Ibanez M510 - Dark Violin Sunburst High Gloss

This is my first mandolin so I am by no means an expert, but it is a beauty. Flawless finish, the neck is nice and flat, and after resetting the location of the bridge it intonated perfectly. One thing that I will say though is that the piece of foam that they put under the bridge is going to be a pain for someone that doesnt know how to set up a stringed instrument. You have to loosen the strings so much to remove that piece of foam, the bridge is going to move and you will have to reset it. I've heard people complain about the strings that Ibanez puts on these msndolins but they seemed fine to me. After playing it for a day I learned a few songs and was feeling pretty confident so replaced them with some DiDarrio midweight strings. They do sound better but they are too heavy for me. Takes a whole lot more pressure to push down strings on the first fret. Immediately ordered a set of lightweight strings for it. Can't wait to get them so I can get back to really enjoying my new mandolin!

This is my first mandolin, and as long time guitarists I had no idea how to play this instrument. When I got it the string were rusty and the instrument itself had a little dust on it. So I can assume it was it was stored for a long time time before it was sold to me. The instrument itself is incredible for the price, with just a little setup which is expected from a new instrument, with new string and a short setup this mandolin plays like a dream and its sound is loud and vibrant. For such a cheap instrument you get a bang for your buck and a beautiful mandolin that won't let you down or go out of tune at all. Anybody who is thinking of learning the mandolin, and about to choose which one to buy, should get this one.

My experience was consistent with other reviews in that it badly needed to be setup, but once put in order, really fun and great sounding instrument. Setup: Arrived sounding terrible, stock strings really bad and the tailpiece top part was installed incorrectly so the strings were buzzing against it. Was extremely difficult and painful to remove the tailpiece plate for restringing. Bridge was not even remotely fit to the top. Fretboard was dry as a bone and grey looking. There was also a chip / splinter high up in the fretboard that was disappointing but ultimately not a big deal. One pleasant surprise was the nut was fit very nicely, which is rare. No filing was needed (YMMV!) After new strings, sanding the bridge to fit, and a little mineral oil on the fretboard, all was well. Not to spec: Ibanez lists this as a wide nut, and it was absolutely not wide. Narrow traditional nut. Gloss finish unlike photos here. Frets: Smallest, shortest frets I’ve ever seen. Very traditional mandolin frets. Considerably smaller than my Eastman (known for small frets), by comparison. I think smaller than the photos. Not an issue for me but for this reason alone upgrading to a Loar (larger frets) for a beginner might be a good idea, especially if the player is a child and/or doesn’t have a lot of experience with fretted instruments. Now the good news. The instrument is beautiful and sounds shockingly good once setup properly. Loud, bold, dry classic mandolin tone. I couldn’t believe how good the tone was considering the price. Conclusion: Good value, great sounding instrument, but you better feel comfortable setting up a mandolin. I can’t recommend for a child or beginner due to the tiny frets. I also suspect that you won’t really know what you’re getting until it shows up at your door, since it wasn’t even close to spec on multiple fronts. You may receive a totally different instrument than what I got. Great beater / 2nd mando / campfire instrument for non-beginner or entry for a more seasoned fretted instrument player venturing into mando on a budget.

This is a fantastic mandolin for a beginner. I’ve played the guitar and other string instruments for almost 20 years but I’ve just started to take up the mandolin. The build quality is excellent. Tone is good. Initial setup is required, so if you don’t know how you’ll need to do some research or take it into a music shop. I only really had to look up videos about bridge placement— the action was fairly well set, and I haven’t had any intonation problems after my setup. The tuners feel solid and hold correct pitch without much issue. I was set up and playing fiddle tunes in barely any time at all. It’s a fairly no-frills basic A-style mandolin, but I was impressed at the instrument I got for the price I paid.

This mandolin is a great value for the money! Only thing is you have to set the intonation (bridge position) and you have to set the bridge height (action) or you have to take it to a Luther. This is not unusual as I have bought mandolins for twice the price and still had to set them up. After that this is a solid mandolin. It is beautifully finished with no visible flaws. Its laminated woods lack the tone and projection of solid carved mandolins but for a student or intermediate player on a budget I highly recommend it.

Rcvd the mando quickly and packed ok. It is a little less than what I was hoping for. I have had an Ibanez acoustic guitar that I bought new in 1981 that was flawless and still is. Was hoping this would be the same. The finish is not as pictured and on the face of this one are imperfections under the gloss coat. (Looks like violin matte finish in the pics) The pick guard is mounted poorly. I removed it. Looks like the bridge base was cut with a dull chainsaw and it is too thin. There were only 2 small spots that made contact with the face and they marred the gloss finish that ain't supposed to be there. Having said all of this, after spending some time doing some setup work on this thing it sounds good and plays nicely. Even with the strings that came on it. About what you can expect for the money. I'll keep it. If you are a beginner, it will work.

The item came sooner than expected! What a lovely little mandolin, great quality, tuned it out of the box, I'm looking so forward to learning mandolin on this great little instrument!!!

I bought this as a starter mandolin, having never played before. It was easy enough to set up, and has a nice, full tone, as far as I can tell. I'm basically in love with it, but that might be the zeal of the converted talking. I don't have anything to compare it to, but I haven't found any problems at all :)

Nice instrument, won't break the bank, Showed up with strings that were rusted, so take that into account and buy a fresh set of strings.