened with your blarge, Gil, if you don't mind me asking?

Fliss