Martin Backpacker Mandolin

Product Details

• ASIN: B0002MSZ1C
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,791 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Feels right, travels well., August 3, 2004

By 

Mark J. Fowler "Let's Play Two!" (Jacksonville, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Martin Backpacker Mandolin

The Martin Backpacker Mandolin fills a specific niche:

It is designed to be small, fit into an easy-to-carry canvas gig-bag (included with the purchase of the mandolin), and be playable.

It plays as well as a quite nice mandolin priced many hundreds of dollars more (like in the >600 dollar range). By that I mean that the strings are set up correctly and the fretting is accurate. Playing/practicing on this instrument feels like a "real" mandolin, and it travels much easier.

BUT - it is not designed to sound good, and it does not. The tone is very trebly and "tinny" (as you'd expect from such a small box).

So.... if you want a good-sounding mandolin, this isn't it, but if you really want a mandolin that you can throw into a bag and carry with the rest of your stuff and still plays like a real mandolin, it fits the bill just fine.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully compact 8 stringed ukulele, March 28, 2008

By 

William D. Thompson (Salem,Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Martin Backpacker Mandolin

With some simple changes, it becomes a concert length 8 stringed ukulele with Gg Cc EE AA tuning.I would freely share pics and "how to". Get rid of the Martin fishing leader, and get Aquila 8 string tenor set. (from me, or other places) Heel peg for strap already installed. A sound hole makes a world of difference in the sound!!