New Mandolin Designed for Guitarists

For nearly 100 years the f-style mandolin has remained largely unchanged. Indeed, the original is a design that has stood the test of time. But now Michael Kelly Guitars wants, to evolve the f-style mandolin, starting things off with their newest model, the Legacy Evolution.

At first glance, you can see that this is not your father's mandolin. Unlike most mandolins, Michael Kelly has jettisoned the heavy white plastic binding on the body. Instead, the Evolution features a clean, no-binding look. The top on the Legacy Evolution is solid spruce and the back and sides feature an attractive flamed maple.

Mandolins remain one of the few stringed instruments with flat fingerboards. But now, Michael Kelly has improved the playability on the Evolution by adding a hard-to-find radiused fingerboard and specially scooping on the fingerboard. With its radiused rosewood fingerboard, the Evolution is more comfortable to play says the company. Michael Kelly also scoops out the fingerboard extension, getting it out of the way when picking. "The radiused fingerboard and scooped extension greatly modernizes the feel of the Evolution. This makes it the perfect choice for the growing number of guitar players wanting to add a new sound color to their arsenal with a mandolin", explains Michael Kelly president Tracy Hoeft.

Michael Kelly even offers the Legacy Evolution with an integrated pickup option. The special active system developed by Fishman provides side-mounted volume and tone controls.

Suggested Retail Price for Legacy Evolution is $945.00. With a Fishman pickup system, installed retail is $1,095.00