Dangers of buying an untried mandolin. . . .

[Tom Cherubini]

Little story. I've played jazz guitar for many years and a little bit of nylon-string classical guitar too. A couple of weeks ago my nephew gave me a new $50 rogue mandolin in a cardboard box. I brought it home, adjusted my guitar stand so it would fit, looked at it for a while, dug out a heavy pick, strummed it a little and became interested, thinking I would upgrade to a better axe, perhaps in the $500 range, and play some jazz on mandolin. I have no interest in bluegrass - it all sounds the same to me no offense intended.

Thinking I could go to the Guitar Center in my area (north Jersey), play a bunch of mandolins - their website shows several well-known brands - maybe select one, or maybe do a little more research. Meantime I continued to noodle on the Rogue.

In the meantime, I saw a thread here on the Cafe' forum about a boy trying out 3 Eastmans and asking us which we liked. It doesn't matter which I liked. What matters is that watching that boy test the three Eastmans it was apparent that they were as different from one another as night from day. I realized too that I should never buy a mandolin sight unseen, as online for example, no matter how good the seller's reputation. Every guitar I ever bought over the years was tested against several others.
I figured to do the same thing with the mandolin, and so I went over to the GC store this morning hoping I could play a half a dozen mandolins.

Rude awakening. They had three mandolins in the store, all in the $130 range and all out of tune. Be dammed if I was going to sit there and tune up three mandolins, none of which was a candidate for purchase. The salesman told me that most of their mandolin sales are online. As I think I've made clear in this posting, not for me!

Which leads to my dilemma; how do I find what I'm looking for without driving 400 - 600 miles round trip to a mandolin store - bearing in mind that I can't afford a custom-made axe?

Strings

[Jim Garber]

Ah, the woes of playing a minority instrument. First of all, where are you located? Maybe there is a place closer to you. There are some smaller stores that do carry a few more than three and in varying price ranges.

The other alternative is to order from a reputable dealer who has a wide selection and an approval period and order with the understanding that you may return it and bearing in mind that you will have to pay return shipping as well as the inconvenience of packing and shipping it back.

However, if you are determined to A/B or A/B/C a few mandolins then I am afraid you will have to go to a store that has a wider selection. I honestly don't know how else you can do it. When you are truly ready to buy, go with cash in hand and readiness to buy.

[Bertram Henze]

bluegrass - it all sounds the same to me

That's all intentional: it's called "genre"; they camouflage their songs so outsiders can't tell them apart. But the same happens in ITM (where I play) and - let's face it - in Jazz

About 25 years ago, a Scottish band played in our session venue and joined us for a session after the gig. Their bouzouki player let me try his instrument, which thoroughly impressed me with its tone; looking at the headstock, I saw "Fylde".
15 years later, it was time I wanted an OM and all I had was pics on the internet (youtube wasn't up yet) and the dim memory of that session. So I found a large shop 100 km away where they had a Fylde OM in stock (not the one I had in mind, but I wanted to check for that sound and the left-hand stretches), drove there, tried it, drove back again and ordered the one I wanted from Hobgoblin. I stilll play it today and it has never let me down.
Bottom line: anecdotal tests and a reliably constant mindset of what you want may take a while but you'll get there in the end.

[mrmando]

There are five Guitar Centers in north Jersey, and none of them is more than about 40 miles from Mandolin Bros. in Staten Island.

[mandroid]

Bought 3 off the Classifieds here,, 2 needed work due to un disclosed problems..

got the work done then they were fine .. a mechanic, they presented mechanical problems to solve.

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Strings8 - "it all sounds the same to me no offense intended.".Please go into the next street !!!. Seriously,the only way if you can't get to a decent store,is to buy over the I'net from a reputable store,of which there are several who always get a mention on here. At the lower end of the price chain,well 'maybe' you take a risk in what you buy re.the build quality,but if the instrument is well set up as the stores i'm refering to do,then it'll sound as good as it can for it's price. Higher up the price chain,with better build quality,then instruments really do start to sound good. I bought a bog standard mandolin to start with,simply to see if i had the talent to play one. Having discovered that i had,i took some time,saved up & bought my first high quality instrument & as far as my instruments go,i never did i wiser thing.To buy that instrument,my round trip was 420 miles & well worth it,
Ivan

[bruce.b]

Problem solved. You're in northern NJ, one of the best places in the world to try mandolins. Mandolin Brothers is a short drive away in NYC. There are other stores close by too, Retrofret, Lark Street Music, etc.

[CelticDude]

+1 for Mandolin Bros. I'm in Central CT, and it's well worth the drive. Good range of instruments to try. Lots of guitars too, just in case GAS hits as well... BTW I bought my mandolin there; nice folks to deal with.

DWP

[Steve Sorensen]

Hop a flight on Southwest to sunny Phoenix for a visit to The Mandolin Store! SFI

[pete12string]

If you are close enough to get to Mandolin Brothers on Staten Island, that's the place to go. I used to live about 1/4 mile from them - very dangerous! Now I live in Central New Jersey and still make the 40 mile drive every now and then. I can't say enough about Mandolin Brothers. You can sit and play guitars, mandolins and banjos for hours! And Stan is a great guy!

Pete

[jesserules]

jazz guitar

all sounds the same to me ...

[Willie Poole]

People use the computer for a lot of things and one is that you can find mandolin stores in any area if you feed in the information correctly....Type in a brand name mandolin and and the area you are in and see what pops up...Its pretty simple and I am not a very knowledgable person on a computer...They even show a map on how to get there....

