I have only been playing for about 2 years. This is my third mandolin and first f style and first electric. The sound quality is adequate for the money, however, if playing along with other instruments, it definitely needs to be hooked to an amp. Solo is fine, though not nearly as loud as my less expensive A style. Tone is about what you would expect for the money. The high end sounds better than the low end. Overall I am totally satisfied with my purchase. Two words of caution. 1st. Buy extra ball end strings as they are difficult to find in smaller markets. 2nd, the Ovation rounded body will not fit into the F Style case from Gator (The low end case currently 69.95). I am waiting on someone to tell me which case to order so I can exchange it. It is a beautiful instrument, very solid and pretty much ready to play out of the box after tuning. Hooked it to an guitar amp with some distortion pedal just for kicks. You can get some pretty intersting sounds out of it.

Ready to go after tuning.

I don't play professionally so having a backup isn't an issue, though I have a less expensive "A" style. Finish is awesome, which is one of the things that attracted me. I don't worry about it breaking. It seems to be a solid instrument to me.

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The color is beautiful. Nice Solid feel.

Hobbyist

Country / Gospel / Folk