zzGypsy - Posted - 04/01/2012:  13:19:04

hi there,

I'm brand new here, and also brand new to playing mandolin... here's the back story: I've studied a couple other instruments but am really only skilled in middle eastern and african hand drums and rhythm instruments (doumbek, sagat, zills, others). a couple of years ago my hubby bought this mandolin at a pawn shop for $40 and brought it home for me, but I never played it.  about 3 weeks ago I was suddenly and violently bitten by the mandolin bug... don't know what happened but I've got a major urge to learn to play it.  so I got it out, bought new strings, tuned it and now I'm learning some chords and my first couple of songs...

I think I have a music crush...

but what I don't know what this mandolin is... can you help me identify it?  there's no maker's mark on it that I can see, but the f-holes look like the right shape for a Kay.  it's got the same body style and bridge as some of the kay a-styles (i think)  but the shape of the headstock is different. it's in pretty good condition, only a couple of little dings in the finish and it sounds nice to my ear.  anyway, I'd love to know who made it, what it's worth, and how old it is. I've uploaded some photos, no need to help me identify the orange cat that's also in the pictures - that's Charley.

any help would be appreciated! thanks!

Edited by - zzGypsy on 04/01/2012 13:20:38

mando 1	mando 2	mando 3	mando 4
mando 5	mando 6	mando 7

TSSN - Posted - 04/02/2012:  04:38:46

Welcome.

I had one just like that when I started playing 8-10 years ago.  The name on the headstock was "Bently" and I'm pretty sure it said Made in China somewhere on it.  I got it used at a music store for $90 or so.  I played on that one for a few years before I started trading up.  The construction wasn't great (plywood?), but it was solid. 

You will eventually hear ones that sound better.  For now, enjoy your crush.  It will only deepen.

Dewey Smith - Posted - 04/02/2012:  10:23:01

Welcome to the world of mandolin playing.  What you got is probable a Asian made mandolin.  They are topically very cheap and made with plywood.  Some of them are ok to learn on but many are not.  As you play the mandolin up and down the neck they tend to off chord.  What you should do is get a tuner and play each note up and down the neck to make sure that each note is  dead on.  If you find that some notes are and some are not I would recommend that you get something a little better to learn on. The reason for this is because if the mandolin is off chording then you are not hearing the true note and this will distort your ability to hear and under stand natural notes.  If it does good then you should be fine. As far as what kind of mandolin it is will be very hard to tell because there are no markings.  But most likly it is Chinese made.  And is worth between $50 and $100.  If you are looking for something a little bit better let me know and I can recommend you something that you can learn on.

zzGypsy - Posted - 04/02/2012:  11:09:54

thank you for the welcome!  this is an adventure, it's been 40 years since I tried to learn a string instrument...

so how long does it take to get calluses? I've got tingly fingers... 

nice to know what it is, and that we didn't over-pay.  I'll try the tuner-per-note thing, my ear is fairly good and it sounds pretty good to me, but checking wouldn't hurt.

thank you for indulging my beginner mando-crush!

TSSN - Posted - 04/20/2012:  05:00:03

Looks like my picture upload got destroyed...

Bentley Beater