I started playing the mandolin in August, when Edmund and I went to the Celtic College in Goderich. The day before we left, I still had no instrument, so I went to the big downtown House O' Instruments and bought one for Cdn$150.00. The name on the headstock was Montana and it looked okay -- and the guy in the store had nothing to say that would indicate otherwise.

I found it difficult to play, but assumed that the problem was me, not the instrument. (It's a poor workman who blames his tools.) I had real trouble producing any decent sound at all from the D and G strings, and had to exert serious effort to make the treble strings ring correctly. I worked really hard and learned several tunes, and was actually beginning to sound musical when the D strings wore out, fraying at the 4th fret. I bought new strings at the Ottawa Folklore Centre, where they recommended medium-gauge Elixir strings (if I was okay with spending $20 instead of $12) to get a more resonant sound out of the instrument.

But with the new strings the mandolin was even harder to play, and I finally took it to the Folklore Centre to get a more experienced mandolin-player's opinion. A young fellow named Emrys (who can execute bluegrass licks that leave me dizzy) picked it up and started playing -- and lo and behold, he struggled just as much as I did. He examined it and diagnosed an impossibly high action and the beginnings of a bend in the neck. He then handed me an expensive high-class mandolin off the rack and asked me to play that, and I produced a good tune that brought a sincere compliment from a passing guitarist. So the problem was not me.

My mandolin habit being fully established, Emrys had no trouble selling me a "Kentucky" A-type mandolin with F-holes and arched top and back for $385, minus 10% discount for the Boxing Day sale. (I'm hooked but not totally besotted, so the expensive high-class mandolin is still on the rack.) I am now ripping through the Reel de Point-a-Pic, and planning to learn Les Cinq Jumelles next.

My question for this forum is this: What should I do with the Montana mandolin? I don't believe musical instruments should be used for mere decoration, and it clearly is no axe for a beginner. Emrys at the Folklore Centre said they would not take it on consignment because, even with the most tender loving care from their in-house technicians, they could not sell it with a guarantee because it lacks a truss rod.

After five months, do you think I have any right to expect at least some of my $150 back from the downtown House O'Instruments?