Rogue Mandolin Instrument Review
The Rogue mandolin is a laminated instrument -- it's mostly plywood with a thin piece of decent wood on top -- but it puts out a decent tone. With effort, you can compete with electric guitars or banjos, but Rogue mandolins are best played solo or in small acoustic settings.
The finish on the mandolin is usually good, with minor flaws, if any. Look for light scratches or bubbles in the lacquer, two of the more common problems. They are nothing to worry about, affecting neither tone nor volume, but finishing problems don't help the mandolin's appearance. Two finishes, sunburst and black, are available at most stores.
The neck is straight and sturdy, but if it starts to bow, there is no truss rod to bring it back into place. At such a low price, a truss rod is infeasible, but the mandolin may eventually become unplayable from neck warpage.
Before the mandolin is playable, it needs to be set up by a luthier or a knowledgeable friend. Nearly every instrument has a nut set too high, a misplaced bridge and shoddy tuners. Once a professional luthier works out these problems it's a great value, even if you pay as much for the setup as for the mandolin itself.
Be sure the store you're buying from has a return policy. Rogue mandolins sometimes have problems beyond the scope of a simple tune-up -- it's inevitable with instruments produced at such low cost. Mine would not tune properly on the high E string, either slipping out of tune or breaking after a very slow tuning. Fortunately I was able to return it for one that tuned to pitch properly.
Finally, it's a good idea to replace the bridge. It's not the standard ebony bridge, let alone a specialty maple bridge, and a cheap bridge reduces volume and tone. An ebony bridge from Elderly Instruments is cheap and effective, if you want to replace it yourself, or you can take it to a luthier and have the replacement done there. Unfortunately the tuners are non-standard and are difficult or impossible to replace.
They won't be heirloom instruments, but Rogue mandolins are a cheap, easy way to start learning mandolin.
Published by Stephen Skipp
Stephen Skipp's writing has appeared in a number of print and online sources, including the Lancaster New Era, and the Lake Superior Voice, the Lancaster Live Wire student newspaper, and the Voices student... View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentI also have the Rogue 101A Mandolin, I am sort of confused about this hole at the bottom of the body, it appears that it could be for a cable jack but have not been able to find or determine whether the 101A mandolin came as a electric/acoustic or not and if not what in the world is the hole for?
I this mandolin and the only thing is the price. People can't understand the $50.00 price tag.I need to show the invoice. I have top of the line banjos and guitars. The Rogue fits in next to my Martin D28.
Do you think I love it?
My 13 yr old daughter got me the Rogue $50 mandolin for Christmas and I'm loving it. Evidently muscians friend has had problems with new owners setting them up and begin doing it themselves because all I did is get online to learn how to tune it and started playing. "Amazing Grace" is the 1st song I learned (in a couple minutes) and now I'm working on Led Zeppelins "The Battle of Evermore". I recommend it for anyone.
Rogue Owner, I couldn't have said it better myself!
To change strings on this mandolin you just pop the top off of the tailpiece to expose the string hooks. The tailpiece top comes off and goes back on easily.
Hey i also bought this mandolin for $50 on musicians friend but i ran into a problem with it at the end of the strings near the tailpiece it doesnt expose the part where the string can be taken out so i dont know how to change my strings if u could help me that would be great just send me a message through my email and that would be great Lindy12501250@Aim.com
I have one of these ($25 from Musician's Friend), and was going to write a review on it, but it looks like ya beat me to the punch (and prolly did a way better job than I ever could!) It ain't great (I had to send my first one back, because the Rhodes Scholar who packed it just thew it in a huge box with no styrofoam peanuts), but I love mine. There is a rattle in mine that would irritate most players, but I dig the slightly distorted tone it makes! It definitely has a very etheral sound that I love to hear when I take it on my hikes up House Mountain. NOTHIN' beats hearin' that sound while atop a 1,200 foot view! Nice work!
I love the sound of a mandolin
What I like best about your articles is that they are not only informative, but they truly give insight into things that are completely new to me. I went from knowing nothing to knowing a lot about the Rogue mandolin in a few paragraphs. Moreover, your honesty (as opposed to single-minded support/rejection) really shows you know what you're talking about. This is definitely the kind of mandolin I'd get for a cousin or nephew just starting out!!