GuitarsCanada
06-24-2007, 06:31 AM
Review Submitted By
Unregistered
Product Name
Gold Tone GM-50 mandolin
Would you recommend this product to others?
yes
Your overall review of the product
good
Did you feel there was good value for the money?
yes
What is your name?
fraser
How would you best describe yourself?
Part Timer
please select a choice
I own this gear
-----------------------------------------------------
Your full review
was looking for a mandolin that was newer, my old kay f hole is pretty fragile, and i want to do a bit of resto work on it, so i wanted another.
i got this gold tone used, but basically in new condition with a few scratches and dings for 199$ cdn at mountain music in hamilton.
these retail for around 300$ u.s new, so i grabbed it.
has a very complex tone to it compared to the f hole types- pretty loud too.
to my eye it is very well made, cant see any sloppy glue work inside, no parts mis-aligned or anything- but ive always been more a sound and playability guy- how it looks means little - so im not an expert here action was very low with no buzzing or wolf tones- i had to raise it for my particular needs, but it would provide incredibly low and fast playability if desired.
ive read that oval hole types dont lend themselves to playing with other instruments as well as f hole types- i jammed with a guitar and another mandolin today, and it was great- but thats not a very conclusive result. i mostly play alone so its not really an issue one negative for me is that it has a fairly thick poly coating- its china made so its to be expected. i dont have the time to refinish any of my poly finished stuff or i would. so i just live with it- for a price of 199$ im well pleased as it is.
the only other negative is that the neck heel strap button gets in the way when playing up past the 12th fret or so- my hand hits it and i need to adjust to a less natural angle. easily rectified- but i wonder why they would put it there. maybe other mandolin players dont use the whole neck- i tune it like a guitar and play it like one so perhaps its just me.
overall id say its a great instrument- even if i had to pay the full retail new price i probably would. there are a number of these budget brand mandos out there now- i havent tried a lot of them, but i wanted an oval hole type and this is the first one that i liked. also i like that i dont need to carve a bone nut for this as it comes with one
specs-
Top Solid Spruce
Neck Maple
Bridge Rosewood, Adjustable
Nut Bone
Fingerboard Rosewood
Neck Scale 13-3/4", 19 frets
Neck Width Under Nut 1-9/16"
Total Length 26-1/2"
http://www.goldtone.com/products/pages/gm-50.asp#bottom
------------------------------------------------------
Gear used for this review
just the instrument and my fingers. and beer. plenty of beer.
Unregistered
Product Name
Gold Tone GM-50 mandolin
Would you recommend this product to others?
yes
Your overall review of the product
good
Did you feel there was good value for the money?
yes
What is your name?
fraser
How would you best describe yourself?
Part Timer
please select a choice
I own this gear
-----------------------------------------------------
Your full review
was looking for a mandolin that was newer, my old kay f hole is pretty fragile, and i want to do a bit of resto work on it, so i wanted another.
i got this gold tone used, but basically in new condition with a few scratches and dings for 199$ cdn at mountain music in hamilton.
these retail for around 300$ u.s new, so i grabbed it.
has a very complex tone to it compared to the f hole types- pretty loud too.
to my eye it is very well made, cant see any sloppy glue work inside, no parts mis-aligned or anything- but ive always been more a sound and playability guy- how it looks means little - so im not an expert here action was very low with no buzzing or wolf tones- i had to raise it for my particular needs, but it would provide incredibly low and fast playability if desired.
ive read that oval hole types dont lend themselves to playing with other instruments as well as f hole types- i jammed with a guitar and another mandolin today, and it was great- but thats not a very conclusive result. i mostly play alone so its not really an issue one negative for me is that it has a fairly thick poly coating- its china made so its to be expected. i dont have the time to refinish any of my poly finished stuff or i would. so i just live with it- for a price of 199$ im well pleased as it is.
the only other negative is that the neck heel strap button gets in the way when playing up past the 12th fret or so- my hand hits it and i need to adjust to a less natural angle. easily rectified- but i wonder why they would put it there. maybe other mandolin players dont use the whole neck- i tune it like a guitar and play it like one so perhaps its just me.
overall id say its a great instrument- even if i had to pay the full retail new price i probably would. there are a number of these budget brand mandos out there now- i havent tried a lot of them, but i wanted an oval hole type and this is the first one that i liked. also i like that i dont need to carve a bone nut for this as it comes with one
specs-
Top Solid Spruce
Neck Maple
Bridge Rosewood, Adjustable
Nut Bone
Fingerboard Rosewood
Neck Scale 13-3/4", 19 frets
Neck Width Under Nut 1-9/16"
Total Length 26-1/2"
http://www.goldtone.com/products/pages/gm-50.asp#bottom
------------------------------------------------------
Gear used for this review
just the instrument and my fingers. and beer. plenty of beer.