Weber's Sweet Pea

[yoods]

I asked the question below in another thread talking about travel mandos and did not get a response...

"I have only tried out Martin's travel mando. I did not care for the feel of the Martin 's fretboard. Has anyone tried Weber's Sweet Pea mando? If so, how did it compare with the Martin and how did it feel in comparison? "

So I ask again, anyone have any experience with this instrument that can tell me how they compare with Martin's travelyn?
Thanks

[Jim M.]

I think the Weber is far superior to the Martin in both sound and playability. They have a pretty nice, open ringing sound like a good flat-top. But they don't have much volume, and they sure don't have a chop. I would buy one if I could think of something to do with it that I can't do with a regular mando. Not a criticism but I'm not sure why people buy travel mandos. A full-size mando is plenty small enough, at least in my experience, to take anywhere.

[spoefish]

There is also the Mid Missouri MiniMo to consider - nice little instrument and has a good sound and decent volume, and it plays very nicely. You can find one used (just wait, they show up) for less than $200 (I did). I gave mine to my son who hauls it everywhere with him. Somehow the MiniMo seems to be a little more portable than a standard mandolin even though it is nearly the same size. The scale length is the same.

Stephen

[John Flynn]

I prefer the Mederios. Wider, more playable neck than the other brands mentioned and with T-I strings, it sounds better than some full sized mandos.

The sweet pea fits in my suite case.

[earthsave]

I had a Sweet Pea and bought it to play around and leave out. I ended up giving it to my nephew after having it sit in its bag for about 2 years. He is enjoying it. It is very playable, well constructed, and has decent sound considering its size and very light strings. I always thought it might be cool to stick a pickup on it and see what it sounded like, but never did.

[earthsave]

BTW, I bought me a used cheapo F-style Bean Blossom that I know leave sitting out so I will be inclined to pick more often. It was cheaper than the Pea.

[JEStanek]

I like my sweet pea b/c I can throw it around my neck, play as I watch the kids, tuck it easily behind may back when doing other stuff. I can play it quietly when folks are sleeping. Its very convienient. It sounds nice too when I play for just me.

Jamie

[clarksavage]

Just bought a sweet pea after playing the Martin backpacker for a few years (as my "office and car" instrument. BTW, I like the Martin, it got me playing again after many years of ignoring my old Gibson A4 sitting in its case.... the Martin is built so solidly that I am not afraid to hurt it, it plays just find and I find the sound really interesting. The Weber was an impulse buy... but it has another very interesting sound. It is also quite playable. It is also build quite solidly, I am not afraid to drop it on the concrete (really!) It has a fuller sound than the Martin (oval hole versus f holes here, too) but also a very "banjo" like twang when I pick the strings with a heavy pick. Cool little thing. Quiet. I got one with really nice looking wood grain, too. This is the first time in my life I can own more than one mandolin without guilt :-) and I like throwing one of these over my back or in my (hot) car just to plink around with when I get a spare minute. I care very little about the particular "sound" as long as it gives me the opportunity to practice "Soldier's Joy" and "The Yellow Rose of Texas" (my recent focus!)
Clark

[clarksavage]

I've had the Sweet Pea for a few days now, took it everywhere and played it every spare 10 minutes I had... on park benches, in the hot car, in the backyard. Cool little instrument. I restrung my Martin Backpacker to make them "even" in string age and compared their tone. They really are "miniature" mandolins, the Martin sounds like an "f hole" version and the Weber is the "oval hole" version... with very restricted range and lower volume than normal mandolins. The Sweet Pea "sounds" much "better" to my ear, but I am an oval hole player and like rosewood, full sound, stuff like that. It is quieter than the Martin, but it may "open up" as the Martin has. (Yes, I believe the little Martin is louder and fuller, choppier, than it was when I bought it a few years ago... I've played it a lot).

Geez, now I have Mini MAS and I want to get a Mini Mo to see what that is like. Anyone know about other "travel" mandolins? I probably can't actually get a Mini Mo or others till after I handle my Gibson repair bill and after I buy a good quality spare to play while the Gibson is away..... but I am interested in what mini mandolins exist. I really like the little things. Come to think of it, my PDA is a tiny linux box with keyboard and wireless, etc. I never grew up :-)

Clark

[clarksavage]

Oh, sorry I haven't addressed the original question! The "playability" of the weber Sweet Pea. Note that the Martin has an adjustable rod in the neck and the Weber does not. The Martin has a rosewood fingerboard, the Weber seems to have used maple for the fingerboard. The width at the nut of the Martin is about 1 3/8 inches, the Weber is narrower at about 1 1/8 inches roughly. Both mandos have fixed bridges. Martin uses mahogany for the body and Weber uses maple (mine has very interesting markings.) They're very close in scale length and the same number of frets by a quick eyeball of the boards. The Martin is physically a longer instrument by about 3 inches. Neither one of these will sit in your lap for playing, the strap is mostly necessary. Both tend to "cut" into my forearm as I play them where my arm meets the body for picking the strings if I wear a short sleeved shirt while playing and I play for some time. (some sort of armrest or felt taped to the side for long playing sessions, but I never play these for long!) The Martin has a cheapo endpiece while the Weber has an innovative way to attach the strings that eliminates buzz problems in a small space. Neat. With light stings they both play easily, the tuners are stable and smooth on each. They are fine for their purposes. I suppose if I had to choose one, I'd keep the Weber for the more open sound, but the Martin has a hint of chop and more volume after some years of playing. Currently, the Martin can be found cheap (at $170 delivered some places on the internet?) and the Weber is near $250 most places. Both way cool. Anyone can report on the Mid Mo?

