Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I am thinking of taking up the mando. What would all you mandolin players recommend for a starter mandolin?

Isaac, I have a mandolin I'd be happy to sell you, it is really decent. I bought it for a project that didn't materialize, so I am not in need of it. E-mail me off the Forum and we'll talk more if you're interested. Thanks.

Thanks, but I was thinking something I would be able to return to a store locally if the mandolin wasn't for me, as most of the stores around me have a 1 month "trial period."

Michael Kelly makes a nice mandolin.

It depends on what you want to spend. Washburn makes a great A style mando with a solid spruce top in cool colors for relatively few bucks.
http://www.washburn.com/products/bluegrass/mandolins/astyle.aspx
If you click the color swatches at the bottom you can see them in the other colors.
If you want to go electric, you can get the Epiphone Mandobird for about $230.

Your first mandolin will probably be a cheap one that is barely acceptable! I bought one from musicians friend for $63 that came with a gig bag and a couple of cheap books. It was good enough for me to decide that I wanted to learn more. Go to Mandolincafe.com for lots of info on cheap mandolins.

I started with a $50 mandolin in 1976, and then upgraded to a $600 mandolin in 1979 (R.L. Givens, now worth ~$3,600 today). Of course the difference is indescribable. The cheap one sounded tinny and I wasn't as prone to practice as I was with the expensive one, which still sounds great; very loud and sweet. If you could find a $200 A-model, that is maybe the best for a beginner. The F-models really don't sound as good IMHO, unless in the hands of Sam Bush, and will cost more!

There used to be a mandolin-maker in Montana called 'Flatiron'. Their least expensive model, A-style, I felt would be an excellent one for beginners because it was not too expensive and yet used a solid spruce top rather than a ply. Those mandolins are very simple and yet beautiful and well-made. Not sure if the company still exists, but you could do a websearch for used ones.

Folk of the Wood (www.folkofthewood.com) in New Mexico is a great source for mandos. A Johnson like the MA-120 is a good starter mandolin. The site has some good instructional info as well.

I've heard MANY bad stories about Folk of the wood. Great website but I wouldn't purchase anything from them!
FOTW

I had thought Gibson bought Flatiron in the late 80s-early 90s, but I may be wrong. My mandolin is a Gibson Army-Navy (round body, flat back) made at Flatiron not long after the factory was sold.

It is really cool---pretty ornate for one of these, may be a one-off...signed by Bruce Weber in the body. Loud like an F-5.

I bought a Deering banjo from Folk of the Wood a few years ago. No problems with them at all.