Michal Kelly Electric

[noahrock]

Does anybody own one of the MK's with the built in fishman Preamp? how do they sound, do they get good volume before feedback? I'm looking for an mando that will cut through the mix in a rock band, but still sound like a mandolin.
Thanx

[bjc]

I have a Freshwater with a fishman copy system in it (every bit as good as the fishman, IMHO) and that thing can get REAL loud...I use it in my rock band. I also have an MK with the non-eq (after market fishman)I have to run it through an EQ...but it also gets quite loud...but the onboard, IMHO provides better results.

[357mag]

I have a few questions along those lines myself. A frien of mine who is a pretty good flatpicker. tells me I am a little to light handed and need to get my volume up.
Is an electric mando something you can plug into a regular guitar amp? Is that usually done when everyone else is playing acoustically? Does an electric mando sacrifice much tone when being played acoustically? ( Im talking about a regular hollow body mando with pickups)

Also, do many of you have an electric mando in your collection?

[RichM]

You can use an electric mando through a regular guitar amp, but you may have better luck with a keyboard amp or even an acoustic guitar amp, which generally are "tuned" to reproduce a broader sonic range. You may need a preamp as well, especially if you are using a piezo pickup (which a large percentage of acoustic instrument pickups are). Most people I know plug in when they are playing with an amplified combo-- for example, I used to play in a rock band, and amplifying my mandolin was absolutely necessary, as mic-ing it just wasn't an option in that environment.

Some pickups are better than others, and some do a pretty decent job. That being said, I have yet to hear a pickup that really captures the unique woody sound of a good mandolin. It's a compromise.

As far as an electric mano sacrificing tone when being played acoustically-- this depends mostly on the quality of the mandolin and somewhat on the nature of the pickup. There's a cheap Fender mandolin that has a magnetic pickup attached to the top. I have to believe that affects the vibrating surface of the top and and impacts the tone. That being said, there's probably only so much damage you can do to a cheap mandolin. Some pickups are embedded in the bridge, and the entire bridge is replaced. Assuming it's a good bridge and installed properly, it shouldn't diminish tone. Piezo film pickups, such as the McIntyre Feather, can be tiny and weigh virtually nothing, and should not change the tone of your mando at all.

[357mag]

Woah! Thats a mouthfull. I am unfamiliar with most of that. Guess I need to do some reading.
What woulddd be an entry level mando that would serve as a fair acoustic instrument as well? Thanks.

[Ray Neuman]

I play a very nice Washburn acoustic mandolin, with a LR Baggs (I think) bridge pickup. It has a small wire extending out of the back of the bridge, with a 1/4" female plug in that velcros to the tail piece. Its easy, does NOT effect the tone of the instrument (at least mine) and sounds "ok". Its NOT the same sound that the mandolin produces, in that it is picking up string sound, and not the sound of the top of the instrument. You can tweek it with good sound equipment, but then, it does sound just like what it is.

I have this same issue with my guitar. I have a custom built acoustic guitar, and it has special sound qualities that it was built for. I have yet to find a way to reproduce its sound, and have been working on that for 15 years. Currently the guitar has a LR Baggs duel source, and I have a mic on a stand that works in conjuction with the pick up.

Its a frustrating issue for those of us that love the sound of wood. My (lengthy) advise would be to go play a few, and crank up the amps so you really just hear what the repoduced sound is like.

If anyone has any advise on a better way of reporducing my guitar, I am ALLLLL ears. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

the far too picky professir

[Jason Kessler]

My "electric" mando is an Oscar Schmidt F-model with a Fishman bridge pick-up.

I find I HAVE to use a pre-amp of some kind. It boosts the volume a great deal, but also beefs up the sound to a richer, fuller, more woody sound. I think it sounds pretty amazing, and fits in with any acoustic band situation. Does it sound exactly like an acoustic instrument, but louder? Of course not. Look at these discussion boards, at the thousands of minute topics we obsess over and their effects on our sound. It's be folly to expect some sort of amplification system that wouldn't affect the tone "at all." An acoustic mando with a Fishman, however, doesn't sound like a Mandobird. It sounds like an amplified acoustic instrument. Wholly acceptable, sometimes neccessary.