Michael Kelly Guitar Company. Resonating Quality.

trademark figure who blesses the company's products with his benevolent spirit.

     Michael Kelly instruments are made in Korea under strict supervision and quality control and are sold only via mail and the internet. Michael Kelly is the sort of operation that couldn't have existed five years ago; the internet has pretty much created its market. Plus, giant strides in the quality and sophistication of manufacturing in Korea have aided the efforts of companies like Michael Kelly. Michael Kelly offers five models of mandolin. All have solid wood tops, but only three - the FS Legacy, FS Deluxe, and Dragonfly - also have solid wood back and sides with carved tops and backs. The top-of-the-line Dragonfly features a dovetail neck joint, rock maple neck, fully adjustable truss rod, adjustable rosewood bridge, rosewood fingerboard, bound top, back, and headstock, gold tone hardware, S-shaped sound holes, and an elaborate tree-of-life and dragonfly inlay on the fretboard. The Dragonfly is available in gloss black, deep blue, deep green, cherry red, and vintage sunburst finishes. Michael Kelly instruments also come with a two-year warranty on materials and workmanship.

     Our test Dragonfly arrived in a sturdy shipping box and inside, cushioned by packing material on all sides, was a mandolin-sized triangular box containing the instrument itself. I was surprised to see that no case was included, but was even more chagrined to discover the instrument was strung up, tuned to pitch, and in tune right out of the box. These folks certainly are confident their instruments will survive the rigors of UPS (sans trauma, of course). After regaining my composure, I spent a few minutes examining the fit, finish, and setup. While it is certainly not in the same league as my Gilchrist Model 5 (which retails for $12,000), the Dragonfly is a surprisingly well-built instrument. Inside the body you'll find segmented wood kerfing on the top and bottom of the body joints. Both the regularly spaced wood side braces and kerfing are well-fitted with no signs of oozing glue or poorly cut/fitted parts.

     Moving to the outside of the instrument, the S-shaped soundholes are well-finished and blackened with smoothly sanded edges. Rather than single-ply binding, the Dragonfly has three-ply white/black/white on the top, back, and headstock. Although a few spots on the binding showed signs of less-than-perfect masking, with small specks of black finish on the binding edges, overall the binding work was clean and well-executed. The black piano-gloss finish was impeccable, with no dull spots, fish-eyes, or ragged edges. The only areas where the finish was less than perfect was under the freeboard extension, and in the scrolls. While the tuners certainly aren't top-of-the-line Waverlys (which cost nearly as much as an entire Dragonfly), they seem equal to those on my '85 Flatiron Artist F-5. Actually, they feel smoother and more precise, but their buttons aren't nearly as pearly white. On the subject of pearl, the inlays on the Dragonfly are most impressive. I couldn't find a trace of filler on the headstock or fretboard. Nice work.

     Three inlay materials are used on the Dragonfly; the headstock has creamy white pearloid, the fretboard is a slightly darker pearloid (save for the Dragonfly between the 11th and 12th frets), which is genuine natural multi-hued abalone. How cool is that? Vintage-style mandolin frets, rather than larger modern-style banjo frets, grace the Dragonfly's flat-radius fretboard. Fret ends are well-dressed with no rough edges sticking out to impede playability. The setup is quite decent overall. Some might want the action lowered, but it's buzz-free even when played hard. Intonation was good but not perfect, being a few cents sharp at the octave. The adjustable vintage-style bridge is made of ebonized (blackened) rosewood rather than the more traditional ebony. Although the bridge is well-constructed and the strings evenly spaced, the bridge's base could have been better fitted to the body; on the bass side you could see a sliver of light under the last half-inch of the base.

     Unlike most Korean-made mandolins I've seen, which have neck volutes and thinnish neck profiles, the Dragonfly's neck has no volute and a medium-sized, slightly oval shape. It's a bit larger than the v-shaped Loar-style neck on my Gilchrist, but not as thick, front-to-back, as the rounded neck on my Flatiron. Most players will like the Dragonfly's neck size, since it is wide enough to be comfortable without sacrificing speed or chop chord accessibility. The fretboard's width increases gradually over its length. At first I wondered if it wasn't a bit too wide near the bridge, but the extra width had no effect on playability.

     A wish list of spec changes would include a scooped fretboard extension, radiused fretboard, small, floating pickguard, and a one-piece cast tailpiece. Granted, all these would add to the price, but all except the radiused fretboard can be added to the instrument after purchase. And some will be available through Michael Kelly's "quick custom shop" program. Hoeft says several pickguard choices, Gotoh tuners, and the Randy Allen design tailpiece will be options. The goal is to make it so none of these changes delay shipping more than a couple of days.

     The most impressive (and surprising) feature on the Dragonfly is its sound. This inexpensive instrument sounds ridiculously good, on a par with instruments 10 times its price. Seriously. Plus, the Dragonfly is loud. Most Korean-built mandolins are not terribly loud, and when you hit them harder, they don't get appreciably louder. Not so with the Dragonfly; it starts out loud and can get louder depending on right-hand attack. No, it's not as loud as my '85 Flatiron or Gilchrist, but it comes remarkably close. And unlike most inexpensive mandolins, which have little or no bass fundamentals or thunk, the Dragonfly has excellent low-end extension. Chop chords have that whomp that is essential for bluegrass. Inexpensive instruments usually have thin, tinny top-end, but the Dragonfly's high strings are sweet and warm, supplying a rich, sunny harmonic balance. Cheap-sounding? I don't think so. By their nature, F-style mandolins sound their worst when new. But this one sounds better new than many year-old high-end F-styles I've played. If I picked this up in a store I'd be impressed with its sound, regardless of its price. The fact that it's affordable is nothing short of mind-boggling. Although price-wise, the Dragon is practically an entry-level instrument, it plays and sounds like something that even an advanced player could live with happily.
     I don't exactly need another F-style instrument, but there's no way this Dragonfly is going back to Michael Kelly. I'm buying it. Not only is it a stone-cold bargain in terms of materials and build quality, but it sounds utterly fantastic! High-end mando owners take note: the Dragonfly is the perfect travel instrument. To peruse the full line of Michael Kelly acoustic guitars, basses, mandolins, and archtops, visit michaelkellyguitars.com.

Steven Stone is a contributing editor to Stereophile's Guide to Home Theater. He has also written for Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, Creem, and Spin magazines. He is also a recording engineer specializing in capturing the sound of symphony orchestras using purist recording techniques. He has 24 instruments in his collection, including a '44 Martin D-18, '46 Martin D-28, and a '37 Gibson L-5.

Found in the August 2002 Issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine. www.vintageguitar.com

Note From Michael Kelly Guitars: The article above is based on our Dragonfly Custom model offered in 2002. Each year we alter the inlay and other esthetic design elements. This makes each years limited run of our Custom models unique and collectable. While the Dragonfly Custom from 2002 is no longer available the current Firefly Custom is the same basic instrument with a new inlay and soundhole design. With new upgrades including Grover tuners, Graphtech nut and additional hand carving on the top we like to think that our instruments are getting better with each passing year. We hope you test one yourself, we are sure you will also be pleasantly surprised.