$50 vs $350 vs $4500 Mandolin 

Rogue $50- 4:53 Kentucky $350 - 7:30 Ellis $4,500- 10:18

My house is full of cheap instruments. I play them all to a very amateur level and I'm happy with that. Next is a 50 quid mandolin

I found that what improves the most for more expensive instruments are usually not the quality of the sound, but how comfortable it is to play.

5:19 vs 7:58 vs 10:39 But standing in the same room I'm sure there is a much more dynamic difference. Another phenomenon I've also noticed, standing next to any mandolin player, his mandolin always sounds better than yours, regardless of cost. Thanks MandoLessons!

I don't even play mandolin ... why am I here

Hmm, a $50 one to take to camp and play in the woods by the lake.

I can hear a big difference between the Rogue and the Kentucky, but not between the Kentucky and the Ellis.

I have no clue why I clicked on this video at 3:00 am in the morning. I'm a guitar player that knows nothing about mandolins

My $70 mandolin gets everyone on the dance floor. When you play a mandolin at a gig with a band they all sound good if set up correctly.

Ignorance is bliss. The $350 mandolin sounded the same to me as the $4,500 one.

The Ellis has less projection but a razor sharp fret bite so there is no slop or rattle on the string when plucked. A very easy to listen to sound. The Kentucky had very focused presence. I own a Epiphone from 1979 and it reminds me of the Kentucky but I think it mellowed out with age. Thank you for this video and nice sound set up, good audio.

Wow people sure love to complain in these comments. Thanks for putting this together, man.

Very interesting video. The Rogue jamming starts out at 4:50, the Kentucky at 7:28, and the Ellis at 10:17. Sustain and punch is great for all the mandos. The poster's fave is the Ellis. Tonally it sits between the contenders, with a nod to the brighter sounding Rogue. Amazing that the bottom dollar instrument can hold a candle to these much higher cost models.

5:19 7:57 10:37

I've had a Rogue for about 15 years and a similar quality one for about 75 that has a pickup with tone and volume controls. I read on some website about making my own bridges for them. I had the same issue you had with yours - mine were really unplayable. I made the first bridges out of maple, just field cut some parts from a maple branch, dried the rough blanks in the microwave then did the fit-up. I was very impressed with the outcome. I've since made a bridge for the Rogue from purple heart wood, very tough. My homemade bridges are not adjustable but both mandos hold tune and intonation is spot on. For a guy who mainly plays for his own enjoyment, they're just fine. If I can dig up the info on making bridges, I'll post it here, it was really not hard to do.

"I'll play a bit of this mandolin" Me: phew! Him: plays one stroke then talks for a million years again!

Today I learned that a $50 mandolin sounds 90% as good as a $4500 mandolin.

That Ellis sure stands head and shoulders above the other two. I can hear the clarity and definition in the notes and it rings beautifully. Keep playin. Im a guitarist and I love my Martin dc15E. Smooth as butter. God bless

I bought to of the Rogue mandolins on sale for around $50. Gave then to my grandchildren. Something to start with....

it's not the cost of you weapon, it's how you wield it.

You can here the clear differences with the final having an amazing mid range tone (bass for a Mandy). Very interesting review. I have the rogue my wife got me since I am a guitar player. It’s playable, but the neck is moving. Was looking for a little better one with a pickup possibly. Thanks for the knowledge.

Great video. Just a critique, it would be helpful if you did a segment of all mandolins back to back during your video so we have an immediate comparison. Awesome playing!

Nice video! That cheaper mandolin sounded pretty good for only a 40 buck mandolin.😰 I had an old mandolin that was actually my uncles, that I shared with my siblings that pretty much had the same neck and body as the mandolins you are showing. Certainly wasn't as good sounding. I finally upgraded and got a $600 mandolin a few years ago for my birthday from Sweetwater's and I just love it!😍

Enjoying your beginner lessons. Paused to watch this, and was pleased that you recommended the Kentucky mandolin. Have owned that for about a month and using it to learn with your videos. Glad to know I chose wisely!

