I have hanging on my wall a cheap Seville mandolin.I bought it for 35 dollars from the son of a friend.
When I first met Jon he was only 12 years old, but was really beginning to get good on the mandolin.I played a duet with him at one of the San Diego Bluegrass club meetings and we blew everyone away.Mostly because of his mando skills.We did Blackberry Blossom which I fingerpicked on guitar because nobody told me I couldn't do that, and then we did Meadowlands, trading off the lead and building speed.
For his 13th birthday a group of friends got together and gave him a $600 Kentucky Mandolin.
He's in his 30s now and still playing music,albeit a stand-up bass,and his old mandolin hangs on my wall with his name,Jon DeLong,engraved in the pickguard. We still stay in touch through the internet.
rr