Zenison 8-String MANDOLIN F-Style SUNBURST TOBACCO Sandalwood Silver Hardware with F-Holes

I'm happy with this instrument. It looks gorgeous, and it sounds great. The high string snapped, as some reviewers have said, but I was prepared with a fresh set of strings, so it wasn't a problem. I'd never restrung a mandolin before, so that was a learning experience. Fantastic instrument for the price

Now I'm sure many of us are doing the same thing, you want an f-style body but don't want to shell out a whole lot of money for it. Now before i continue, i want to state that this is not a five star instrument, it's just a really good deal. I found this about a week ago and due to its exact color matching to my strat, I wanted to buy this one. I was very worried about how it would hold up due to the price but I just got it a few hours ago, tuned it and have to admit, I am surprised. Now one thing I read in another review is that the strings are crap, yes the highest strings won't reach the "e" note, therefore I had to tune them down, sadly I broke one trying to tune it though, but a good set of strings can be bought at guitar center for like 10 or 12 dollars. So far the two ratings that I read that had positive feedback with description were true. There are minute details that could be better but that's only noticeable if you're within inches of the thing. Anyway to sum it up this is a great buy, it sounds just as loud as a $700.00 Kentucky f-style and personally I prefer this purchase instead. So to wrap this up I highly recommend this mandolin. Oh and the fretwork is actually pretty good as well, I haven't ran into any problems with them so far.

So, like many of you probably are, I was looking for an inexpensive F-style mandolin that wasn't going to fall apart the first day I played it. And yeah, it of course is pretty low-quality, but it's not so bad...It stays in tune, is fairly loud and looks quite pretty (from a distance haha). It really does have a nice glossy coat, but there's a handful of tiny imperfections in the craftsmanship and paint detail.It's certainly suitable for playing out on the porch or in the backseat of car on a road-trip or for anything casual.

I thought I would take a chance on this mandolin but it is not worth it. When I opened the box, I realized the binding is just a poorly painted pinstripe, there was a crack on the back the length of the body that they just lacquered over, and it was covered in buffing compound. You’re better off buying a cheap Rogue mandolin. You’re actually better off using an empty Kleenex box and rubber bands. ABSOLUTE GARBAGE.

When my son opened this Mandolin for Christmas he was so excited. He started tuning it a little while later and the bottom two strings broke. We took it to the local music store to have them restring it and the in the process of fixing that he found that one of the tuning pegs had been glued in. It looks like someone else got it, it broke, they glued it back together and sent it back for a refund, it was repackaged and sent to us. Not good.

This was my first mandolin, but I'm not a stranger to the instrument, and I've been playing guitar for almost 20 years. I liked the price and decided that $100 was worth the risk. Out of the box it had poor, really poor lacquer and body molding (which i could live with at $100) and a crack in what I thought to be the finish at first but turned out to go all the way through the wood right at the bottom f-hole directly underneath the bridge at the E strings. It caused the E strings to be fretted out, but the sound from the other strings was just OK. On the plus side, the top is solid, not plywood. Returned for refund, so I'm not sure how the other ones would have turned out.

lol, I put on a new bridge and better strings and oh boy. Nice tone variety.I played more expensive models in music stores and with my upgrades this one sounds just as good… and a lot cheaper. Easy to play the chords with a medium size hand.

I like the fact that it's an actually playable usuable instrument that doesn't break the bank this little mandolin will hold it's own. Are you getting a Gibson no you're not...Are you getting a good well made playable instrument that can be the start to a musical career. Or just sitting around camp fire. I think this mandolin is more than capable of either.