From: Colin.Irvine@spamcop.net   
      
   On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 18:09:05 -0600, "SoK66"    
   squeezed out the following:   
      
   >Ok, to keep this as short as possible, I'm a veteran guitar player (started   
   >playng in '61 as a kid, graduate of North Texas in guitar, played with   
   >numerous country, jazz & rock bands, etc.) who for years has had a desire to   
   >learn mandolin. The other day I started "kicking tires" at a local store   
   >with some really nice mandolins. Wondered what folks thought about some of   
   >the various brands & models, i.e., Weber, Collings, Gibson, etc., and the   
   >relative merits of a style "A" vs. a style "F". I'd be willing to spend some   
   >decent bucks to get a really fine one. As an aside, they have two early   
   >1900's Gibson stye "A"s, one for  for $1,100 the other for $2,500.   
      
   You tend to get more bang for your buck with A models, for the   
   ultimate go for an F. For a mellow sustain go for a round hole, for   
   punch go for an f hole. Gibsons are certainly great (I'm over the moon   
   with mine), and hold their value well, but there's no shortage of   
   experts who'll tell you there are better instruments for less money.   
   Ideally take someone with you who knows!   
      
   --   
   Colin Irvine   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)