Trinity College TM-625 Professional Celtic Octave Mandolin with Hardshell Case

What a disappointment! I currently own a Trinity College Bouzouki, TM-375. I really liked the look of the newer professional series instruments and wanted to add the octave mandolin to my collection. The old TM-325 octave I thought just didn't have enough volume and the G string sounded flabby. Surely they must have these issues worked out with the new TM-625. Wrong! The quality of craftsmanship seems good. The tone woods are beautiful and the overall look of the instrument is nice. That is why it is such a disappointment. The good looking instrument doesn't have a sound to match. The strings don't seem to be under enough tension leading to weak volume and very flabby sounding G string. The G string sounds worse when picked hard or strummed loudly. I just can't get over what a lousy sound this instrument has. My old TM zouk is a cannon. Don't know why they can't get the octave sound right. I couldn't play this thing in a session, it just wouldn't be heard.

You will find no lower price for this very nice high quality instrument. Strong mids with slightly subdued highs (no ice pick treble with this one) and you can alter the tone nicely with where you pick. The low G is a little weak and warbley. I suspect the string spacing at the nut or bridge may be a just a hair too close for the larger strings. Very nicely made instrument. Finish is excellent, no finish flaws of any kind. Very nice selection of woods. Excellent sustain and nice volume (it's not a cannon though). I suspect it will open up nicely over time. The tuners are very good, not great...just slighly too sensitive to tweaking. The neck is very comfortably sized with just the slightest fretboard radius. A slightly smaller radius and slighlty larger width going up the neck, and it would be perfect (for me). Only one thing bothered me...This came with no product documentation of any kind, just a tool for the truss rod.

I bought it at Amazon more than two years ago. It is an elegant looking instrument and it is well made. I agree that its volume is not enough for playing sessions. Still, it is very nice to play at home or other quiet settings. It wants medium to heavy strings to sound good.

I expected the instrument to be minimally set up. The bridge was not fitted to the OM. I will have to pay a Luther to fit the bridge.

I fundamentally agree with the tommywenz review from 2010. This is a Dec. 2014 update. The instrument was beautifully made. The spruce and rosewood were very nice. It did not have the big, full sound that I was hoping for. The strings were too low and buzzed. An adjustable bridge would have helped. The Gold Tone, though not as well made, has the sound you want for Irish music.