HBMA-50 Mandoline BK : Good little instrument

When i first got the mandolin i would say i was pleasantly suprised. I think the colour and finish of the body was bright, and it had a fair amount of depth.

The hardware, mainly the tuning pegs feel and look a little cheap, but they do the job. I'm sure you could upgrade these if you really wanted to.

I sanded a little round the bridge, tightened truss rod, and put on new strings to get the mandolin closer to my taste.

I think the acoustic sound of the mandolin is pretty good. Quite woody, and sparkly, especially when the strings were changed.

The amplified tone of the instrument is again not bad. I plugged in and played into my soundcard without issue.

Overall i would say for the price it is pretty good. I don't think it's fair to compare this to mandolins which cost 5 or 10 times as much. Of course they will be 'better'. I did make a few adjustments because i am an experienced musician and felt they would benefit me, and make it easier to play.

I think if you want to try out a mandolin, and don't want to break the bank doing it, this is a good product to start with.