Mandolin

By: Stephen Kennedy on 23 September 2020

I am a professional musician with over 30 years experience in gigging and playing in bands. I play the guitar but have just started on the mandolin. I bought this product because it has a built in pick up and is ready to rock. It arrived in mint condition, well packaged and safe. The case is excellent.... keys for locking and 3 sturdy locking mechanisms. It is strong and well padded. The mandolin exceeds my expectations. The tuning mechanisms are flawless... strings stay in tune for a long time. The strings are great and I was prepared to replace them with higher quality strings but actually they're sweet in tone and sustain. The frets are perfect and the action is adjustable anyways (I like it lowered as much as possible!). The bridge is sturdy and reliable. The pick up is great... it has a tone and volume control that provide a wide range of tonal effect (I run this mandolin into a Marshall 1/2 stack JVM210h with 11 effects on the pedal board!). The mandolin is finished in high quality gloss and looks great. I added my own strap locking pins as I play standing up on stage. (It did not come with strap pins. So what's it like to play? It has a crisp clear tone and lots of sustain. I play songs like Wagon Wheel (the mando obviously lends itself to violin parts and a country feel) and folksy rock stuff like Led Zep and Maggie May. I say this because both styles of playing (picking individual strings for melody lines AND strumming chord shapes) are clear and strong. Yes there's much dearer and better quality mandos out there but hey, I would buy this mando again if I had to, and I recommend it to people looking for a cool new way to make music. Awesome price without sacrificing quality.
(5)

Solid!!

By: Denny on 10 September 2020

Despite ordering it during Covid lockdown, it came quicker than I expected it. Decent Prize and Decent Quality. Only complaint would probably be it doesn't come with a strap (but had some spare materials lying around to make a strap).
(5)

Awesome mandolin

By: dan on 30 May 2019

I was really impressed by the mandolin. Quality for a low price.
(5)

mandolin

By: Ross on 14 February 2019

More than happy with my new mandolin, great quality for the money , would certainly trade again
(4)

Great Instrument

By: Caroline Reed on 19 January 2019

Once again, Artist Guitars were very prompt with delivery. I don't live in the metro area but my Mandolin arrived in under 48 hours. The instrument itself is better than the picture shows and is fantastic value for money. Quality and sound is very good.
(5)

Another good-value AG package

By: Alan on 9 November 2018

I freely admit I'm no mandolin expert – quite the contrary. But, as a reasonably experienced rhythm/bass guitarist, a mando was simply on my New Year resolutions list under the heading 'Learn a new instrument'. I've dealt with Artist Guitars on numerous occasions before, so I figured they'd be a good source for a not-too-rubbish instrument at a price that wouldn't break the bank. In short, this is a good deal, at least for a mandolin beginner like myself. I find it a little ironic that my $2.5K Ovation guitar came with neither a case nor even a lead included, yet this Artist instrument has both – go figure. Anyway, the unit arrived promptly (as is usual with deliveries from AG), and very well protected and packaged, with everything as advertised – case, mando, lead. Let's start with the case – I'd rate it as better than average quality, and of quite robust construction. There are three external latches, one of which is lockable (key supplied), and my only (minor) complaint is that there's precious little space internally to store anything other than the mando itself. By the time you cram in a tuner and a strap, getting even your amp lead in is problematic. The instrument itself – and I guess I'm approaching this from a guitarist's perspective – is surprisingly acceptable. My limited research suggests that it's an 'A'-type shape (teardrop) as opposed to the more ornate 'F'-type (scroll) instruments. Of course, at this price, you're not getting exotic woods from the depths of the Amazon rainforest but, hey, maybe that will be my next mando, when and if I ever master this one. I believe this unit will keep me happy for quite some time to come. The action, right out of the box, was reasonable; I decided to drop it slightly (a five-minute task), but it was quite playable as delivered. Intonation at the 12th fret was sharp – again, not badly so, but a fusspot like myself saw the necessity to get it right. Not quite as simple as setting the intonation on a guitar, I found (given that the bridge is, essentially, a floating wooden block), and I confess to spending a couple of hours of trial and error before I was happy (slacken the strings, move the bridge a millimetre, tighten the strings, check the intonation, slacken the strings, move the bridge again, repeat until ….. well, you get the idea). Still not perfect, but the nature of such a bridge is that it's never going to be spot on for every string.) I'm sure a proper instrument tech would do it in a fraction of the time but, as I say, it's probably not really necessary unless you're fussy. Incidentally, I'm not sure of the gauge of strings as delivered (that's something I wish manufacturers / retailers would include in the box), but I'm guessing about 10's to 34's or thereabouts(?). ….. If you're intending to play standing up (as I do), you'll probably need a strap, and for that, you may want to install a strap pin somewhere around the heel of the neck. (As with many mandos, this unit comes with a strap pin near the tailpiece, but you'll need to install the second one yourself, unless you're planning to somehow attach the strap to the headstock.) Tone-wise, this instrument sounds like – well, a mandolin! ☺ It would be perfectly usable as a purely acoustic instrument, but I intend to play it amplified, and it sounds fairly sweet through my Mesa Boogie guitar amp. The controls provided are, of course, very basic (volume + tone), so you'll probably dial in more variation with your amp knobs, but I found the tone control at least ranged from mellow to sharp. In summary, this is a typical good-value Artist Guitars' package. I'd rate it a medium-quality product at a budget price. Heartily recommended – AG does it again, for me at least! I confess that I am pleasantly surprised that these guys, despite being a relatively small outfit (well, I assume so – never been to their shop!) continue to deliver first-class customer service that puts the big boys to shame.
(5)

Value for money AGAIN

By: Mark on 9 November 2018

Artist Guitars continue to kick goals with every product I have bought - and there are numerous ones to date. This mandolin is no exception. Once tuned this plays really well and I expect will sound sweeter with age. The pickup is clear and the case is excellent. Well done again! PS Ditto to Alan's review...
(5)

Brilliant

By: Jochem on 9 November 2018

Great buy! Tuned it up plays perfectly! Ordered on Sunday got it today. Couldn't be happier. Great job artist guitars service and quality just great again
(5)

Mandolin

By: Anonymous on 9 November 2018

This is a very well made mandolin and has a tone well above what I expected for the purchase price. The hard case is up to the excellent standard that I have come to expect from Artist Guitars.
(5)

Love it!

By: Kolbi on 16 May 2018

Love this mandolin! Got it for much cheaper than other local shops with easy and fast delivery. Definitely worth the price.
(5)