Warning: Geeky post. But I’ve included a lot of links so ya might learn somethin’.

I haven’t owned my Washburn mandolin for very long, but I’m having so much fun playing it that I decided to get something a little nicer — particularly after I changed the strings for the first time and found the body already was caving in a bit behind the bridge. After a couple of failed shots on Craigslist, I picked up a used Michael Kelly A-Solid for $200 from Music-Go-Round, a chain of stores that specializes in used instruments.

The Kelly is a well-respected mandolin, made of solid spruce and mahogany, with high-quality tuners and a cast metal tailpiece. The Washburn mando, on the other hand, is made from laminates, has cheap tuners that vary widely in their touch response and uses a thinner, stamped metal tailpiece. But the Kelly also has a smaller and shallower body than the Washburn, which is louder and brighter-sounding. The Kelly does have some other features that come with a better mando, specifically bigger frets and a neck truss rod. I’d estimate it weighs 50 percent more than the Washburn mando, thanks to the solid wood and truss rod.

But the Kelly was a bit of a hot mess when it arrived in the mail, and I almost sent it back. The nut, which appeared to be a replacement, was peeling away from the body. The bridge was crazy-high, in part to compensate for the weirdness of the nut. And the mando overall was covered with smudges, even though it has a satin finish that doesn’t show fingerprints as well as the traditional gloss finish. But there were no signs of damage and the neck was straight — even though one look at the truss rod cover plate made it clear someone had been playing there as well.

It’s taken a few days, but I’ve fixed the problems one by one. The nut took a bit of work, as I had to chip it off the mando and then grind the center with a Dremel tool so it would fit around the end of the truss rod. This allowed the nut to lay flat in its slot, fixing its tendency to pull away from the body. I then glued it back in place. It works and the overall action is OK, but it was set up badly when it was installed (the grooves on the G and D strings are cut too deeply) and I’m still having to overcompensate by setting the bridge rather high. I’ll eventually replace it. (Side note: This is a bone nut. I realized that when I began grinding it and got that unmistakable smell that I’ve noticed when the dentist is drilling out a cavity.)

I also worked over the entire mando with a bit of lemon oil, which took care of the dirt and smudges and really brought the subtleties of the finish. The intonation is still a bit off, but I’ll fix that in the next day or two.

The result is a nice, solid, playable, easy-to-resell mando at a bargain price. Can’t beat that.