I was curious, has anyone played one of the Breedlove Crossover Mandolins. I’ve recently decided to learn how to play the Mandolin and was looking to a buy a decent mandolin for my first. Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks A.J.
Howdy A.J.!
I’ve played a few Breedlove guitars and perhaps a mandolin, and they seem to be pretty solid builds. Ultimately, though, Breedlove is a guitar company that began making mandolins. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I’m going to lean toward a more traditional mandolin design/tone and builders that have been at it for a long while. And, you can get into some good ones for the same price range. I recommend, for that price range, looking at Eastman or Kentucky mandolins…they are just about impossible to beat in that range.
If you do decide to go the traditional bluegrass route, check out my store and let me know if you have any questions. I’ll make sure you get the best price/service you can find.
I love the Eastman MD515 I got from Ben. I let a couple of friends (both mandolin snobs) check it out last week. They were impressed at the tone and volume coming out of a mando at that price range. It’s also gorgeous. I don’t think there’s a better mando for the price out there.
I’m not the guy to speak on this mandolin vs that mandolin, but it seems like @Mark_Rocka and @BanjoBen got you covered on that.
I’ve been flying solo with the banjo for many years, but recently got a Kentucky KM-500 from Ben and Jake and have been ridiculously pleased with it. Showed it to a friend of mine up here who was equally impressed.
Ben and Jake will ship you more than just a product.
Thanks guys for the replies. I’ve been reading up a little more and people seemed to really like the Kentucky mandolins for the money. I am going to pull the trigger on this next week.
Thanks A.J.