Hey, It's a JUMBO, more for your money!

[Charlieshafer]

Um, well, at least it's an attempt at something. Love the price.

Jumbo mandolin

[Nonprophet]

Wow! Talk about a face only a mother could love.....

That has to be one of the most unpleasing looking mandos I've ever seen....what's up with that headstock???

NP

[barney 59]

The Viking Ship is what does it for me -- why didn't I think of that? Wow a Viking Ship!

[Paul Statman]

..and such a bargain!

[michaelpthompson]

Wow! Talk about a face only a mother could love.....

That has to be one of the most unpleasing looking mandos I've ever seen....what's up with that headstock???

The headstock is a little weird, but what's up with the pickguard? Looks like some sort of magic marker drawing on it. The fretboard extension looks nice though.

If that neck is as wide as it looks, this is definitely the guitar player's mando.

[Ed Goist]

Was this item listed on April 1st?

[JEStanek]

It's not too often you see MOTS binding on a lump scroll, jigsaw puzzle headstock mandolin with a Viking finger rest. $4K+ for a first instrument, means he'll be commanding $20K by the time he reaches number 13. Good luck with the auction. It's outta my price range.

[Tom Mylet]

The idea that someone went to so much work, using whatever that could get their hands on, makes it a piece of folk art to me. I've seen a few other similar attempts at F-5s that were just as naive...It's a shame they're always more than I'm willing to pay. If they were reasonably priced (IE. a steal) , I'm crazy enough to start collecting them. I'd love to see an exhibit of a bunch of them or even a coffee table book.

[Peter Kurtze]

"My eyes! The goggles do nothing!"

[Andrew DeMarco]

I can't tell if I hate or love this thing. I'd agree with Tom that it has a folk art feel to me. I wonder how it sounds.... I might be too embarrassed to bring it into public.

[JeffD]

I see nothing to indicate that it need sound bad. No accoustic rules are being violated. It may sound really good.

That little blip on the top of the headstock looks a little vulnerable, but otherwise it looks sound.

I don't know, I have seen ugly, and that ain't it. Its not exactly an F-5 shape, but its departures are not torturous (except for that blip on the headstock). A closer inspection might prove me inattentive, but to my eyes there is no unintended awkwardness due to a lack of ability or experience. If he was shooting for an F5 replica, this ain't it, but the builder seems to have executed well what he intended, and strict comparison to what we are used to seeing in an F5 clone may not be the most fair criticism.

Hey the viking ship is right side up when the instrument is held in playing position.

I don't think its worth anything near what it says, but that is a separate discussion.

And what if it sounds great. I mean it just might.

[Rodney Riley]

I would rather the action at the 12th fret be closer to a 1/16th of an inch instead of 4/64ths. That many 64ths seems high to me.

[mrmando]

Yeah, that's like Yogi Berra asking for his pizza to be cut into six slices, because he didn't think he could eat eight.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Aaaaaaaggggghhhhh !!!! - i wish i hadn't looked,that's what you get for being nosy - it's monstrous,with a capital Mon. !!,
Ivan

[Mandolin Mick]

"No more cramming your fingers together ... "

But, how about that pickguard?