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 For Better Or For Worse |
Electric mandolin? |
Lead | |
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(10/01/09 2:10 AM) |
Does anyone here play a solid body electric mandolin?
Do you play a 4-string or 8-string elect. mando? How would you describe the difference in terms of sound? Any (brand/model) recommendation? Thanks.
Last Edited By: For Better Or For Worse 10/01/09 3:14 AM.
Edited 1 time.
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MikeHalloran |
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(10/01/09 2:25 PM) |
An 8 string sounds more like a mandolin; a 4 string sounds like a high tuned electric guitar.
Here is the Kentucky if you want that Tiny Moore sound. List is $399.99; MAP is $299.99 
Part of the appeal is that it is almost as ugly as Tiny's Bigsby 
Of course, the holy grail is a '50s Fender Mandocaster: 
Personally, I don't like solid body electric mandos - generally too much sustain. I prefer the acoustic mandolins with a single coil magnetic pickup plugged directly into the PA system. Even the el-cheapo laminated Chinese models sound pretty good plugged straight in. If feedback is an issue, stuff the F-holes. I play the Fender version of this one. You can get it as an Epiphone or half a dozen other brands. The Savannah pictured here has a list of $149.99 and a MAP of $113 without a case or bag (more than I paid for the same mandolin with the Fender decal a few years ago). http://www.savannahacoustic.com/Madison.1813.0.html 
The F-model comes with a case and has a list of $299.99 / MAP of $225. 
Disclaimer: I am a dealer for the above. So is your local music store. Fender has some other electric mandolin designs that look and play rather well that are not duplicated by other brands - even they all come out of the same factory. 
As does Gibson 
Electric mandolins with magnetic pickups must use nickel or stainless steel strings. Only the core in bronze strings has magnetic properties and the D and G strings will be too weak. You would be surprised by the number of players who come to me wondering why their electric mando is so out of balance. When I tell them they must use magnetic strings, I often get, "No, I like bronze strings. Do I need a new pickup or other mod?".
Mike Halloran
'49 00-28G, '03 000C-16SGTNE, '03 000-15S, Backpacker Mandolin, '60s Style 0 uke, '67 D12-35, '75 D-35S, Cowboy X, Cowboy II (I think that's all the Martins) Many Guilds, Gibsons and Goyas
Last Edited By: MikeHalloran
10/01/09 2:42 PM.
Edited 5 times.
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For Better Or For Worse |
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(10/01/09 2:41 PM) |
Wow! Thank you very much for your reply. Very thorough. Thanks.
The mandocaster would cost too much for my budget but I was thinking something like the Epiphone mandobird or another in the same ball park.
Last Edited By: For Better Or For Worse
10/01/09 2:43 PM.
Edited 1 times.
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MikeHalloran |
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(10/03/09 6:48 PM) |
I like the looks of the mando-bird and, properly set up, they play pretty well. I would certainly play one through an amp and a PA before pulling the trigger
to make sure you like the sound. They are certainly reasonably priced. $199 for the four string and $249 for the 8 string at Musicians Friend. Too bad they use
half of a P-Bass pickup instead of a P-90. At that price, ah well. This does make the pickup upgradable, however. 1/2 of a DiMarzio P-Bass pickup screams in
electric mandolins and has adjustable pole pieces to get the string balance perfect - it would drop right in.
I didn't mention the Gibson EM-150, an A-40 with a badass P-90 pickup. Jeff Bird plays one through a pedal board w/ the Cowboy Junkies and it sounds as wicked as any old Les Paul Jr. It came as both a four string (very rare) and an 8 string. Having a three digit part number should mean that it is laminated but the ones I have seen are solid woods. I have seen these with factory gold tops (how cool is that?). 
The solid body EM-200 is especially rare. Good luck finding one of these! 
It's funny. I make no secret of the fact that I am a Savannah/Johnson and Kentucky dealer. I am not trolling for sales on these boards and usually your local music store can sell you anything that I can. But, knowing I am a dealer, I am often asked why I choose to play a Fender FM-52E when I admit that the Savannah SA-115-E is, essentially, the same mandolin. The answer is simple: TML didn't carry an electric mandolin when I bought my Fender. I do keep it in a Guardian Featherweight case, however. 
Mike Halloran
'49 00-28G, '03 000C-16SGTNE, '03 000-15S, Backpacker Mandolin, '60s Style 0 uke, '67 D12-35, '75 D-35S, Cowboy X, Cowboy II (I think that's all the Martins) Many Guilds, Gibsons and Goyas
Last Edited By: MikeHalloran
10/04/09 12:44 PM.
Edited 7 times.
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