r/mandolin

I've been wanting an electric mandola for years for recording at home but never found anything I really liked. I came upon this cheap "mandocaster" last week. I haven't received it yet but I have high hopes for it. It's a simple classic design which is why I thought it might be of some interest to luthiers.

13.85" Scale Length
Paulownia Body
Hard Maple Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard

The beauty of this instrument is that instead of having an acoustic chamber with a lot of fancy embellishments and a glued neck like so many electric mandolins, it's similar to a Fender Stratocaster; having a solid body, two pickups, and a bolt on neck. I paid $145 for the mandolin and $12 for a Graph Tech Mandolin Nut. Next is getting some Seymour Duncan mandolin pickups and better tuners.

Anybody know where I can find bolt on mandolin necks?

Solo mandolin plus a back-up guitar and another mando. Hopefully it is close enough. :)

I know online music shops are gaining popularity. But I also read from many that it’s best to buy strings instruments in store to make sure proper set up. Does anyone have previous experiences buying mandolins in Vancouver Canada?

Hey, I keep finding tabs on mandolintabs.net by searching for the tab on the broader internet, but for some reason I can't see the pages of lists there. Anybody have any ideas other than "use Firefox"? (My default browser is Firefox, but I've tried three different browsers over two desktops and two mobile devices, in safe mode and out.) The warning on the front page seems to be about viewing the tabs which I don't have a problem with. I just can't see the lists of tabs. Or is there some other clever way I can see the list of what they have?

I've emailed the site owner directly and used the contact us page, and have gotten no reply.

I came from guitars, and like many, I fascinate myself in browsing gears, including high end ones as much, and at times even more than practicing. Coming into the Mandolin world and browsing the mandolincafe classifieds, its really fun to see the number of expensive stuff people are just trading and buying. FOr those of you who’ve tried Gilchrists, Nuggets, Red Diamonds etc or even a 20s Loar. I’m curious, how much do they stand out?

I’m looking at getting a new mandolin after having sold mine last year. I had an Eastman MD315, but I’d like to potentially upgrade to something better.

My budget is $1500. I’m a worship leader so I mostly play chords so I’m not set on A style vs. F style. I prefer f-holes, but as long as it doesn’t sound boxy, I don’t mind an oval hole, especially on a flat top. (Last year on a work trip I was able to try a flat top, oval hole Weber, and now I’m open to them as long as they aren’t boxy.)

Right now, I’m looking at either a used MD605/615, a used Northfield Calhoun (there’s one at Elderly for $1100), or a new Red Valley AM mandolin.

Does anyone have a recommendation between these three options, or is there another option I should consider (apart from saving more)? I don’t really have many options to try near me so I’m going to have to get something online.

Hi folks,

I will travel to US (Minneapolis) in november, and I would like to buy my first mandolin... I would like to spent no more than $500 because I need to comeback to Chile flying so I will need spent in a case or bag.

I am mostly interested in play irish/celtic music and maybe something electroacoustic...

Do you have any recommendation of model to look??

Thank you all!!