Product: Samick Abilrne F-Style Mandolin
Price Paid: US $340.00
Submitted
03/26/2004
at
06:11am
by
Anonymous
Features
:
6
Brand new '03-'04, made in Korea in the Samick factory where 90% of all mando imports are being made. This is your typical laminate-top constructed F-style copy - standard frets, joining, etc. Nothing special, but really big on tone. Nice looking tobacco burst finish and solidly constructed with maple sides and back. Tuning keys are kind of cheap - I'll be upgrading those soon. Standard compensated rosewood bridge and gold-plated tailpiece. I immediately took off the pickguard to open the top up some. I also removed the pain-in-the-ass tailpiece cover, as it buzzed sometimes. It looks cooler without it anyway. The thing that really impressed me was the tone. For a Korean F-style copy, this thing literally sounds like mandolins that are 3 times as expensive. It has a really rich low end, nice crisp highs and has a bark that really fits nicely in a bluegrass setting. I play mine with some guys that all play very high-end instruments and it holds its own in terms of volume and tone - fits right in!
My gripes with this mandolin are what you would expect in a mandolin at this price range - cheap tuners, imperfect intonation and little cosmetic imperfections here and there that are hardly noticeable. The other issues can be rectified with new tuners and a new bridge. I adjusted the bridge to better compensate for the intonation, but it still isn't perfect, and it may not ever be. It's only an issue if you play way up past the 12th fret, which I rarely do. If I did, I'd probably want a higher-end mando regardless...For the $$, you can't beat it.
Sound
:
8
Great bluegrass mandolin. Nice crisp bark.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
8
The usual things that you would expect in a mandolin at this price, but these can be easily overlooked due to the exceptional tone and playability.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
It withstand live playing all day/night. Tuners should be scrapped. Very dependable instrument.
Customer Support
:
9
Bought it from Picker's Supply, in Fredericksburg, VA. Very helpful and friendly staff. Mando is backed by store policy 1-year trade in and lifetime service.
Overall Rating
:
10
Been playing 20 years, various instruments. I also own a bunch of basses, guitars (electric and acoustic, some drums, various amps - too much stuff to list.
