I occasionally play my grandfather's mandolin, and his fiddle. I got them 37 years ago, when he died. They're German instruments, of decent but unexceptional quality, from about 1880-1885. My grandfather was a popular semi-pro fiddler for barn dances in Central Nebraska, before WWI.

I spent several hundred dollars getting the violin restored soon after I got it, as my mother had played it as a school girl in the '30s, and it was much the worse for wear, as a result of that use. And then, I spent about $300 a few years ago, on the bow (rehair and some repairs). The bow is not so good, still, but I don't play that much (just an occasional chorus of Soldier's Joy, Lili Marlene, Turkey in the Straw, or such, as he used to, to keep my hand in).

My mandolin is an oval hole bowl back, like those pictured at the bottom right of this page. Here's a ton of mandolin links. The main use my grandfather had for this mandolin was picking harmony to a girl singer, who he dumped to marry my grandmother. It was a badly neglected artifact, when I got it, for having those old associations, but it cleaned up OK, and plays decently. Like many bowl back mandolins, it's small, for my big hands, and past the fifth fret, I have to really think, or fret a lot of dead strings. But, like the violin, it doesn't get played much these days.

I play the mandolin, and also the tenor banjo, which strung the same, only it's lower--like a viola. The chords are the same, though.

The mandolin is a sweet little instrument, and it's really easy to play. You can learn three basic chord patterns in a day, and they'll last you years. You'll love it. Buy an inexpensive one (~$100 or so), and play around with it before you commit to anything more expensive.

I have a cheap Epiphone mandolin that my mom bought me while I was in high school (part of a deal where I agreed to go to a chiropractor a single time!) and it's never really disappointed me, aside from when someone broke the bridge. Ten years later, I still haven't fixed the bridge yet--there's a block of wood in there, holding it up--and it sounds fine.

A word of warning, though--there's nothing that sounds worse than a mandolin that's out of tune. I also recommend against a bowl-back, because I find them uncomfortable to hold when you're standing up.