I lowered the bridge on the rogue by taping sand paper gritty side up to the top. Than rubbed the bottom of the bridge on that. A little love and new strings the rogue will play pretty good

I got my Rogue for $50 and what a great bang for the buck. It stays in tune and sounds great. Best bet for someone learning and not sure if it’s going to be a long term thing.

I bought a pristine beautiful rogue mando with a high end case for 50 bucks plus tax. The action and setup is spot on, and when I strum it, it sounds like strings attatched to a big wet butcher block. Also when i play my tiny little humming bird fingers get all bunched up on the tiny fretboard. I think I'll let it go and search for an octave mando.

It makes me happy to see a comparison video where you have full explanations, but point out that the examples are time stamped in the description. We need more people like you.

I got my Rogue 100a for 10 bucks today. It's my first mandolin, and it's really fun!

There are marked increases in sound, tone, harmonics etc specially on the Ellis.

Looks like a good player, and a good set-up luthier job, can make a cheap mandolin sound danged good!

I actually have an F-type Rogue... everyone says it sounds as good as any mando they've heard. Plenty of volume.. awesome tone. also keep mine in a molded foam case.

I started with the Rogue. It's not an amazing instrument, but its not bad. It was at a price point that let me attempt to learn the instrument without feeling too put out if I just didn't find it worth while. I've since upgraded to The Loar 310-F. I still like having the Rogue though, especially to take camping or similar. Less worries if it gets scratched or damaged and still able to play it.

Very helpful thanks. A well set-up mid range instrument seems the best way to start.

Good info for new players! I just started giving a few lessons since the lockdown and everyone always asks me to recommend beginner mandos for them.

I have a terrible mandolin addiction. I have a room full of them. The one I prefer for daily playing is a Kentucky KM 162 I bought used for $200 Canadian. It is one of my favorites. It sounds very good and holds tuning forever. I have others that cost $1000-$3000 that won't stay in tune between sessions. I heat with wood so the house can be hot and very dry at times and the Kentucky doesn't care. I don't have to fiddle around tuning it every time I pick it up. It is a very solid instrument.

after many hours of thought I went with a 600 dollar mandolin for my first. the reason being i loved the sound and thought that would encourage me to keep playing it and not give up.

Thank you for going to this effort, I enjoy rewatching this video occasionally; watching you play and listening to your comparisons. Good job!

I work at a music store that specialises in acoustic instruments for folk, Americana and bluegrass and what I can tell you is that a RU-vid video with compressed audio isn't adequately gonna show the difference between these three mandolins. Not only is the difference in sound not going to come across in digital audio, but the feel of the instrument and its playability is something that can't really be communicated in a review like this. A Tom Ellis mandolin isn't just going to sound better than a Rogue, it's going to sound and play so much better that you'll never want to pick up a Rogue again. Nothing against this channel though, and I still had fun watching.

Bought a rogue A style last year for about $60 + for my son. Lowered bridge height all the way down, ajusted intonation and it stays in tune well, sounds good, and has a great loud chop. I think i got lucky with a good one. Son hasn't played it much but i have ! It's there when he's ready though.

I only came here to find a slicer for my carrots...

the ovation pro mandolin ought to be considered. big names leave their F5's at home and use these when nobody's looking. i brought one of these to a bluegrass festival years ago. they snickered when i took it out but when i lit it up they clammed up real quick. nothing sounds better amplified than the ovation and sounds as good as anything out there. about 900 retail.

I had a dream last night that I had a mandolin so here I am preparing to buy myself a mandolin.

I bought an A-style Ibanez mandolin for under $200 on Amazon and it sounds nice to me. The intonation is spot on. It plays nicely. I made sure that it had an adjustable truss rod and it does. Some of the $1,000 plus Kentucky mandolins don't even have an adjustable truss rod. My Ibanez is a model: M-510E-OVS. The only thing I can say bad about it is that the electric output sounds to me more like an electric guitar. So I wouldn't waste your money on buying an electric one.

Throwing some d'addario strings on the rogue makes a huge difference.

Bought a rogue years ago. I got a good one and learned some dropkick Murphy's on it. 100% recommend it for a starter and goofing around.

