WashburnAmericana M1-Pack with Gig Bag, Mandolin

Very nice instrument, beautiful, sounds great.

Amazing mandolin. The strings that come with it are cheap, though. I broke both of the E strings the first day I had it.If you're buying this mandolin, get some good strings as well. It's strung with medium-gauge strings. I bought some D'Addario EJ74's, and it sounds amazing. The new strings feel softer than the ones the mandolin came with.As far as whether it's for beginners, I couldn't say. The book it comes with has a lot of valuable information, but understandably isn't a full course in setup, music theory, and proper technique. Luckily YouTube exists.I've been playing guitar and other instruments for 24 years, so this mandolin is easy enough for me to play.Edit: While I still give this product a five-star rating for the mandolin alone, I will add that the strap is absolutely terrible. The packaging the strap comes in even reads that it is for guitar or bass (which are obviously much larger instruments). This makes the strap slightly too long; even at its shortest adjustable length.The strap also constantly falls off of the mandolin each time you pick it up, since the mandolin's strap buttons are so much smaller than that of a guitar or bass. I'm afraid it may one day fall off the button while playing; as I tend to lose myself and dance around when I'm in a jam (Luckily my hold on the mandolin is tight; should this happen).Another complaint with the strap is that it's too slippery. No matter if you tie the strap to the neck or head joint, the mandolin will ALWAYS rotate headstock-down when you're not holding it. ALWAYS. It will NOT maintain proper playing position on its own. This is a constant problem with nylon straps (NEVER buy nylon straps. They WILL rotate on you. You need some kind of friction/grip on a strap for your instrument to retain its position. They're cheap for a reason - they're terrible. I've been playing stringed instruments for 24 years. Please trust me, and save yourself from my past mistakes. A good strap may be SLIGHTLY more expensive, but it will save you from the possibility of giving up on the wonderful world of music when you're just starting out).To be fair, everything about this "package" is completely pointless except for the mandolin, gig bag, half of the music book, and the picks. The strings are cheap and break easily, the pitch pipe doesn't represent all of the strings, the strap is too long and slippery, and less than half of the music pocketbook is relevant).This edit of complaints being what it is, however, this mandolin is amazing for the price I paid. I consider every accessory included in this package to be free. And as much as these accessories may be kind of lackluster, they're okay for being essentially free. So I can't, in good conscience, subtract stars for uninspiring freebies.All of this being said; if you're looking for a great beginner mandolin, buy this one. But get yourself some strings and a better strap. The mandolin alone is honestly amazing for the price.

I got this mandolin because I wanted to learn to play. This is a good one as a starter. The package came without some of the small components and with the bridge detached. I called Washburn to let them know some of the parts were missing. They shipped them to me right away. The fellow I talked to also told me how and where to attach the bridge because there were no instructions included.I find this is a great starter mandolin. It's well made for something so inexpensive compared to others I've priced. Washburn is a good brand so this really didn't surprise me. I would say that if anyone is looking for a good starter kit this is the one to buy.

It's been 14 months since I purchased this mandolin, and I've been practicing/playing at least an hour a day since it arrived. When I received the mandolin, I spent several hours setting up the bridge and nut, following a set-up guide I found at Mandolin Cafe website, and was able to get it set up so it's easy to play, and sounding it's best.This mandolin is really nice, especially for the price! I work with many pro musicians, and several have played my mando and were surprised at how good it sounded and how easy it is to play. I highly recommend this product, and I strongly suggest you get it professionally set up (costs about $50-$100), or do it yourself for the best sound and the easiest playing experience.Be aware, ANY new mandolin needs to be set up properly, not just this one. All mandolins have bridges that are not connected to the mando, but are held on the mando by the tension of the strings, so don't get upset if your bridge is not glued or screwed to the mandolin! I also recommend that you install new, high quality strings while you are doing a set up...I used D'Addario EXP74 Coated Phosphor Bronze Mandolin Strings, Medium, 11-40, also from Amazon, and they sound great.I don't see me upgrading to a higher priced mando any time soon, as I am still very happy with this Washburn M1K A=Style mandolin!

When I recieved my mandolin that I bought for the purpose of learning how to play I was suprised to find that the bridge was not on it. Granted, the bridge was packaged with it but now I have to unstring the thing and put the bridge on myself. Why stirng it in the first place if there was no bridge on it? I don't want to build the thing, I just want to learn to play it. I am very upset by this and I looked over the product despriction and it said nothing about it.

I bought this for my guitarist husband as a surprize Christmas gift, hoping he would love it. He does! He was unsure how to set the bridge because it didn't come with instructions for that. But he researched it online and found a guide and got it set up properly in no time. The sound is awesome, plays beautifully. I bought a mandolin cord booklet to go with it, and he is enjoying his new mandolin and mastering it very quickly.