Unboxing Review: Vangoa Electric Mandolin

Unboxing and Review: Vangoa Type-A Acoustic/Electric Mandolin
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Bought off Amazon. This is a great mandolin. Good for performing and recording musicians playing folk, bluegrass, country, rock, and blues music.
Review by JJ Jackson, aka Syndetic.

[@Jonny5ive5]

I got this one. It took a very long time to stretch the strings but when I finally did it sounded beautiful. The only 2 things about the one I received is 1. The knobs are not secured well at all so they float past you max/min if you keep turning. 2. It's difficult to play clean chords the further down the neck I play. There is no truss rod to adjust, but I'm not familiar enough with mandolins to know if that's standard or not. But as long as my chords are kept near the nut, it sounds beautiful. Finger picking sounds good all the up to fret 12 on all strings. I didn't test past that because I almost never pass the 12th fret. I would say it's worth it for the money, for someone who wants to learn, or beginners. If you are already skilled in mandolin, you may want to spend a little more fore something more refined, but then again, I just picked up the mandolin. My experience lies in guitars and ukuleles

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

It's a copy of a Gibson EM-150 the most famous Acoustic-Electric Mandolin. The EM-150 is actually an A-50 w/ a P90 Pickup added to it. The Pickup makes recording easier, & it really rocks. These Mandolins sound great w/ Thomastik Medium Gauge Precision Mandolin Strings which are Flatwound Strings designed like Violin Strings that'll save your frets from scratches, & won't squeak especially when recording. An Allen Tailpiece w/ Holes would certianly be a good upgrade cause it allows you to use both Loop & Ball end strings.

[@JJJacksonMusic]

Cool, thanks for the info!

[@snowmcsnow4732]

I am surprised at how clean it sounds without any customization. I might pick it up. Thanks for the review!

[@ChunkyBoots]

Wow, sounds better than I expected. Thanks for posting!

[@JJJacksonMusic]

You’re welcome!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@JJJacksonMusic They've made quite alot of improvements to these Mandolins over the years.

[@utuopialovely8648]

Nice review! Just bought the exact model from amazon for my Brother birthday!

[@JJJacksonMusic]

Rock on!

[@kevinmkraft]

Just bought one of these!

[@greggcoppolo8430]

I'm glad you approve and have good vibes about this instrument, because it seems the Vangoe mandolin company is the only company that makes left-handed mandolins as far as I know....and I would like to purchase one myself. BTW, nice review!

[@JJJacksonMusic]

Cool, I didn’t know that.

[@frankking781]

Ashbury makes leftys.

[@zanttyxxmusic8936]

thanks for make this review! thanks for your time!

[@JJJacksonMusic]

My pleasure!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

An Ashton Baily Tailipece would really be a good upgrade

[@SuperReverbious]

I bought one from amazon - it arrived with the pots flapping around, nuts loose. I pulled the knobs and tightened them but was concerned about the internal wires. Upon tuning, it tuned ok except the last E string would not hold tune - then broke. Improperly installed or the strings were not stretched at installation. Plugged into the amp - and the output is weak. Either bad connection on the pots due to them flapping around, or a very weak pickup. Sending it back I guess. It looks nice, and seems to sound "ok for the price" but I'm not impressed even though it was pretty cheap.

[@brianna5183]

having this same problem, restrung E and it still sounds gross.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@brianna5183 That was years ago, they've made inprovements to these things & if you use Thomastik Flatwound Medium Gauge strings it'll play better

[@johnjriggsarchery2457]

Not too shabby for a lower priced AE.

[@roberttodd2414]

didnt realize ryan gosling was into mandolin...

[@krishnanchandran5175]

Great review. I have the same product. I have a question, is it possible to improve the sustain of this mandolin? ( i would like to play sliding notes in an indian classical style)

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

It has good improved sustain

[@mandolinic]

Practice your tremolo!

[@massmanute]

How's the action? Some cheap instruments have strings that are too high above the fretboard. Also, is there a good fit of the bridge to the top of the mandolin?

[@JJJacksonMusic]

Seems solid in the nut area where it connects to the head. The action is really smooth and low. That was part of what surprised me. It plays nice. The bridge area where the strings connect to the body is a little awkward because the bridge sits up and kind of gets in the way of my right hand position but it’s only a slight adjustment to get it to find the comfortable position.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@JJJacksonMusic They've improved these things & now they're enjoyable

[@andyhawkins8762]

The action is terrible.

[@Jaxon_jenkins]

I got the same one it's great

[@mandolinic]

With mandolins there's a price point you shouldn't really go below. In the UK, that's £200 (possibly $200 US). Below that price you may get a reasonable instrument, or you may get little better than a mandolin-shaped piece of wood. In any case, don't buy any mandolin that doesn't have a truss rod! Buying mail order is a risk for a newbie player, because even expensive mandolins often arrive from the factory improperly set up. A reputable music shop will set up the instrument for free, whereas Amazon will just ship it, and if you're new then you've no idea that it's wrong; however, the instrument will be more difficult to play and you may think the problem is you, not a badly set up mando.

[@themusicexpresswithrobertl8816]

I am thinking about this same instrument, how does it sound unplugged?

[@JJJacksonMusic]

It sounds great unplugged. Decent volume for a campfire jam unplugged.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@JJJacksonMusic The Pickup makes recording easier too

[@rdeleon039]

Last time I bought the F Ibanez but no good but I love my A Rogue the sound very good and soft. But I will buy the Vangoa. The sound Very good too.

[@JJJacksonMusic]

I’ve been pleased with it.

[@Ira88881]

Don’t buy it. Total crap!

[@Simply_Helen]

Minda hesitant with the top not being solid wood

[@dresdensinn6669]

But will it Black Metal?

[@JJJacksonMusic]

Actually, yeah it will. I haven’t ran in through distortion but I’ve played it in a similar style. Traditional mandolin technique actually is similar to black metal guitar technique.

[@andyhawkins8762]

The first mandolin that I ordered had a warped pick guard. I exchanged it for a second. The second would not make any sound in any of my amps. I also tried several cords including the one that came with it. These mandolins are poorly made and may be the worst instruments that I have ever seen. Please do not waste your time or money on these.

[@Ira88881]

That’s the biggest piece of garbage to hit the planet. And it doesn’t take days for strings to stretch. Folks, don’t even THINK about buying this excuse for an instrument.

[@stevens3214]

Can you be more specific? This review makes it look great (although the buzz is off-putting)

[@Ira88881]

@@stevens3214 It’s a cheaply made instrument.