Ben Venuti - Posted - 08/17/2014:  00:19:35

Well Michael, Lets hope you didn't buy it---Go up to Murray Ave and find yourself a decent mandolin. The one you are looking at is made in Vietnam. There's a guy in Australia that sells Vietnamese mandolins and pretends that they are made by him though this particular listing didn't state that. There are several builders coming out of Vietnam. Tai Sam Lou, Antoniosii, Bruce Wei. (SP for all of those) They are all similar, highly ornate with some interesting at best to completely over the top inlay work. It's true that they are handmade and the materials are pretty good(mine has a rosewood back and sides and a spruce top) but they have a wood seasoning problem and they are trouble. Warpage and top failure is common. A few years ago when they first started to show up on ebay I was quite curious and wanted to see one. One day at the closing minutes there was one with no reserve and no bids and I got it for $60. These were commonly Buy it Now items for $350 or so. Shipping was $80 and it's quite a lot more now I understand. I got it in about a week and they did the finest packaging job I have ever seen. Has a semi hard case that isn't completely terrible. They really have it all together except the part about the musical instrument. Mine an F style with birds flying up the fingerboard and a nearly life size mother of pearl eagle on the back. The tail piece is a heavy chunk of solid brass -not a pretty design but functions just fine and could be used as a weapon in a pinch! The tuners are pure junk and you need a tetanus shot to use the strings supplied. Mine never got much use and in time began to have top sinkage problems. Did I mention the intonation problems right from the start? I thought it might look good on a wall but I never do that with instruments--lately it has become a play thing for my 2 year old grandson.......Hey do me a favor go to 707 Hickory St. in North Braddock and tell me if I want to buy that house. I'm giving up collecting instruments and thought maybe I'd collect houses instead.  I'm in California or I'd go myself!

Edited by - Ben Venuti on 08/17/2014 00:26:11