martynspeck - Posted - 08/23/2013:  12:38:55

This is my first post on the Mando Hangout although I'm a regular over at the Fiddle Hangout.

I'm considering picking up the mandoline to get more familiar with chords and have something else to play.

Question is. At first glance this guitarcenter.com/Mitchell-MM10...475480.gc looks like a good deal. Is it?

I expect it would cost me another $30 to get it set up properly.

Edited by - martynspeck on 09/27/2014 11:46:16

TI_USER - Posted - 08/23/2013:  18:29:55

Do yourself a favor and don't buy a mandolin from Guitar Center.  Nothing wrong with GC in general but they will not set up a mandolin properly.  They will ship you the mandolin as is and won't spend a second doing any kind of a proper set up.  Set up is much more critical with mandolin than with guitar and is a crap shoot with GC. A mandolin that is not set up properly will be much harder to learn on and difficult to play.  I have never heard of Mitchell mandolins.  They may be OK, but I would go with an instrument and a company that has a good reputation.  Folkmusician.com is a very good resource for mandolins and they have a fantastic reputation for doing a quality set up.  They set up every instrument they sell before it ships.  I have have read many, many excellent comments on Mandolin Cafe from buyers.  They have a line of mandolins called "Rover".  One model in particular is the same price as the Mitchell and I can almost guarantee you it is a better mandolin, and it will be set up properly and ready to play when you receive it.  Here is a link to that mandolin.

folkmusician.com/Rover-RM-50-M...fo/RM-50/

TSSN - Posted - 08/24/2013:  04:17:24

Is there no place you can go  where you live so that you could try a mandolin Before you buy it?   Music store?  Even a pawn shop?

martynspeck - Posted - 08/24/2013:  06:58:25

quote:

---

Originally posted by TI_USER

 

Do yourself a favor and don't buy a mandolin from Guitar Center.  Nothing wrong with GC in general but they will not set up a mandolin properly.  They will ship you the mandolin as is and won't spend a second doing any kind of a proper set up.  Set up is much more critical with mandolin than with guitar and is a crap shoot with GC. A mandolin that is not set up properly will be much harder to learn on and difficult to play.  I have never heard of Mitchell mandolins.  They may be OK, but I would go with an instrument and a company that has a good reputation.  Folkmusician.com is a very good resource for mandolins and they have a fantastic reputation for doing a quality set up.  They set up every instrument they sell before it ships.  I have have read many, many excellent comments on Mandolin Cafe from buyers.  They have a line of mandolins called "Rover".  One model in particular is the same price as the Mitchell and I can almost guarantee you it is a better mandolin, and it will be set up properly and ready to play when you receive it.  Here is a link to that mandolin.

folkmusician.com/Rover-RM-50-M...fo/RM-50/

---

Thank you. That's helpful. 

martynspeck - Posted - 08/24/2013:  07:01:41

quote:

---

Originally posted by TSSN

 

Is there no place you can go  where you live so that you could try a mandolin Before you buy it?   Music store?  Even a pawn shop?

---

Haven't tried a pawn shop and haven't located one in my price range yet.  

TSSN - Posted - 08/24/2013:  19:50:05

Pawn  shops aren't ideal, but you can find a deal on occasion.  What they may be better  for is identifying  the brands that aren't so good. 

Muscle Tone - Posted - 08/25/2013:  14:46:04

quote:

---

Originally posted by TI_USER

 

Do yourself a favor and don't buy a mandolin from Guitar Center.  Nothing wrong with GC in general but they will not set up a mandolin properly.  They will ship you the mandolin as is and won't spend a second doing any kind of a proper set up.  Set up is much more critical with mandolin than with guitar and is a crap shoot with GC. A mandolin that is not set up properly will be much harder to learn on and difficult to play.  I have never heard of Mitchell mandolins.  They may be OK, but I would go with an instrument and a company that has a good reputation.  Folkmusician.com is a very good resource for mandolins and they have a fantastic reputation for doing a quality set up.  They set up every instrument they sell before it ships.  I have have read many, many excellent comments on Mandolin Cafe from buyers.  They have a line of mandolins called "Rover".  One model in particular is the same price as the Mitchell and I can almost guarantee you it is a better mandolin, and it will be set up properly and ready to play when you receive it.  Here is a link to that mandolin.

folkmusician.com/Rover-RM-50-M...fo/RM-50/

---

I heavily agree with this statement. To buy a mandolin from Guitar Center is extremely risky. A good majority of the GCs really don't know or care to learn anything about setting up or tuning a mandolin. With that being said my dad bought an extremely good Loar LM-520 F-style from Guitar Center that was setup very well. As for Mitchell mandolins themselves I've played several of them. There's a lot of consistency issues with this brand, so you'd be much better off buying the Rover RM-50 mandolin in the link.

martynspeck - Posted - 09/27/2014:  11:45:42

quote:

---

Originally posted by TI_USER

 

Do yourself a favor and don't buy a mandolin from Guitar Center.  Nothing wrong with GC in general but they will not set up a mandolin properly.  They will ship you the mandolin as is and won't spend a second doing any kind of a proper set up.  Set up is much more critical with mandolin than with guitar and is a crap shoot with GC. A mandolin that is not set up properly will be much harder to learn on and difficult to play.  I have never heard of Mitchell mandolins.  They may be OK, but I would go with an instrument and a company that has a good reputation.  Folkmusician.com is a very good resource for mandolins and they have a fantastic reputation for doing a quality set up.  They set up every instrument they sell before it ships.  I have have read many, many excellent comments on Mandolin Cafe from buyers.  They have a line of mandolins called "Rover".  One model in particular is the same price as the Mitchell and I can almost guarantee you it is a better mandolin, and it will be set up properly and ready to play when you receive it.  Here is a link to that mandolin.

folkmusician.com/Rover-RM-50-M...fo/RM-50/

---

I finally saved up the money and ordered my mandolin today. It's supposed to be here in 6-10 days. 

I already play the fiddle so I figure I'll start out learning the chords for the tunes on my list then playing the melody. I'm going to head to youtube to find some "How do you hold this thing and set up your hand for picking" videos.

Any suggestions?

martynspeck - Posted - 09/27/2014:  19:33:07

I found this for Mandolin basics

 

youtube.com/watch?v=7vwxDSTu9e...gn9YjAWbo

DHopkins - Posted - 10/02/2014:  12:23:11

I've got to agree with the GC comments. It's a great store, has good selection of items and prices are generally pretty competitive. But, the name Guitar Center says it all.