Well, I spent some money on a mandolin at last. I think I tried enough different instruments to have a good idea of what I wanted and could afford and then finally found a shop which had enough choice, and staff who knew what they were talking about.
We had a trip to the North planned over the weekend and this seemed like a good opportunity to broaden my search for a new instrument without travelling too far specially. An Internet search had brought up a Crafter M75EO which I was interested in after I tried out an M70E in a second hand shop in Bournemouth. A small detour to Cambridge would have made a nice lunch stop, so I called Miller's Music to enquire about their special price on the M35EO. It seems the website is disconnected in some way from the shop, and the staff in the shop appear to have no knowledge of what is for sale via the website. It transpired that although they may once have sold such an instrument, the sale stock was all out by the time I asked. Oops, lost customer.
I had a look in Grantham on the way. Fox Music in Grantham came up on the yell search for Nottingham. We found Fox music easily on Westgate, just outside the George Arcade. Fox had two Vintage models, one electro-acoustic. For the money I quite liked the acoustic and then tried the more expensive model. This didn't play as well as the cheaper one and I took a sighting along the finger-board to find that it was flat up to where the neck and body joined, where there was a large bulge on the G-side. Sadly unplayable and leaving me with no confidence that the acoustic model wouldn't go the same way.
Eldest son had an ambition of his own to visit Nottingham, so with very little research, except to ask yell.com if there were any musical instrument shops in Nottingham, we set out with a varied agenda on Saturday morning to visit. We found a few things that we were shopping for, and an enquiry in a shop in the Victoria centre lead us to the Music Room. The Music Room were very friendly and helpful and had a sale of sheet music and books, but only one mandolin, a Tanglewood. I tried the Tanglewood, which was almost in tune and liked it, but it was slightly pricey. When asked the staff had no hesitation in suggesting that I try Dave Mann's music nearby.
Dave Mann's Music is a little wonder for string instruments. I didn't count all the mandolins they had! Give them a call and see if they can help. Such a pleasure to walk in to a shop where, not only do they have a wide range of instruments, but also know what they are talking about. Given a price range and a brief specification I was left to myself for a while with three instruments for comparison covering a wide range of prices and qualities. The first instrument I tried was an Ozark, all wood finish, out of my price range. I liked the sound, but the A-string seemed a bit intrusive, ringing rather loudly compared to the E. Really I'm not an expert, so take my opinion with a pinch of salt. Second a Brunswick F-style. I nearly dismissed this from serious consideration, since I had played one in a second hand store in Bournemouth, where I saw the M70E. That one was expensive and unpleasant. This one I couldn't really fault for the money. The third instrument was a Stagg, feeling light and rattly.
The Brunswick is a MM2155, an f-style and a bit of a tart to be honest. The sound is quite loud compared to my existing awful ebay model and I bought it because it is good enough for me to learn on, in the price range I had set, and because it was such a relief to visit a shop that took mandolins seriously and could offer a real choice. The finish on the Brunswick is not perfect, the tone is good, the action is a great change from the ebay banana. I can practise for more than 5 minutes at a time and just occasionally a chord will work first time; a barre is possible; a strum hits all the strings, even the ones that are fretted.
