The Washburn M1SDL A-style mandolin offers a modern look and quality craftsmanship that has made Washburn a household name. The mandolin is built on the popular A-style platform-a classic acoustic folk design producing deep, powerful attack. It starts with a solid spruce top for warm, balanced tone right out of the box. The arched back and sides are maple, offering beauty and performance.
The bound rosewood fingerboard promotes warm sustain, while the A-style design and the oval soundhole produces and full tone and projection-ideal for soloing and rhythm in barn-burnin' bluegrass or folk settings. A striking white binding outlines the teardrop body and gold tuning machines offer precise tuning in a modern appearance. The Washburn M1SDL A-style mandolin comes out of the box ready to jam. Thanks to Washburn's careful handmade craftsmanship, this 8-string bluegrass standard will compliment any string band outfit, from parking lot jams to center stage. Case sold separately.
A-style body design
Solid spruce top
Maple sides
Arched maple back
Oval soundhole
Bound rosewood fingerboard
Florentine headstock
Pearl dot inlays
Rosewood bridge
Black/white pickguard
Gold tuners and hardware
Case sold separately
SPECIFICATIONS
M1SDL A-Style Mandolin
20 frets
13-3/4" scale
Nut width: 1.13"
Stained/buffed gloss finish
Custom Guitar's Friend Gold Coverage
Gold Coverage goes above and beyond the manufacturer's warranty to protect your gear from unexpected breakdowns, accidental damage from handling
and failures. This plan covers your product for one, two, three or up to five years from your date of purchase, costs just pennies per day and gives you a
complete "no-worry" solution for protecting your investment.
Gold Coverage Includes:
Unexpected and unintentional spills, drops and cracks
Normal wear and tear
Power surges
Dust, internal heat and humidity
Other plan features include:
For products over $200, No Lemon Policy applies. If it fails for the same defect 3 times, it is replaced on the 4th breakdown. (Does not apply to failures due to drops, spills, and cracks)
For products under $200 experiencing the above failures, a Custom Guitar's Friend gift card will be issued for the full price of the product + tax.
Shipping fees covered if required for repair or replacement
Plans are transferable in the event merchandise is sold
Plans are renewable on new gear
*Limitations and exclusions apply. See terms and conditions for program details
Term for New Gear begins on date of purchase but does not replace the store return policy or manufacturer coverage.
Displaying reviews 1-10
Back to top
PreviousNext »
lets say i was a little more excited about this product with the picture than when i received it.
1st off, i'am not a novice of string instruments,
and have frequented stages as a performer, for last 27yrs as a guitar player. from the 8 pieces i've ordered from musicians friend, this was the most trying. at most i've been a very happy camper BUT, if you have no pior understanding of this instrument and without pior knollege about getting it in a unplayable condition, you'll most likely be as disapointed as i was. these madolins come to you without any inspection from mfg, i found the bridge floating around in box, and forget about any instructions, or info, as to how to set bridge, tune, or set up. my friends / musician friend, nor their techs couldn't advise either .
needless to say, after several calls around town and trips to several locations pricing tech set up cost and bridge repair , i found a tech with time to do it and reasonable price, (my out of pocket cost).
now i can truely say i've got a mandolin.
this little mandolin now rings like a bell, and finish and detail is beautiful. i know some will say that i needed to spend more to get quality, but i did pick mid range, and i would have exspect from musicians friend to advise you of conditions, that you would have to spend a quarter of the price to get it playable.
Washburn M1SDL A-Style Mandolin Transparent Blue
.I wanted an oval hole mando but I'm still learning the instrument and already have a decent F-style, so I didn't want to spend a bunch of money. This one had a lot of positive reviews and went on sale, so I took a shot.
It's a tremendous value. It has that 'tubby' tone associated with oval hole mandos and once I put my preferred strings on it, it was fairly loud. It's pretty, too. Action was terrific right out of the box, although the intonation had to be adjusted (and that's not something everyone can do, although it's not terribly hard).
It has a solid, pressed (not carved, but whaddyawant at this price point?) top and ply sides and back. Construction quality seems very good and the mando is genuinely pretty, although I did find a very small finish flaw (and didn't care). Top looked to be of a lower grade spruce -- but again, that's a probably function of price and shouldn't affect performance much, if at all.