I actually prefer the sound of the cheapest one

Fixing the mating of the surfaces of the Rogue bridge and mandolin top is a simple task. 1) protect the mando top with painters masking tape. 2) lay a strip of sanding media (course side up) on top of the masking tape. 3) place the bridge onto the sanding media and work it back and forth to remove excess material from the bridge base. 4) when you have full contact (evident in the sanding pattern on the bridge bottom), you are done.

My nephew decided to steal my $600 mandolin!!! I never seen it again.! I cried like a baby. My family puts the "fun" in dysFUNctional!!! Nice playing! 💖

You showed your face, so we can recognize you in public, and shout "that's the awesome mandolin player." 🤩

I bought one had similar problems. But for the price, I love it and music almost every day with it.

Hi! Thanks for all the helpful info. I guess I got lucky with my Rogue I've had for 2 years now. It sounds pretty good. Paid about $40 for it and then another $40 for a good case , thinking I'd be getting a better mandolin but still using this one. Maybe someday.... :)

I liked the 50 dollar one more than the 350 one, but the 4500 was a nicer sound than either. The 50 dollar one just had, for lack of a better description, a better flavor, than the 350 which sounded flatter or muddier than the other two. The rogue was bright and sharp and I like it.

The video was similar to the path I took. I started with a cheap $40 Rogue. My first one came with a small cave in it so they sent me another one. It played decent. I took it to a luthier for about $50, they fixed the bridge, nut, and some frets and it sounded much better. I played on the Rogue for about a year. I just bought a nice $2k instrument, the Eastman MD815V. Sweet sound and it sounds great.

The floating bridge on the $50 Rogue can be effectively seated to the soundboard by 'lapping' the feet of the bridge. To do this, remove the strings, place a piece of sandpaper rough side up on the soundboard, and repeatedly draw that bridge back and forth over the general area it seats at. To make the job of string removal and replacement easier, use a capo up by the nut(to keep the strings from flipping over the tuning pegs), and loosen the strings enough to slip the loops off the tailpiece. Then lap the bridge, and finally replace the strings. This will help improve tone and volume, and is really pretty easy.

I've been looking into the KM-150, thanks to this video and another demo video you made specifically about it. It sounds great! I just ordered the KM-250--the slight upgrade from the 150--from Elderly Instruments. I have an antique bowl back mandolin that sounds great, but is difficult to play. The A-style seems the right fit for me. In the meantime, thank you for putting together informative, thorough videos.

Thank You!😀 I Play Guitar and Have Been Intrigued By These Instruments Latley and Your Very Complete and Super Infomative Yet Gracious Knowlege Really Helped Myself and Im Sure Many Other's ' Who Arent Just Looking For 'Sound' Without Experience_ Blessings To You Friend🎼Peace and Tone To You Always🌈

That Ellis A5 is beautiful!

lol i bought that same 50$ mandolin paired with a ukulele 12 years ago. never changed the strings once and it still playes great.

I'm looking at banjolins,mandoleles etc etc on ebay,i saw some like the one you have at 45 bucks,i'm in scotland and 45 quid is the kind of number here so........... My point as i'm watching the first few mins (3:38) you mention the bridge does not make full contact on the sound board,i do all of my own guitar repairs,and i would like a ES335 type hollow body jazz/blues type,and as you mentioned the bridge contact problem i reminded myself of a trick i learned for some other contact issue,could've been for an oil pump leak on my triumph spitfire,where you lay 400 grit wet n dry paper on thick flat glass and figure 8 sand or grind the base of the pump body flat, using double sided tape and some wet n dry 400 grit fixed to the mando body the bridge can be pulled back and forward in 1/2" movements very straight and even to "seat " the bridge to the sound board in the proper intonated position,rather than give a luthier cash to do the same thing,as the cost would probably be more than the mandolins value and you get to hone your own luthier skills and feel good about it,unless you screw it up and make a scrap bridge,but i think the bridge is easy to replace and pretty cheap for a good lesson on how to get better tonal contact. I want an electro-accoustic to play some led zeppelin.

You're back man!!! What a great analysis. Thank you Baron!

I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between the Kentucky and the Ellis. They both sound great.

