.

[niemand]

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[morganp]

If you're looking at an import kinda price range (900 - 1500) try to mentally add about $100 to the price for setup work. There are some good deals to be had as long as you accept that they pretty much all need a setup (although a few honest shops will do a setup on everything, you can't always trust to that).

For domestics, an F-style will tend to start about $3000, and you can usually assume it's set up well.

Any F below the $800 or so isn't really worth owning, in my experience; you're almost always looking at fretwork to make them playable, which gets pricey in a hurry. The smaller the instrument, the tighter the tolerances for playability. You said you're not into A-styles, but if your budget is way below $1000, I wouldn't recommend getting an F. Good A's might be had for $600ish plus setup.

Whatever it is, make sure it's solid wood all the way around, and that there are no buzzy spots from fretting out as you play up the neck (test every course at every fret). The neck should be fairly straight, and action is conventionally set at 4/64ths at the 12th fret on both the treble and bass sides. Sometimes shops or vendors will have the action set much higher so that the buzz will be less noticeable, at the cost of playability. So don't fall for that.

As far as brands, I work in a shop that sells mandolins, so I don't want this to be an ad for the brands I sell. That would feel sleazy.

Anyway, just my opinions, all.

[niemand]

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[fuzzjunkie]

The type A doesn't have the Florentine scroll work that give the type-F it's name. And fancy scrolls usually means fancy bindings and getting fancy costs $. They only sound slightly different to me so utility vs pretty, Tele vs Les Paul.

[niemand]

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[fuzzjunkie]

It's tuff being a multi instrumentalist. All my mando friends have several Kentucky or Gibby mandos that are in the $3000-5000 range, but no amps, no pedals, maybe a cheap acoustic guitar for the occasional strum.

[bluenote23]

What morganp says is really spot on but...

It does depend on how good sounding an instrument you want. If you want to play professionally, then yes, you would want, even on the low end, a pretty expensive instrument.

However, it is like acoustic guitars. If you need to sound like a Martin D-28 or a Gibson J-45, then that $300 Yamaha is not going to cut it but lots of folk play inexpensive acoustics and are happy enough with what they have.

I have a The Loar LM700 which borders on the 'barely good enough' ($1200 new) but I also had a Rover RM75 (Saga Music) that cost me $275 used. Compared to the The Loar, it sounded thin but on its own, it sounded enough like a mandolin to be a mandolin. I also have an old Japanese or Korean no name mandolin with a pickup and that really sounds like crap, like a cardboard box with strings.

So you could look at the lower end Kentucky, Eastman or The Loar F models or a Rover (the others will cost more than the Rover. Stay away from Epiphones, or Washburns or just about any other low end brand.) and they will all have a mandolin sound. They won't sound the best, or even close to the best but if you wanted to throw a little mando into a home demo, you could make them sound close enough.

And it is true that the scroll is expensive and all it does is look pretty and make a good strap holder. You'll look much cooler playing and F than an A if that is important to you.

[Liquids]

Sigh. That makes a lot of sense. I should probably swallow my aesthetic sensibilities and settle for an "A" style...

Some thoughts -

I do think that the F style is easier to sit with--the added 'chunks' on the lower side of the body can help it sit a bit better. Some may not find that too helpful, some may, depending on the manner in which they play.

I'm not sure what your price range is, but the "Big Muddy" mandos have a great reputation for sounding great despite not being the classic aesthetic. Not sure what your price range is though.

The forum at http://www.mandolincafe.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is a good resource for mando info and for-sale-by-owner mandos.

If aesthetics matter to you, then within reason, get one that is aesthetically pleasing! Sometimes the biggest obstacle to playing more is simply "picking the instrument up." If you are tuned into aesthetics--get one that's aesthetically pleasing as well as sonically pleasing. If you do, you will likely pick it up more often and think about selling it less often.

Setup on a mandolin is super critical, and can have an incredible impact on playability. Make sure that what you get is setup properly, or still has adjustment room to be setup properly.

[niemand]

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[cyclopean]

Sigh. That makes a lot of sense. I should probably swallow my aesthetic sensibilities and settle for an "A" style...

Some thoughts -

I do think that the F style is easier to sit with--the added 'chunks' on the lower side of the body can help it sit a bit better. Some may not find that too helpful, some may, depending on the manner in which they play.

I'm not sure what your price range is, but the "Big Muddy" mandos have a great reputation for sounding great despite not being the classic aesthetic. Not sure what your price range is though.

The forum at http://www.mandolincafe.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is a good resource for mando info and for-sale-by-owner mandos.

If aesthetics matter to you, then within reason, get one that is aesthetically pleasing! Sometimes the biggest obstacle to playing more is simply "picking the instrument up." If you are tuned into aesthetics--get one that's aesthetically pleasing as well as sonically pleasing. If you do, you will likely pick it up more often and think about selling it less often.

Setup on a mandolin is super critical, and can have an incredible impact on playability. Make sure that what you get is setup properly, or still has adjustment room to be setup properly.

I'll vouch for big muddy. I love mine.

[Shadoweclipse13]

Doc, what about building your own from a kit? It's probably cheaper, but you could put exactly the parts or aesthetics that you want onto it...