The price shows up in a few other places: Frets are very thin -- but function perfectly fine. Tuners are cheap-looking but actually work quite well! Bridge is rosewood and also of very basic quality, as is the very thin tailpiece. Everything worked without much hassle, though, so again it's hard to complain at this price point. I'll probably swap out the bridge and call it a day.
This would be a great beginner or 'campfire' mandolin unless you really want that piercing bluegrass 'chop' and shorter sustain that comes with f-hole mandolins. Ovals have a warmer, more balanced tone with a lot more sustain. This one hits that target nicely at a great price even when it's not on sale! It's hard for me to imagine getting a better bang-for-buck mando.
Washburn M1SDL A-Style Mandolin Transparent Blue
.I am very happy with my new mando, the missing paint is not noticeable,and a small flaw can
replace the effect of a first scratch.For the first time buyer, the absent set-up instructions could
be a real problem.I would suggest having a new set of strings on hand and to put them on at the
very beginning.
Once set-up is finished, this little beauty really sings.
a beautiful instrument. bridge set-up instructions would be nice.
overall good. missing some paint on inside curl of headstock, needed to make an
adjustment to pick guard which required removal and cutting.
the stock strings were way to heavy.
solid and nice.
Washburn M1SDL A-Style Mandolin Transparent Blue
.Overall this is a great instrument for a beginner. Not great tone or quality but good enough to practice and play for someone with little experience. It is absolutely beautiful and my niece loves it. Now on to practicing!
Washburn M1SDL A-Style Mandolin Transparent Blue
.Picked up this beginner mando as a restock - great price and wow was it worth it! Came boxed up reasonably well, strung, but the bridge not set so I set it up myself. Downloaded a chord chart and bam - we have a new sound in the jam group. Maybe not the right instrument for pro's, but if you're looking for a practice instrument or a beginner mandolin, you could hardly do better.
Washburn M1SDL A-Style Mandolin Transparent Blue
.Great piece for the money. Good sound, good intonation, looks good.
Washburn M1SDL A-Style Mandolin Transparent Blue
.I bought this used ( level 2) from Custom Guitar's Friend to save a few bucks. It was reported to have scratches but I could not find any. ( All used gear I have purchased here so far has been fine.) I decided on this brand / model because I liked the styling, the maple sides and back were unique and give it a nice clean clear tone, plus I dig the blue translucent finish. I had to take mine to have it professionaly set up due to fret buzz no matter what I did to it and the pro told me had to redress the frets to fix it. You will need new strings at the very least ; I put D'Addario 11's on it and it sounds great now. This is my first Washburn anything and research shows this name brand has been bounced around a bit and like most things this is made in China. The tunners are kind of cheesy but it seems to stay in tune but not great quality there on the hardware. If you have a few more bucks maybe hold out for one that does electric too if you are in to that. All in all I do not regret the purchase and Led Zep sounds really cool on it. Get the Custom Guitars Gear case on this site as is a steal at around 40.00.
Washburn M1SDL A-Style Mandolin Transparent Blue
.Nice mandolin for the money. Has good sound and easy fingering. Thumbs up.
Washburn M1SDL A-Style Mandolin Transparent Blue
.I chose the Washburn A-style Mandolin because I own other Washburn instruments and they are the best built, best sounding instruments I own. I own a lot of different brand instruments. I am very pleased with this mandolin. It required a little bit of setup but was very easy to do. Thanks Washburn for such a beautiful instrument. Thanks Custom Guitars Friend for the great price and prompt shipping.
Washburn M1SDL A-Style Mandolin Transparent Blue
.New to the mandolin but strings experience 40+ years. Bought this as a restock for a great value... The Washburn arrived flawless, solidly constructed with really nice finish. Tuning pegs and hardware look suspect but reality is this instrument sounded great and really holds tuning very well during extensive play. Only possible downside is bridge installation upon arrival so be prepared. Highly recommend as a quality starter for learning mandolin.
Washburn M1SDL A-Style Mandolin Transparent Blue
.