Mandolin in the Woods: Miracles Still May Happen

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It was my already quite an old dream: to have and try a mandolin.

As a common hobby player collector, I could not let myself to buy a brand new instrument just to give it a try.

So, I started to dig the CraigList and Kijiji in the hope that someone may want to get rid of his mandolin which is just collecting the dust in some cabinet.

A special gain in such a hunt is if someone gives it away for free. No luck. While I know it’s possible.

Now. Slowly. My wife and I went from our good friend’s place deep in the woods north of Lachute, Quebec.

It was around 11 pm. Dark as it can be in the woods. The road was running through the wooden hills. Time by time we were riding through the small summertime communities. “Mandolin!”, – my wife suddenly noticed. “What mandolin?” – I asked.

“There’s a mandolin upon the recycling bin on the side of the driveway we just passed.”,  she responded. I was too curious to ignore it. A mandolin? In the woods? At 11 pm? Upon the recycle been?  Sounded way too mystical.

So I stopped and backed up. There was a nice-looking but way too dusty mandolin on the bin!

No wonder, I picked it up.

Later, at home, the ugly truth came out. Of course, the neck has a crack. But still, it can be glued and fixed.

I believe it’s a cheap Korean brand “Tradition” with serial # M405. I had no idea what it was.

UPDATE:
Here’s what ChatGPT knows about it: “

​The “Tradition” brand mandolin with the model number M405 is likely an entry-level instrument manufactured in Asia, possibly China or Korea. These mandolins are often produced using laminated woods and are designed to be affordable options for beginners. While they may not offer the tonal richness or craftsmanship of higher-end instruments, they can serve as suitable starting points for those new to the mandolin.​

A similar model, the Tradition M400 mandolin, has been noted for being a good beginner to intermediate level instrument.”

Here it is. I had to remove the rusty old string to return the neck to its original position.