My old man's an experienced guitar player and he's developed a love for country music lately!

I fancy getting him a mandolin for christmas. Nothing fancy and the budget is probably between £50 – £100.

Having a look around on line I can see that Stagg is the most common brand at this price point, but as a guitarist myself I know Stagg guitars are pretty crap.

Looking at them though, they look alright

http://www.normans.co.uk/p-1303-stagg-m20-traditional-bluegrass-mandolin-in-violinburst.aspx?CAWELAID=98312511

Decent wood used, nice looking instrument.

So is there anything I should be looking out for at this price point?

Pretty much look out for the same things buying a mandolin as you would an acoustic guitar. Arch-tops will give a fatter,fruitier sound and are more common for bluegrass style picking

Materials used in construction

Good metal work including frets

Quality of machine heads

Finish around sound hole edges

Perfling( the slot cut in the body edge for the binding to sit in) – this gives a good indication of overall attention to detail and finish

Arch top mandolins should be fitted with an adjustable bridge for poncing about getting intonation set correctly.

hope that helps, I've seen a couple of Stagg mandolins, and for beginner's instrument and getting a feel for the instrument and what you want in the long run, they're perfectly fine but not great.

At that price I would play it or get someone else to. There is a great variation in quality at that price both between manufacturers and with the exact model.
As he is experienced consider getting a second hand one and/or telling him and letting him pick. Whilst I would like the gesture I would not really like someone to buy me on …like bikes huge amount of personal preference.

PS disown him country music FFS.

Hobgoblin stock a range of Blue Moon mandolins around your price point and a couple of nice looking Ashbury's that are slightly over budget.

Might be worth popping in if you have a store locally?

I prefer clementines 😯