Extremely affordable entry-level mandolins are available from Savannah. This brand name is owned by The Music Link Corporation in Hayward, California, which has been around since 1997. Savannah mandolins are manufactured in China and imported to the USA. They do not actually make their own guitars, but they will do some set up on them after bringing them into the country. All of their instruments are recommended for first-time players that are on a tight budget and can’t afford to spend hundreds to get started.

Savannah shouldn’t be confused with the Savannah Guitar Company in Savannah, Georgia – these are two different companies and the one in Georgia makes custom, hand crafted guitars on location. These mandolins are all made with laminated plywood and not solid, carved wood, which is why they are so affordable. The owner and founder of Music Link is Steve Patrino.

In general, when you buy a mandolin from Savannah, it will not be set up and ready to play. You should always take these instruments to a luthier at your local music store to get it properly set up, and it is also recommended to have some good strings put on it too – D’Addario J74 strings are excellent for mandolins. Some people will even replace the stock tuners with Grovers because the stocks fail to hold a tune for very long. With these two upgrades and a professional set up, any Savannah can be made into a solid sounding instrument.

Savannah SA-100-BK & SA-100 A-Styles
This is definitely a starter mandolin, ideal for someone that has never played before and isn’t sure if they will continue to play it for a long time.

While it may not be anything special, at this price it is hard to beat it. Compared with other budget brands like Rogue, the Savannah is preferred by many.

This instrument has a maple neck, rosewood fret board and an adjustable bridge. Available in black and sunburst designs.

Savannah SF-100 F-Style
This model is a starter F-Style. This type of mandolin is typically very expensive, but this model is extremely affordable.

It is made to look like a typical F-Style, but please keep in mind that this is accomplished for this price by using cheaper materials.

With that said, this is pretty much the cheapest way you can get an F-Style mandolin, so this can be a good option for beginners that want to learn on F-Style or intermediate players that can’t afford a more expensive brand.

Savannah SA-115-E Madison
The SA-115-E is a starter electric A-Style mandolin that is very affordable.

This model is very similar to the SA-100 except that you can plug it into an amplifier (sold separately).

Acoustics can often be drowned out by background noise and especially fellow band members, so some people need the extra volume in some situations. These are still designed to sound like an acoustic when not plugged in though, so it is very versatile to be used any way you need it.