And you can always call a dealer to make sure they have some in stock....

Willie

[Hendrik Ahrend]

+1 for Mandolin Bros. I'm in Central CT, and it's well worth the drive. Good range of instruments to try. Lots of guitars too, just in case GAS hits as well... BTW I bought my mandolin there; nice folks to deal with.

DWP

Yep, Mandolin Brothers. Since it's the nearest place for me also, I flew over there (from Germany) in 2008 and bought a nice Gibson DMM.

[RobH]

Mandolin Bros. might have the best selection, but if you get into the city, Rudy's SOHO has a Collins, Weber F and some Eastman's and an Eastman L&H copy (violin scroll) mandola and Matt Umanov in the village has a nice selection too. Both stores are within walking distance (long but NY doable).
Rob

[shortymack]

I dont think buying online is nearly as bad of a thing as you make it out to be as long as its from a good dealer. Many, like me, have done it with great results. I would rather purchase that way than from guitar sphincter any day.

[jmp]

Great points. I would never buy an instrument without playing it first. Therefore I take every opportunity at any music store I happen to be near.

If the mandolins are out of tune in the store, it shows the store does not care that much about selling mandolins. Bring a clip on tuner with you or ask to borrow one. Tuning a mandolin you might buy in the store is actually a good idea, because the quality of the tuners, nut, and fretboard revealed while trying to tune it up and test intonation.

[Tom Cherubini]

Great points. I would never buy an instrument without playing it first. Therefore I take every opportunity at any music store I happen to be near.

If the mandolins are out of tune in the store, it shows the store does not care that much about selling mandolins. Bring a clip on tuner with you or ask to borrow one. Tuning a mandolin you might buy in the store is actually a good idea, because the quality of the tuners, nut, and fretboard revealed while trying to tune it up and test intonation.

Thanks, JMP! I always carry a clip-on tuner with me when going to music stores.
My next stop- after a phone call - will be Sam Ash. As for Mandolin Bros., I've known about them for many years but I always thought anything they stock would be beyond my price range. Then there's always 48th Street . . . .

[Darren Bailey]

I'm sorry, I stopped reading as this thread sound like so many others to me.

[Tom Cherubini]

I'm sorry, I stopped reading as this thread sound like so many others to me.

If you stopped reading the thread why did you see fit to make a snide comment? And if you stopped reading it how do you know it sounds like so many others?
May I suggest that it may sound like so many other threads because people engaged in the same endeavor - in this case playing mandolins - have problems to overcome that are common to all and seeking support and answers among the members is what this forum is all about.
May I further suggest . . .well, let it go. I think I made my point.

Strings8

[Bren]

As for Mandolin Bros., I've known about them for many years but I always thought anything they stock would be beyond my price range.

It is a few years - 4 or 5 - since I've been to Mandolin Brothers and I think you might be right for most of their stock, but they do have a number of sub-$500 mandolins on their website at the moment. They are very accommodating to visitors, you can be sure everything is set up and tuned right and they let you try anything in the shop without any fuss. You can get to their shop by bus from the Staten Island ferry if you don't want to drive but can get into Manhattan by train or bus.

I agree that it's generally not a good idea to buy a mandolin sight unseen, and it's not as easy to get a good one "off the shelf" as it is for guitars. Also, as you have noticed, a lot of stores carry a few token mandolins that are not strung to their best advantage or even tuned. I also had a look at 48th St music stores when I was in Manhattan that time, and didn't see any good mandolins.

Good luck. I'm sure Darren didn't mean to be snide - maybe he's a bluegrass fan ...

[JeffD]

As for Mandolin Bros., I've known about them for many years but I always thought anything they stock would be beyond my price range. . .

Another rude awakening, but you will find out anyway. Since you are familiar with guitars, a rough rule of thumb is that a mandolin will generally cost twice what a guitar of similar quality will cost.

Just to gauge your expectations. A $500 mandolin can usually be compared to a $250 guitar, in terms of quality. So, from experience, you undoubtedly have a feeling for what you can get in a guitar for $250. ....

[Jim Garber]

Thanks, JMP! I always carry a clip-on tuner with me when going to music stores.
My next stop- after a phone call - will be Sam Ash. As for Mandolin Bros., I've known about them for many years but I always thought anything they stock would be beyond my price range. Then there's always 48th Street . . . .

Sorry I missed that you said you lived in north Jersey. You will prob find after you call that Sam Ash has little in the way of mandolins. They are a big chain and are in the same realm as GC. Frankly, I would go to Mandolin Brothers (I set that link as priced low to high) who do have a wide range of mandolins even in your price range. You could also call Lark Street in Teaneck and see what they do have. They might have things not listed on their site.

RetroFret is an excellent store but they have little in the way of non-vintage stuff and I don't believe they carry any imports.

[Steve Ostrander]

I've been to several Guitar Center stores in several cities and never seen a decent mandolin. That's why it's called "Guitar Center"....

The Mandolin Store has sound clips on their website.

[brent1308]

Plenty of Kentuckys and The Loars at Mandolin Brothers. Eastmans at Umanov or Lark Street. The great thing about Mandolin Brothers though is you can go ahead and try all the nice ones and see what you're missing/willing to live without. When I first started a year ago, I went there and walked away really happy with a Kentucky km-250 for under $500 with case. But, of course, I just bought another, more higher end instrument, no longer being content with that Kentucky, but then that's a whole different wrench thrown in--that 10 minute trial doesn't really reveal the full extent of what you're purchasing, especially on a new (to you) instrument.

...oh and they are mandolins...you'll still have to tune them even there.