I personally enjoyed listening to the Kentucky mandolin. Loved it’s rich sounding acoustics.🎵🎶🎵

See the Dan Erlewine video about getting the bridge to meet the body better. Basically tape a sheet of sandpaper on the body where the bridge sits, sand the bridge on it until it matches the contour, it is easy.

20 year sound engineer here. Massive difference between all three. However, you make a 50 dollar mando sing brother.

Thanks for the video. I'm looking to buy one , but I don't want basic one . This video helps, thanks 👍😊

I had a Kentucky and learned on it for several years. Eventually it needed to be refretted and I decided it wasn't worth the expense.

I have the Rogue version which I'm learning to play on. Thanks for demonstrating that it's at least ok.

Amazing how they all sound very similar. I actually like the sound of the 50 dollar one a lot.

I had an import F5 style with no name. A friend of mine really wanted it. I gave it to him and I still regret it. I replaced it with an Ibanez F5 style that cost $450 bucks. My girl bought it for me as a Valentine's Day thing. It is very very nice. I play it for recording and on stage. I play guitar mostly but banjo and Mandolin are of interest too. I started playing Mandolin when I got my fathers 1941 Gibson. That was stolen with several guitars about 7 years ago. Good video

The Ellis was the best by far, whether it's worth the extra cost or not is up to each person

I have a Fender with a flourishy top. My eye went right to it, and I couldn't let it go. It was a couple hundred dollars off. I have a lot to learn, but it feels so right in my hands, and I've finished writing two songs with it. I look forward to learning from you.

I bought the Rogue online from Musician’s Friend and learned to play it before ever touching another brand. It arrived in good condition. Later I tried a Mandolin going for several hundred dollars at a music store (the only mandolin the store had). It was not the slightest bit superior to the Rogue in any respect that I could tell. Then I went to a shop a that specializes in folk instruments and had lots of mandolins. I tried two of their least expensive, about $600, if I remember right. They sounded and felt just a little better than the Rogue, but they looked much better. In fact I loved how they looked. If I had money to burn I would have bought one just for looks, but I don’t have money to burn. I’m a professional musician, but I don’t play the mandolin professionally and probably never will.

You could probably get that bridge pretty close with some sandpaper laid sandy side up along the top and under the bridge. move bridge square to the top and up and down the center line of top, removing un needed material till it fits. Touch up bottom of bridge with a razor blade scraper. Could even probably get a better bridge fairly cheap on Ebay or Amazon. Then set it up proper.

I had the $50 dollar one and I liked it but no truss rod. It really needed an adjustment

I bought a mandolin for 60 dollar's Canadian a few day's ago and I don't regret it, it is making a buzzing noise occasionally but I think I can fix that. Funny thing is, it look's identical to the first one in the video other than the color in the center is red. The tail piece is the identical engraved one, The pick guard has the same bar holding it in place, it's basically 1 to 1 other than the color and the brand, mine's New York Pro.

for $4500 I hope Tom calls just to chat every once in a while

Love this video! I already play the violin and piano. I got a Goodwill guitar to play with a little, but it's huge and awkward after the violin. My nephew suggested the mandolin. It sounds like a good choice because I listened to several classical pieces I've played on the mandolin and I liked it

Nice one Baron. Cool to see the pedal steel set up too! Dargby's next Wed! Maybe see you at the Sunday session? To others: I have heard all these mandolins in person. Take my word, the Ellis sounds amazing. The recordings are great but you gotta be there.

I was in Calgary for a couple of weeks and left my mandolin at home in Ontario. I bought a Rogue at a Calgary music store to play while I was there. It wasn't great, but I strung it as a high strung (octave courses on the G and D) and had some fun playing jug band tunes. I gave it to a fiddle playing friend who thought he might like to try mandolin.

preferred the cheapest one. it you drop it you dont begin to cry.

Ive got a a mandolin handed to me from my grandfather when he passed away...it says Levin on the neck and the pamphlet inside the case mentioned aristokrat which must me the model and i think its from the 40's im not sure...never heard of this manufacturer though but it looks unplayed...got a music shop to replace the strings, i like it having it on display despite i cant play, looks really pretty! Oh well gonna try to learn to play but im not holding my breath haha!

