Kentucky, 8-String Mandolin, Transparent Amber (KM-272)

When my wife saw me looking at ukuleles on-line, she said that if was going to buy another instrument, she would like a mandolin. Since I really don’t need another ukulele (does anyone need more than eight? – that’s rhetorical – of course they do), I took that as permission to acquire a mandolin. Not wanting to spend a ton of money on an instrument that neither of us was sure we would play much, I proceeded to do my usual exhaustive research.I didn’t want to go with a really cheap instrument because I know they can be more trouble than they are worth. I decided to purchase an Ibanez model that seemed to hit the sweet spot between price and performance. When it arrived there was a small problem with it and I had to return it. In a way that was fortunate because my wife didn’t care for how it looked and I wasn’t impressed with it either, though I am sure it would have been adequate for our use. I didn’t want to go cheaper, so I figured I would bite the bullet and upgrade to what I considered to be a better mandolin. Thus this Kentucky KM-270.The first impression was that this was a very nice mandolin. For the price, I expected it to be. I could not find any construction flaws and the finish was great. The fretboard was straight and the frets were fine with a good action. The bridge came set correctly, including intonation. I didn’t need to do any set-up. The only issue was that the strings were obviously corroded. I am sure this was from sitting around in a box for some time. I had purchased a set of strings “just in case” and got to use them sooner than I expected. I got to know the mandolin by doing a complete restringing.This mandolin sounds much better than I will probably ever be able to play it, and it certainly will satisfy my wife’s desire to have something to “play around with.” I really like the oval sound hole as compared to the f-hole models. It has a nice mellow sound that is appropriate for the type of playing that my wife and I do. We are not into bluegrass, being rather inclined to folk and Celtic music.I was considering buying a gig bag that had the Kentucky logo on it, but wanted to wait until I got the mandolin. It’s a good thing I did, because it came with the gig bag, and it’s a very nice one. Very heavy duty, though the accessory pocket could be a bit more voluminous. Still, it’s big enough to get a tuner, a sling and a wiping rag into.For the money, in spite of costing more than what I had originally wanted to spend, I think this mandolin is worth it. It sounds good and looks good, and is all the mandolin I will ever need.

I selected the Kentucky KM 272 due to the solid wood top, sides and back, and the radius fretboard. It arrived today and the set-up was great. No need to adjust the truss rod, or the bridge for the intonation. Also, the bridge was fitted to the sound board properly, no need for it to be adjusted either. Right out of the box, all I had to do was tune the strings. What a relief. The mandolin is great, with beautiful maple figuring on the back. Totally satisfied. I've also bought a Sega Cremona SV-500 Violin. Pretty much the same great experience. I'm very thankful for Sega to produce these quality instruments at entry level pricing.

Though I also have a higher end model, this Kentucky KM- 272 is without question, both the best looking and playing model I have found for the money. It plays really well and has a powerful sound too.

I love this mandolin. The sound is sweet and it is beautiful. The amber finish looks great, the inlay is really nice, no defects or quality issues. It’s my first mandolin and learning was kind if slow until I realized the tuning is the same as a guitar, just flipped and with the high B and E removed, since then it’s been off to the races. Leather travel case is nice. I only gave it 4 stars for two reasons - one being that the little strap knob on the bottom is cheap plastic, is too wide and short (the strap I bought doesn’t really fit), and doesn’t really match the rest of the instrument in quality. Should be metal, but a small issue overall. The other issue is that I had to send one back to get a good one. I originally ordered the KM252 and it came looking awful - lots of scratches esp near the bridge, pick guard damaged, looked like it came from a showroom floor or had been returned a few times. So keep that in mind if you get one, you might have to send it back and try again.

This is a very decent mandolin. But beware that the bridge is not fitted. If you don't know how to fit the feet of a bridge, you'd better buy it at a brick and mortar store that does set-up.

The Kentucky KM-270 mandolin is a great sounding instrument. The first one I ordered I had to return back to Amazon because it had a few production flaws. (That one should have never gotten passed through quality control.) Amazon sent out another one and this one is a keeper! I am just a beginner on mandolin but I've been playing guitar 40+ years. I set the action and intonation myself and it sounds great! It is so addictive! If I pick it up for a few minutes I find that an hour or two has gone by! It has a great tone and I bought a Glarry case for it! This instrument is affordable and well made. You will not regret getting one!

The first Kentucky KM 270 had a crooked tail piece. The "E" side was much farther from the body than the "G" side. Not a huge deal, but too much for my OCD. So I returned it and got another one. The second one came with an intonation problem on the 2nd string. The second and third frets were extremely sharp, so A chords and D chords sounded horrible. My guess is that the slot in the nut may have needed to be cut a little deeper. Maybe I am supposed to have this done by a professional repair guy, but I expect the mandolin to arrive without this kind of problem. There were a lot of things I liked about both mandolins, but for me the problems were deal breakers.

This was a warehouse deal. There was only one thing wrong, the pick guard was broken off and needed to be reglued. Other than that, the mandolin was flawless. At about 60% off, it was an absolute steal. I took it to a local repair shop and they repaired the pick guard and did a professional setup on it. The mandolin sounds and looks fantastic, I couldn't be any happier.