Kentucky, 8-String Mandolin (KM-950)

I love this instrument. It has great craftsmanship, an excellent finish, the tuners are not difficult to turn, and most importantly of all the KM-950 has a nice warm sound to it.

These are great mandolins, but don't expect to take this out of the box and play it right away. The bridge comes unattached and will need to be fitted to the top. If you don't mind setting it up yourself then buy it here. The price I paid was well below what any dealer could offer me (price was $801 plus an additional 10 % off). But I had to take it to be set up and there is no case. I thought these came with a case from the manufacturer but Amazon seems to have joined Guitar Center in the no case ploy on pricing).

I own a Kentucky KM 950 and find it to be as quality an instrument as many high end maker’s offerings, including: Pava, Weber, Collings and others I have owned and played. It has a great comfortable neck to play on due to its shape, the 1-1/8” nut width and the larger radiused fretboard. The hardware includes excellent tuners, which are silvered to match the tailpiece. It holds to pitch quite well! The fit and finish matches anything on the market today. A great feature is the scooped fretboard extension, which makes playing in the sweet spot free of pick click. The wonderful dry, woody bark of this instruments lends itself well to bluegrass and traditional fiddle tunes. I recommend the mandolins Kentucky builds in their master level series! You won’t be sorry, but you will be proud to own and perform with a KM 950.

I purchased this Mandolin as an upgrade to an old Kentucky I have had for years. Wow is this a nice instrument!

I own two Kentucky mandolins: a KM-505 (A-style), that I bought new, and an old KM-650 (F-style)that had been played down to a nub. I bought the 505 as my first good mandolin, and I had the 650 re-refretted, a new tailpiece, and new strings put on. I love both of them. I trust Kentucky quality and sound. They are great for the price range.The other commenter is correct: if you buy online, expect to spend more to get your mandolin setup professionaly, if you don't know how to do it yourself. It is well worth it. The luthier I use charges $75 to set up a mandolin.