I wanna kno how to play that so bad.. that is so good man.. this is a great video...

Glad I found you bro. I’ve been looking for some more tips and lessons here on You Tube and I can attest that the Rogue is fine for kindling but a killer of desire where learning to play the mandolin is the goal. I’m already a multi-instrumentalist (guitar and bass guitar almost 40 years on each and about 10-15 years on the banjo, ukulele and mandolin along with lesser time on drums, keys and harmonica and the Oud), so I figured out that the Rogue was going to be my learning how to work on a mandolin. I bought an Epiphone F-style and could not be happier...except I know one gets what they pay for...so now I’m looking at the $3,000-$5,000 range of mandolins but I need to get better as a player to justify the cash outlay and that’s why I’m glad I found you. BTW, I can attest to your assessments and advice here as being 100% the truth and conceptually applicable to most any instrument.

the sound quality of the Ellis clearly surpasses the other 2. that said I'll be considering the rogue for my first. if I play it for a few years maybe I can justify the expense of something more finely built.

You were teasing me, about to play so many times but then you didn’t! 😂 I had to go to comments to get the times you actually were playing. But for us to compare it would’ve been nicer to play all 3 one after the other and then spoke about them.

Thanks. Helpful video. Pay no attention to the haters.

I have the Rouge, my mother has an epiphone, sister has a Gibson. The rover has the highest action and makes it harder to play crisp notes as a beginner. The Gibson has a more mellow sound than mom's epiphone. Something people need to keep in mind is you are a professional and therefore can make all of them sound good. That doesn't mean they are easy to learn on. (Talking about Rouge) I can hear the quality difference in each of yours and it's clear to see who is the winner in that bunch.

I can say for a fact that I thought my early 80's Japanese made Kentucky was a great mandolin until I bought a Gibson made in the 20's. There is ABSOLUTELY no comparison. Compared to the deep, complex lower tones and bright resonant highs of the Gibson, the Kentucky is not even close.

Great job , I didn't know a mandolin sound so good, think I'll go buy one👍.

The sound differences don't really come through on RU-vid videos, especially listened to through computer speakers. The differences are much more obvious in person. Also, besides sound, feel is important.

I was given a Vangoa mandolin for my birthday (I have been a guitarist for decades); it looks like a clone of your rogue. The action was too high and the bridge was a low as it would go. I took the top part of the bridge off (after measuring the setup) and shaved off 2mm from the underside. I checked the hole depth and discovered that there about 3mm of space below the pins, so I screwed the pins all the way in. After re-assembly the action is much better

The Kentucky and the Ellis sound very similar

MandoLessons: This is the way

My impression is, the more expensive it gets, the more it sounds like a guitar.

Surprisingly I like the rogue more than all the others !

The Rogue mandolin would be heat pressed to make the hump on the soundboard, under the bridge, rather than being machine or hand carved. A heat pressed top may collapse with changes in humidity. (This happened to me!) More expensive models are (hand) carved and they will not collapse. The soundboard on the Rogue is laminated, rather than solid wood and has a tinny sound because the wood doesn't vibrate freely. That affects the volume, how loud it is, as well as the quality in tone. It also has no truss rod. I find I have to set up my mandolin every time I change the strings, since the bridge will inevitably move from its proper place. as I change the strings. Different gauge strings will require a change in action, or height of the strings. Those adjustments are easy to make and it is best to know how to do them, rather than expect someone to do it for you.

it is not all that difficult to shape the bottom of the bridge exactly to the arch of the top . Take the bridge off , lightly marking its location with something that can wipe off such as a graphite pencil . get yourself some adhesive sand paper , stick it to the top, grit up ( of course ) exactly where the bridge will be located . Mark the bottom of the bridge with some scribbly pencil lines , then rub the bottom of the bridge lightly back and forth on the sandpaper stuck to the top , being care full to hold it perpendicular with the top , until all your pencil lines ( scribbles ) have vanished . You now have a perfectly fitted bridge , which should greatly improve the tone and response !

The difference is extremely apparent if you know what to listen for. You can hear each instrument's wholeness increase.

