Gold Tone M-800+ Octave Mandoline

The mandolin is nicely made, but I've found a few problems that have spoiled my initial experience:
* the strap pin is huge, and doesn't easily fit a strap, even one I specially ordered from the USA
* the strap pin contains the output jack, but the jack is deeply recessed and doesn't positively connect
* the output signal is thin and lacks depth. It might be an impedance problem, but combined with the poor jack design, it's pretty much unusable.
* as noted by other reviews, the factory supplied strings are very high tension, so had to be replaced straight away.

As I type, the instrument is in a queue to be worked on by my local luthier - not what I expect with a new instrument. There are some good points - the acoustic sound is very good, the arch top is attractive, and the other hardware is good quality. The included hard case is good too.