Hal Leonard Mandolin Starter Pack

Most Liked Positive Review

Great Product for the Price and for Beginners

I have never played a stringed instrument before, so this mandolin is my first. I think it's a great product for it's price and for a beginner. The mandolin is nothing fancy, but it's perfect for learning on. Some of the tuning pegs were a little hard to turn at first, but they've started turning easier now that they are being used. Overall the mandolin has a good sound. I do like that this package comes with a scale and chord finder book, as well as an instructional dvd and a music book. The only thing that I wish was a little different is that the music book has just a little bit of TAB, while the majority of the book is written in standard music notation. As a beginner, it's much easier to read mandolin TAB, but I'll be using this music book more once I learn how to play the mandolin a little bit better and want to start practicing reading standard music. I do thing it would be a valuable skill to have. For now I have other beginner mandolin books written in both TAB and standard music notation. This kit does have the majority of things you need to start playing, but it should be noted, it does not come with picks, and it is more convenient to play if you buy a music stand to hold your sheet music. It's nice that it comes with a case, so I can take it with me to places. It was a long wait for my item to be shipped. I did order it knowing it was on back order. I ordered it on 10/3, and their website said the item would be in stock on 10/12. About a week after 10/12 my item had still not shipped. I contacted customer service, whom was really helpful, and changed my shipping method to 2 day delivery, that way when the item did finally ship I wouldn't have to wait yet another week or two for it to arrive. It shipped the day after I had contacted customer service and I got it a few days later.