Hi Mudcatters,
lately I've been thinking of buying a mandolin, as I've been playing guitar for over 16 years and find it limiting in a session where everyone else is also playing guitar. I don't know anything much about mandolins except they too, are stringed instruments. Can anybody offer any suggestions of good brands to buy / value for money / brands to avoid, what I should look for, tips on playing etc.,? I aim to spend not more than 200 euro on it, though, as I'm not sure how it'll work out for me. I'd need something with enough volume to compete reasonably with one or two acoustic guiatrs without needing to be plugged into an amp.

I'm not sure about this, but are mandolins tuned to an 'open tuning'?