Ibanez M510 A-Style Mandolin
With its balanced tone, excellent sustain, and high-level craftsmanship, the Ibanez M510 mandolin offers professional quality to the mandolinist on a budget.
$169.99
- No Credit Check6 x$28.33
- No Credit Check4 x$42.50
Overall User Ratings (based on 29 ratings)
Submitted November 28, 2013 by walt young
"NICE FOR THE PRICE"
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I am new to mandolin but I do know what should and should not be for quality. My first purchase of a mandolin was one that the name begins with G. It was more expensive and totally unplayable and the finish and detail was sloppy. Now I know somewhat what should NOT be. The overall quality on the Ibanez is very nice. The only thing I could complain about was the tops of the frets were sharp. A little touch up with an emery board fixed that. I snugged up the truss rod and found the placement for the bridge with a tuner and it was ready to go. I did also change the strings to the Daddario J74s. One thing to note is the photos do not look like the mandolin you will get. The violin sunburst photo looks satin like. It is indeed HIGH GLOSS. As stated in the specs. The open pore photo is closer to the actual finish. The sunburst is a little more defined and the finish is like satin more natural wood looking. I personally like that. I am pleased with the overall quality, finish, attention to detail, and sound. PS: The cover plate is a little tricky. Lift it from the end gently and to put it back on slide it on from the end. (I called Ibanez support to ask about the open pore finish and with in minutes talked to a real person that answered my questions)
Musical Background:
Play professionally
Musical Style:
Country, blues.
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Submitted October 15, 2013 by mark d in pleasant view, TN
"great mandolin for the price"
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had to do a set up. but I do that on almost every instrument I buy, great sound and playability. well worth the cash. buy strings when you buy for sure. buy a case too if you're gonna play out.
Musical Background:
mandolin, guitar, bass, keys
Musical Style:
rock
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Submitted February 24, 2012 by Randy Burbach in Hamtramck, MI
"Great starter mandolin"
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I didn't need to adjust the truss rod like the other reviewer. No fret buzz at all. The tone is much richer than other entry-level mandolins I've tried.
Musical Background:
Hobbyist. Bass, trombone
Musical Style:
eclectic
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Submitted April 6, 2017 by Andrew B in Tybee Island, GA
"First Impressions"
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This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
I'm writing this review within an hour of first opening the package. As I never played a mandolin before, I can't draw on my experience nor make comparisons to other instruments, so I figured for a first-timer, that initial impression is what we're after.The mandolin was securely packaged and protected just as I would expect. Out of the box, the mandolin is stunning. The photographs don't do justice to the beauty of this instrument. It required just a quick tuning to bring all the strings up to pitch and I was able to play a very simple version of "Happy Birthday". This one is a birthday present for my wife who expressed interest in learning, and I wanted to sort of "serenade" her with it. I hope her first impression is as strong as mine—this is a great little instrument, regardless if you're a beginner or experienced.
Musical Background:
Complete newbie when it comes to mandolin
Musical Style:
It's a mandolin—I'm thinking bluegrass
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Submitted December 29, 2019 by Karen J in Menasha, WI
"Very playable"
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This is meant to be my traveling instrument, for use in unprotected environments (train trips, camping, day trips to a nature center). I am very happy with the quality, though it does go out of tune much faster than my "good" mandolin does. That may just be due to my not having replaced the strings it came with. Bottom line is that I haven't put it down since it arrived about a week ago. A good purchase for the price.
Musical Background:
Guitar, mandolin, horns
Musical Style:
Various
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Submitted February 18, 2012 by Larry Diuuzaoo in Norfolk, VA
"Not Bad once set up"
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I had a HORRIBLE time with neck truss rod adjustment to correct G strings fret buzzing...and what a terrible buzzzing.....as for sound, this thing sounds realy good, a nice woody sound and fairly loud...stays in tune after a few tunings over a day or two...it's worth what you pay if you can do truss rod adjustments...
Musical Background:
Guitar Harmonica Bass Mandolin
Musical Style:
All styles
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Submitted September 12, 2022 by Johannes L in New York, NY
"I returned mine."
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My return is currently going on. I hope zZounds will come through for me, 'cause this was not a love story. More details to follow.
Sound
First of all, my compliments to the photographer. On the pictures, this mandolin looks amazing. In reality, the warm, glowing golden-brown sunburst is more like a dull, charcoal-y umber. It goes from black to "meh". No big deal, but you have to curb your expectations and remember that you always get what you pay for. In this case, it's a surprisingly functional instrument with a very okay sound and no "wow factor" to speak of. I would say it's a decent deal at this price, but not worth it to me personally.
Features
The finish, always the most critical point in budget instruments, is super glossy and thick. That is not surprising, but makes the headstock in particular look cheap. I don't think this finish would age well.
Ease of Use
This sounds like a mandolin. A great player (not me) would probably be able to coax wonderful chords and runs out of this little box. Here's the thing. The action needs work. For guitar players like myself, the force needed to get decent sounding notes out of the low frets, especially on the a-strings, is way too high to play comfortably. I returned mine before even removing the foam from under the bridge. Who knows, maybe that quarter of a millimeter would be all that's needed to improve the action? But I doubt it. There are very heavy-working thumb wheels to take it down further. I anticipated buzzing and stayed away from attempting that.
Quality
The tuners hold. But they're unpleasant. They feel just this side of operational. Wobbly, not inspiring confidence. I tuned up to pitch with my eyes firmly closed, murmuring a little prayer. The pick guard is ultra cheap plastic.
Value
I have fallen in love head over heels with "cheapos" in the past. I'm not a snob. But they have to have some sort of charm, some sort of "whacky but cool" element. This instrument, by contrast, is just very mediocre across the board. Work and money could probably be invested to make it a lot better, but then why not go for the next higher price category right away?
The Wow Factor
This looked like a gorgeous thing to me on the web page. For the price, I thought it was a great way of adding some mandolin sweetness to my recordings. But in person, I was underwhelmed and not inspired. I don't see myself playing this instrument with ease. It wasn't for me, which by no way means you couldn't love it. It has no horrible flaws, it's just a bit bland.
Musical Background:
semi pro
Musical Style:
Singer-songwriter bluesy folksy stuff with rock sauce
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