Kentucky8 String Mandolin, Right, Amberburst (KM-505)

This mandolin has excellent tone, almost a cross between an f-hole and an oval hole. It can make that percussive bluegrass "bark" when playing chop chords, yet it has enough sustain to sound great when playing single note Irish tunes. The wood on mine is really stunning, beautifully figured maple on the sides and back and flame all across the back of the neck. The binding and general fit and finish are all very good. (I removed the pickguard for aesthetic reasons, the top is too pretty to cover up and I don't like to use a finger rest.)I was torn between a four (I like it) and five (I love it) rating. It's not perfect, but I really do love it, and it's a good value for the money so I gave it top marks. The bridge, unlike the fret board, does not have a radius, so I'm going to swap it out for a Cumberland Acoustics bridge with a radius so I can tune the action to my taste a bit more. Also while the finish is listed as nitrocellulose in the specs, it doesn't smell, feel or age like other nitrocellulose musical instrument finishes I'm familiar with. I didn't play it much when I first got it, (kept getting distracted by my guitars), but then I got hooked on it over a year ago and have put a lot of hours on it and the finish is just as glossy as the day I opened the box, even where my arm rests on the edge of the body. The finish does look very thin and you can feel the grain through it which is a good thing. It's probably just a more durable formula of nitro than I'm used to but I really hope it starts to naturally age and wear eventually. If you like your instrument to stay looking new for a long while, this will be a positive, not a negative.To sum it up,this instrument sounds and looks beautiful, and is well worth the money I spent.

The mandolin arrived from musicians friend in good shape. It needed to be set up, like all new instruments. The bridge set in position, action ect. I have been playing and teaching guitar for 37 years and basic set ups are pretty easy. The KM-505's neck was so bad that it was unplayable. Dead and high fretts. But the open strings sounded pretty good. I thought about sending it back, But I thought it might just need a pro set up. I took it to my guitar tech and now mandolin tech as well, His name is Kenny Marshall at Audio Light and Music in Norfolk VA. He had for a week and a half and when he was done I ended up with a very fine instrument. The KM-505 had potential and Kenny brought it out. I love playing it sounds great and will be around for a long time..

Received mandolin after almost a full month of watching delivery service send mandolin back and forth to the same cities and near states. Finally received item, attempted to tune instrument when one E chord popped and broke while the second E chord broke the tail piece finger broke off!

This mandolin does what I wanted it to do. I play guitar, banjo, fiddle and mandolin. We travel in the winter and we meet musicians and have good times. A lot of the interactions are camp fire jams with a lot of laughter and beer.I have two other mandolins, a MIJ Sigma A model from the eighties and a Flatiron Signature series F model signed by Chris Weber from the late eighties early nineties. The Flatiron is professional grade and the Sigma is just OK and I wanted something in between, after all even campfire jams can produce good music and I want to be prepared.I first ordered a KM 252 but that was no better than my Sigma so I sent it back. I was still hoping to find something good that didn't cost thousands of dollars so I ordered the KM 505 and it's just what I wanted.The mandolin came with the bridge in the right position, I checked with my tuner to make sure the intonation was correct. It holds it's tuning well. The fit and finish is fine. The back is nicely flamed. The neck is comfortable. The fret board which is curved plays well. The sound is full, brassy and warm with just enough wood ringing so I can feel the instrument in my body, just what I was looking for. My Ashokan Farewell sings out beautifully. It makes me a happy camper.Maybe it’s time to sell one of the other mandolins. If you're interested my email is [email protected]

Great deal on a good intermediate mandolin. The picture showed the older version of the KM-500 (art deco headstock inlay and no pickguard), but I got the newer one. I assumed/hoped that I'd be getting the newer version (flower headstock inlay and a pickguard) and was happy when that's what showed up. But, it probably should have the right pic.

Quality instrument. Fret ends were sharp, easily taken care of.

This mandolin is a beautiful instrument. It is soft, stirring, and easy to play. Even though the mandolin is a 100 star, I had to rate it a 3 because I would not reccomend buying it from amazon. My reasons:1) It comes unassembled- and personally I don't want to pay someone to set it up after I've had to pay for the entire instrument2) It is packaged in simply a box and a tiny thin wrapping of foamBasically, my instrument arrived with the neck snapped, and the strings coiling off it. I had to send it back, and was very dissapointed to see the UPS had crushed the box (and even ripped a hole in it). While I do not at all blame amazon for my mandolin arriving destroyed, it was completely improper packaging for a 400$ instrument. I bought the same mandolin from the 'mandolin store' online, and it arrived in a free hardshell case.Again, amazon is carrying a lovely instrument, however I do not reccomend buying it from this store.

Enjoying my new mandolin, sounds very good. Only issue was one string broke during install but the matching string was long enough to use in its place and despite the string defect the set still sounds great. Easier to play than my cheapie composite top old one, I suspect I was working to get better sound while playing and with the Kentucky I can just chill and play.

Fantastic quality and playability. A great price for this model. Setup was good with a lovely low action allowing it to be played comfortably straight out of the box. Tone and volume are pretty good too and as the tone will only improve the more its played we're definitely off to a good start

Ordered yesterday and arrived today. Very competitive price and free next day delivery. Can't fault that. Arrived in a huge box with lots of bubble wrap to protect it. First impression. Wow. Lovely looking woods and a very well applied finish with no blemishes that I can find. The set up as delivered is fine. Action about spot on and the nut is cut correctly giving easy playing at perfect string height. Intonation is good and this mandolin really sings loud and with a lovely tone. I've compared it to my Morgan Monroe MMF 750 which is a F style $799 mandolin. I suspect made in the same factory as Michael Kelly models. Not a cheap mandolin. Both are totally solid tone woods. The Kentucky plays better (possibly the radiused finger board) and the tone is sweeter. It's really nearly impossible to describe sound and tones but to my ears I much prefer the Kentucky. I will now be selling the Morgan Monroe. Can't deny that the F style looks better but the sound of the Kentucky wins over that. Have only had a short time to play the Kentucky but can't find any faults. It has Grover tuners which are amongst the best available. Doesn't have a cast tail piece like my Morgan Monroe but I'm not convinced that actually has much effect on the sound. No case provided but plenty of decent hard cases available for under £40. Would I recommend this mandolin? At this price yes. I'm sure there are better ones available but at a much higher cost. I'm not an expert player but am certain that I'll be keeping this for the long term.

i received this item with many scuff marks which i had to buff out.i also had to fix the tailpiece that was installed tilted.it does sound good.

Quality construction and finish at a good price. Plays nicely and the tone is great

The Kentucky KM - 505 is the best Mandolin I have playedQuality of build and the tone of the instrument is excellent.I would highly recommend this instrument to Beginners as they will keep it for ever.