Killer deal on Kentucky KM 900 Master Model A

[Darryl Wolfe]

I bought the case from somebody on Mando Cafe a few years back. I call it a Travelite, but it technically is not...I don't know. I paid 50 or 60$ for it because it was red inside. The Travelite case I have is grey inside. I used both for Lloyd until I got a Pegasus a year or so ago

[Russ Jordan]

looks like the Litecase that Stewmac used to sell.

[f5loar]

My 900 is also only side bound like Darryls. They made some changes from the early models.
Evan's is a real Loar buster. Tone to the bone. This 900 Club just keeps getting bigger.

[Darryl Wolfe]

Several folks have inquired about the serial number. It is 12020165. Not as many 12's as I thought but there it is

[shortymack]

How bout a soundclip?

[mandopaul]

This is the color of my 900. Its from 2010 Oct.

My saddle is cranked very high, don't like the way its leaning and I can't lower it much, as I get fret buzzing. (and i did have frets leveled and ruts filed out, so its not that) The action is still not very high. It still sounds very good, dry and woody.

[G. Fisher]

i like that case, darryl. what kind is that?

It's a Stew-Mac case that is no longer available. I've been look for one for awhile and have found them hard to come by.

[G. Fisher]

This is the color of my 900. Its from 2010 Oct.

My saddle is cranked very high, don't like the way its leaning and I can't lower it much, as I get fret buzzing. (and i did have frets leveled and ruts filed out, so its not that) The action is still not very high. It still sounds very good, dry and woody.

Is the neck back bowed? If it is just tightening the truss could solve the problem. If not I would change the nut to a taller one or shim up the existing one. I've had 5 different KM900's and never had that issue.

[mandopaul]

Wouldn't tightening rod make the fingerboard rise? If I don't want string buzzing, when I lower the saddle on bridge, wouldn't loosening be better to make a dip?

[G. Fisher]

Wouldn't tightening rod make the fingerboard rise? If I don't want string buzzing, when I lower the saddle on bridge, wouldn't loosening be better to make a dip?

You're right if it's back bowed you would loosen it.

If there's to much bow towards the body and you tighten the truss rod it flattens the fingerboard and would lower the action.

[Don Grieser]

How bout a soundclip?

I made a video you can find on my ad. I play it up and down the neck on all the strings, do some chops, open chords, etc.

[almeriastrings]

My saddle is cranked very high, don't like the way its leaning and I can't lower it much, as I get fret buzzing. (and i did have frets leveled and ruts filed out, so its not that) The action is still not very high. It still sounds very good, dry and woody.

That really needs checking by a good mandolin luthier. From what I can see in the 4th image, there could well be a problem with neck relief. Your string height over the extension looks more than enough to eliminate any possibility of buzzing if the relief was right. Note: neck relief is not an action adjustment. Other possibilities include a 'bump' or other distortion in the fingerboard, but that should have been picked up during levelling. Something definitely wrong there. A full checkup should reveal the root of the problem. Neck angles on these tend to be very well set, so it would be very unusual for that to be implicated.

[f5loar]

I never saw a bridge that could not be straighten back upright. You may have to move the base to get the intonation right but to pull the top back to make it straight up should not be a problem, and it should allow you to lower it a tad.

[Darryl Wolfe]

It's a Stew-Mac case that is no longer available. I've been look for one for awhile and have found them hard to come by.

I also compared the red case to the actual Travelite yesterday. The red one is considerably smaller. Nice wood in yours mandopaul. Mine has no curl on the sides at all

[Tom Cherubini]

This is the color of my 900. Its from 2010 Oct.

My saddle is cranked very high, don't like the way its leaning and I can't lower it much, as I get fret buzzing. (and i did have frets leveled and ruts filed out, so its not that) The action is still not very high. It still sounds very good, dry and woody.

If you look at the bottom of the bridge in the extreme right-hand photo you can see that it is in contact with the mandolin-top across its width (not its length, its width, about 7/16"). Yet the bridge does not bisect the string angle. Is it possible that someone has turned the bridge end-for-end? The saddle can be mounted on the bridge either way. Just eye-balling it suggests to me that if it were reversed, it might bisect the string angle perfectly.

[Gary Hedrick]

Well there seems to be a number of these that have surfaced after this thread appeared. Mandolin Cafe is a market force indeed. I also think that thought leaders like Darryl and Tom might have a little to do with it also....

Ah the free enterprise system in action....

[f5loar]

Saga pays us everytime we mention a 900, 1000,1050, 1500 or 5000 model mandolin. It's not much and it's way more than Gibson pays us but it does pay the bills.