62' Martin A Style?

[Jaccob 123]

What are yalls thoughts on this?
http://huntsville.craigslist.org/msg/3606948431.html
This would be my first mando and im looking for something good but not to expensive that will last me a long time.
Thanks

[brunello97]

Martin mandolin:

1. Good.
2. Not too expensive.
3. Will last you a long time.

Additionally:

4. Bill Monroe didn't play one.
5. Levon Helm did.
6. I do (sometimes.)
7. Others will try to tell you what type of music you should play on a Martin.
8. Ignore them.

The CL price is reasonable (though not great) but the prices of these have been going up.

Mick

[allenhopkins]

Martin mandolins are made with the same care and quality materials that the company puts into its Nazareth PA-made guitars. They're out of the mandolin business now, except for special orders, but they built the Style A and other models for 70 years or so.

Martin started out making bowl-backs around the turn of the 20th century; when they began making flat-backs like the Style A, they kept some of the characteristics of bowl-backs, including the "canted" (bent) top, and the shorter neck. As a result Martin mandolins tend to sound halfway between bowl-backs, and the more common (at least these days) flat-top and arch-top mandolins. They seem to have a sweet, clear voice, not a lot of "low end," ringing sustain but hot the percussive attack of f-hole, arch-top instruments. Obviously, you can play whatever kind of music you like on them, but they do have a distinct sound.

I own a 1919 Style A, for which I paid about $800 with a case. The listed price, for a newer model, is at the lower end of current prices, though you definitely can find bargains here and there for $500 or less. I'd make an offer, but the seller's price isn't a bad one, if the instrument's structurally sound.

If you buy the Martin, you will have a high-quality instrument that should keep or even increase its value while you own it. These mandolins are not "fashionable," but they're excellent instruments from a top-end American maker.

[JeffD]

If its in good shape it should sound really nice and play really well. Its not going to be a hardcore bluegrass sound, but it has every chance of making you happy for the rest of your life.

[Jaccob 123]

Ok thanks. I'm hoping to go play it soon but I have been told by a local guitar trader that's it a little over priced. What do y'all think?

[JeffD]

I think "a little" over priced is not something to be too concerned about. You will enjoy the mandolin long after you forget that you didn't get the absolute rock bottom best deal ever.

You will save the money on something else.

[Jaccob 123]

Ok thanks Jeff. I played a 1915 Gibson a-0 the other day and the tone and action on the lower frets was amazing but the middle frets were flat and didn't sustain. How would this maybe compare in the lower frets(where I would play most right now)?

[brunello97]

I got my '51 Martin for $375 about 3-4 four years ago and thought I hit the jackpot. That was a real fluke, I think, but I had the luxury of waiting. I've never not enjoyed playing it. Usually, it's chicken skin music time.

Prices have been steadily creeping up. You could wait and hunt and hunt and maybe bid on ebay but chances of finding something much cheaper would be fair at best unless there were problems or it flew way under the radar.

$650 is in the middle of the range of what these are going for now. This one looks a little dinged up cosmetically but appears structurally sound. You might try to schmuffle down un poco dinero but why wait? You could be playing instead of shopping. Hard to imagine prices on vintage Martins going down in the near future.

Let us know if you decide to buy it.

Mick

[Jaccob 123]

I now plan on calling the guy tonight. The guitar trader guy I talked I think was looking at it price wise about how to make money out of it. All I want to do is play.

[allenhopkins]

...How would this maybe compare in the lower frets(where I would play most right now)?

Impossible to tell from a distance. Each individual instrument differs. You have the chance to see for yourself. And by the way: check out the age and gauge of the strings on the instrument. A really nice mandolin can sound dead and dissonant with old, worn strings on it. Were I trying to sell an instrument, I'd put a new set of strings on it, and polish it up a bit, but not everyone takes the trouble to do this.

[Eddie Sheehy]

That price is what I would expect to sell one for - you won't make money out of it, at least in the short term, but you won't lose either... as long as the neck is straight and there's no structural damage...

[Jaccob 123]

Ok thanks everyone for your help