Stretton Payne Mandolin with Gig Bag, Online Beginner Course, Strap and Plectrums

This Mandolin for the money is unbelievable! Beautiful looking instrument, very well made and sounds fantastic! even the strings which you would think would be the cost cutter, are very nice. Great online course too, found very quickly that if this mandolin if tuned right it produces an incredible sound, have had nothing other than complete shock from very good musicians within my circle, when the question of how much did it cost arise,which always does as it looks and sounds so good! More than happy! Pure bargain!

Love this, good quality. Can’t put it down. Used to playing guitar so had to get used to playing different set of chords but so easy to pick up. The tone is lovely. Good looking instrument. Love the accessories too. The bag is strong. This would be great for a beginner.

First the good:The delivery time was quick, the finish of the paintwork and lacquer was good and the tone was bright.But the bad :The intonation was slightly out and the action slightly high but that was easily remedied. However it would still not play in tune. I eventually took it to a professional luthier (£45.00) who discovered that the first fret had been installed in the wrong position. (Correct measurements can easily be found on line on sites such as StewMac.) This meant that the instrument could not and would never play in tune unless the fretboard was replaced. The cost of that would not be warranted on a mandolin at this price.It's a pity as the instrument looked good, sounded quite nice and was very inexpensive but all to no avail.I returned it and got my money back.

Bought as a present to learn with so not the best person for a music critical review, the mandolin appears to be of fair quality and scores well against other products costing twice the price. Nothing about the instrument appears shoddy. The bag seems adequate for storing in the house. The tuning was spot on. Have not got to the online course yet so can not comment. Happy!

Note: I bought an older version without the picks or gig bag.I bought this as I got it in my mind to start playing an instrument again after putting the recorder down 30 odd years ago. :o)I'm currently practicing on my own, no lessons yet, but I can say this is a lovely instrument to start with, especially for the price. I found it easy to pick up, practice my first pickings (not really into chords yet) and learn a few simple little tunes. Nice sound (surprisingly loud) and with a handy tuner quite easy to tune as and when required. Going to be replacing the strings next (they're getting a bit worn) so we'll see how that influences the sound.

Nice little product. Fair sound for the price but came with one of the top E strings broken.

I am a guitar player and fancied having a bash at the mandolin. So I was attracted to this instrument by the reviews, the price and the offer of an online course.I like the instrument - the design and basic sound. The course is very helpful if only to show you a few chords. I can now knock out When I'm Dead and Gone, Norwegian Wood....Just off to have a go at Lady Eleanor - a bit more of a challenge!I don't think you can lose if you buy this, especially with the offer of the course. I am finding it great fun. I reckon the main challenge is actually deciding what you are actually going to play.

Not a mandolin player, but have played guitar and bass for many years. Wanted something to play along with The Dead South :o) but didn't want to spend too much. It looks great and sounds pretty good. The action is very playable along the whole of the neck. The bag and strap are handy accessories. The only issue my one has is 2 of the machine heads are very stiff.