Stretton Payne Mandolin with Gig Bag, Online Beginner Course, Strap and Plectrums

This Mandolin for the money is unbelievable! Beautiful looking instrument, very well made and sounds fantastic! even the strings which you would think would be the cost cutter, are very nice. Great online course too, found very quickly that if this mandolin if tuned right it produces an incredible sound, have had nothing other than complete shock from very good musicians within my circle, when the question of how much did it cost arise,which always does as it looks and sounds so good! More than happy! Pure bargain!

Not a mandolin player, but have played guitar and bass for many years. Wanted something to play along with The Dead South :o) but didn't want to spend too much. It looks great and sounds pretty good. The action is very playable along the whole of the neck. The bag and strap are handy accessories. The only issue my one has is 2 of the machine heads are very stiff.

First the good:The delivery time was quick, the finish of the paintwork and lacquer was good and the tone was bright.But the bad :The intonation was slightly out and the action slightly high but that was easily remedied. However it would still not play in tune. I eventually took it to a professional luthier (£45.00) who discovered that the first fret had been installed in the wrong position. (Correct measurements can easily be found on line on sites such as StewMac.) This meant that the instrument could not and would never play in tune unless the fretboard was replaced. The cost of that would not be warranted on a mandolin at this price.It's a pity as the instrument looked good, sounded quite nice and was very inexpensive but all to no avail.I returned it and got my money back.

I am happy with the SP mandolin. It is my very first mandolin as I am an uke player, so I am a newbie in it. After a few hours of practising I am able to play easy songs on basic chords.Mandolin sounds great..I lowered an action and replaced strings and my friend luthier helped me to fit the bridge. Now it holds tuning in all positions and it has great bright sound..So I am happy..it is great alternative to my ukes..I highly appreciate Amazon for hyperfast delivery to the Czech rep...I ordered it on Monday and on Wednesday I happily played my favourite songs on my new mandolin..

bought as a gift... for a first timer. she hasn't opened it yet. but I checked it out and gave it a once over, I know how to play (a bit). sounds nice, nice colour and came well packed and on time. only gripe is there are a couple of scratches and inconsistencies in the finish on the top side. (not on the wood) in the varnish. if it was any more money to buy this I would send back. but for the price its a bargain. and the online course is a good idea too because a mandolin not being played right is not something I want to endure.

reasonable price but less robust than most other mandolins and fret thinner - more difficult to place fingers accurately.Sound not as resonant as other mandolins. Has a mass produced rather than crafted feel.

Love this, good quality. Can’t put it down. Used to playing guitar so had to get used to playing different set of chords but so easy to pick up. The tone is lovely. Good looking instrument. Love the accessories too. The bag is strong. This would be great for a beginner.

Note: I bought an older version without the picks or gig bag.I bought this as I got it in my mind to start playing an instrument again after putting the recorder down 30 odd years ago. :o)I'm currently practicing on my own, no lessons yet, but I can say this is a lovely instrument to start with, especially for the price. I found it easy to pick up, practice my first pickings (not really into chords yet) and learn a few simple little tunes. Nice sound (surprisingly loud) and with a handy tuner quite easy to tune as and when required. Going to be replacing the strings next (they're getting a bit worn) so we'll see how that influences the sound.

BUENA CALIDAD ,AHORA A DISFRUTARLA . SE VE QUE EL MATERIAL ES DE ALTA CALIDAD POR SUS ACABADOS. SOY NOVATO CON ESTE INSTRUMENTO.