Ivan Rodrigues bandolim, 2018 (SOLD)

Ivan Rodrigues is an up-and-coming luthier in the state of Bahia; he makes 6 and 7-string guitars, cavacos and bandolins, and is starting to build a name for himself. This bandolim came to us courtesy of an excellent bandolinista who works in Adam's shop in São Paulo. It belonged to one of his bandolim students, who had it up for sale. We had several possible buys in the shop when it came to our attention, and this one won the ensuing competition. Standout features include wonderful tone and sustain, great volume and a slightly wider neck than most we see (33mm as opposed to 30). Add to that a soundport, armrest, Ivan's attention to aesthetic detail and a great price point, and you can see why this one may be a winner for you, too. Buy this bandolim if your goal is maximize sound and playability (to learn choro)— not only is it the best value for the money, but is excellent overall!

Top: Spruce
Back & sides: Lightly flamed maple
Neck: Caxeta / Marupá
Fingerboard: Ebony
Nut: bone+zero fret
Bridge: bone
Scale length: 340mm
Nut width: 33mm
Body depth: 69mm
Widest body width: 300mm
Finish: PU
Tuners: Rozini import
Pickup: no
Case: WC hard case
Strings: Dinâmico São Paulo
Recent Work: setup
Additional: Brazilian rosewood armrest; soundport