Just bought a Rogue 100A electric model. The fit and finish were top notch. There were tuning and tuner review complaints about this model as well as the strings being cheap. I found none of those and the instrument played and sounded very nice. Still, I did find the bridge issue he mentions in the video. Although not a real big issue to me, there are cheap fixes to that. Bridges are not permanently affixed to mandolins. They are like banjo bridges. They simply sit atop the body of the instrument held in place by the string tensions. Sanding both sides of these light wood bridges is a piece of cake for anyone that is at the very least not all thumbs. And if sanding down the bridge edges is not an undertaking some would want to assume, new replacement bridges are cheap in price and can be purchased at entire price ranges from cheap to expensive, with expensive even still very financially doable. As for installation, again, if you are someone who has basic string instrument understandings, it's not difficult and with a good ear, one does not need to bring the mandolin in to a luthier for it to be installed. ALL very cheap, cheap and easy choices. As for the cheap strings, which I really don't have any issues with, again, this is a cheap fix with a run to the music store or purchase on line. NOT a big deal. At all. Another cheap and quick setup to make the instrument sound better is placing small rubber o-rings behind the bridge between each matching set of strings which completely eliminates an ever so slight after strum tinny sound that can be found in many mandolins, including some expensive models. Some models have this rubber buffer set up already built in to the instrument tailpiece, but for those that do not have that, the rubber o-rings perfectly and cheaply solved this issue as well. And for those that want to step up this improvement, there are many aftermarket tail pieces that can be purchased that already have this set up built in and AGAIN, financially, it is NOT an expensive or prohibitive solution to a problem. Just takes a very little bit of time, patience and love for the instrument to complete. Installing a tone guard to the back of the mandolin and an arm rest to the rear, again, both cheaper alternatives for a fuller sounding instrument being obtained from a financially less expensive stringed instrument and accessories that virtually do not come with this instrument and which can be kept when going from one model to another all greatly improve and bring much closer their sounds to comparable high end instruments ranging in the cost of thousands of dollars. My mandolin, electric, was purchased on sale through Musician's Friend at $130 out the door. The accessories added for the tone guard, arm rest and nice leather strap came in at $130 as well, but remember, these are accessories that virtually no mandolins come with. They can be used from instrument to instrument in the future, so I should not hear anyone complaining that I spent as much in accessories as the instrument itself. If I wanted a new bridge, rather than sanding the existing bridge down for a financial cost of zero sans my time and piece of sandpaper, et, el to do the job, replace the strings and purchase a new tail piece instead of using o-rings lying around and free or, God Forbid purchasing a set at Menard's for 80 cents, I would have an additional breakdown of parts at tail piece ($15), strings ($15) and bridge ($30) for an approximate cost of $60. Yes, these parts also go way up and down in range from what I've listed, but my selections are products found that are considerably above the quality of the OEM parts but not up to the high end products. Middle to middle higher end products from the standard OEM parts. So for a total investment in everything of $320 I will wager that the Rogue I purchased will hold up for as long as I wish it to and will have a comparable if not equal sound to those instruments in the thousands of dollars. Any wage takers here so to speak? One last thing I forgot to mention. I have luthier tools for my guitars. I am NOT a luthier by any stretch of imagination, but I am handy and mechanically skilled, but in my quip of luthier tools, I have spongy sanding blocks of all gauges and as with all my guitars, I nicely rounded the fret edges top and bottoms and used a special fretboard cleaner and wood treatment accessory to refine the frets. The fret tops needed no attention as they too came from the factory fine and nicely set. The frets came from the factory pretty much almost perfect, but it is just a practice of mine and I do this procedure with all of my stringed instruments, some requiring more and others less attention. I also have gauge tools which allow me to check fret placements, neck alignments, string heights, bridge adjustments, fine tuning of bridges and nut grooves (can use mandolin strings of appropriate gauges the same as a filer tool) and other various odd and end tuning tools all available on line. And should I eventually decide to change out the few other parts mentioned above, I can tell you that if a blindfolded person were to finger play this fretboard and play the mandolin, they would not be able to tell the difference between the Rogue and an $8k Gibson. That's my take on it and I'm sticking to it.