Rigel A+ is in excellent condition, with no issues at all. There\'s a little finish nick inside the treble f-hole, it has a small finish cloud on the top at the bass side of the tailpiece, a very small scratch on the tailpiece, and a hint of strap scuff by the heel strap button. The pickup is true and reliable, there is no fretwear to speak of. It has a non-original Gator hard bag, which I like a lot better, for it\'s lighter and smaller, much easier to handle than the original case. I got a ToneGard for it on a whim and it adds a little sweet ring to the tone; without the ToneGard the sound is tighter and drier and the \'chop\' gets huge. It\'s great fun to have both sounds, with and without the ToneGard. The TG is missing a bit of its paint and I haven\'t bothered to repaint it.

This is a very versatile instrument - it can excel at classical melodies and bluegrass chop. It lilts Irish tunes, sings oldtime tunes, and it has come up many interesting bits with singers, and for commercials and film music easily because it can make so many nice sounds, both acoustically and plugged into PA\'s, amplifiers, effects, and studio preamps. The internal factory pickup is absolutely true to the acoustic sound of the mandolin and has never produced response for me, even on really loud stages.The story of the Rigels\' unique design and construction can be found at Rigelinstrumentsdotcom.This is a great and versatile instrument and can easily earn its way and bring you much joy.

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