Well, mandolins don't eat much, don't take up much room and seldom give you earache if you neglect them for a while ( although mine has mastered a reproachful look that tugs at my catholic roots guilt- strings), they are forgiving of learners in a way that fiddles are not and can sound wonderful in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing and then come back without looking too smug.......I love them.....get one....hell, get two.