Clark

[John Flynn]

BTW, the nut width on the Martin is 1 3/16" per Martin's website, not 1 3/8" as was stated above.

I have played multiple examples of the Mid-Mo "Mini-Mo" as well as the Martin and the Weber. I didn't hate it, but I was also not terribly impressed. Like all the travel mandos mentioned, it sounds tinny and still has that "toy" feel to it. Playbility is good, about like any other Mid-Mo. Like the Sweet Pea, it lacks an adjustable truss rod, although that is not an issue for me.

I would say the plus is that it looks more like a "real" mandolin. The minuses are that it is larger, and therefore less portable, and it costs more. Also, I played one that was brand new, but had developed a crack right down the middle of the top where the two sides of the top were separating. I know anything can happen on any instrument, but that fit and finish issue concerned me.

If you can't get a Mederios, per my previous post, I would go with the Martin if cost, tone and playability were the priorities. I would only go with the Weber if having a travel mando that was a few inches shorter was an issue, which it can be if you are packing it in a suitcase. I don't like the tone on them and every one I have every played seemed to be very hard to get in tune and keep in tune.

[PhilGE]

I can't say I have Johnny's breadth of experience, but I've never had any problems with the Sweet Pea we own. I put used Thomastik-Infelds on it and it sounds and plays well for what it is. I am very biased, however, since I did not pay for mine and I was strongly encouraging companies to produce such smaller instruments for children.

I can say that I don't like the Martin Backpacker, however. Sound was very unappealing.

I'd be interested to hear more about your Mederios, Johnny. Where did you find it?

[John Flynn]

I'd be interested to hear more about your Mederios, Johnny. Where did you find it?
I bought mine from Lark in the Morning, although they stopped carrying them a few years ago. You could buy them fully built for $225, which I did, or you could get them as a kit. Michael Mederios still builds instruments in Loveland, Colorado, according to his website, which is linked below. At one time, he listed the travel mando and a full size mando similar to the regular Mid-Mo. He does not currently list the mandos on his website, but if he is still building instruments, I am sure he would still build a mando if a client wanted one.

http://www.twofooter.com/

Some specs: The Mederios is 24" long, so slightly longer than the Weber, but shorter than the Martin. Mine has a spruce top; maple sides and neck; and a really nice looking walnut back. The neck is 1 1/4," so it is wider than the other two brands. It is heavier than the other two models. There is no truss rod at all, but the neck is substantial enough it probably doesn't need one. I have set it up for a very low, buzz free action which has stood up to about six years of heavy travel with few problems. One thing I like about it is that it fits like a glove in a hardshell uke case, with only one 1/4" pad added under the back. Like all of these instruments, it sounds tinny with bronze strings, but with T-I's it sounds really great. I have had a dealer offer me money for it on the spot when I wasn't even trying to sell or trade it and this was someone who admittedly didn't like travel mandos. I turned him down.

[clarksavage]

Thanks for the correction, my Martin Backpacker does indeed have a nut width of 1 3/16. The Weber is 1 1/16. My tired old eyes.

I am going to look for the Mederios at some point. Looks interesting.

Clark

[Martin Jonas]

Both mandos have fixed bridges.
I can't speak for the Sweet Pea, but the Martin does not have a fixed bridge. I know because I once spent half an hour adjusting the intonation of a friend's Backpacker. It's non-adjustable in height, but it's still a floating bridge.

Martin

[clarksavage]

Sweet Pea (and Backpacker) owners: what strings do you use? I just put a new set on my Backpacker and the action started to creep up so I loosened them and will replace them. I put "lights" on it (the "E" was .010 as I recall). Anyway, if anyone has a good "light" mandolin string recommendation, I'd love to hear it.

[Donald]

I do some bicycle touring with a folding bike that fits in a suitcase. When the bike comes out the suitcase turns into a trailor. The Sweetpea will fit in the suitcase and a regular size mando will not. Makes the difference of having a mando with me or not on a trip of a few weeks. My Sweetpea has been to Transylvania, in Romania,Hungary, and Israel.
I use light strings from webstrings.com for under $3 a set and they work fine one it. They are .010-.034

I bought a Sweet Pea in late 2003, but rarely play it. I live where humidity runs at 60-70% and temp 75-95ºF year 'round. After about 2 years of using mostly J62s and occasionally J74s the top is sinking under the bridge. Weber does not spec string gauge on its website nor in the literature that comes with the instrument, but from a playability standpoint both gaugues work fine. I noticed the problem when the D string started buzzing at the 12th fret. It looks like the saddle can be shimmed to compensate, and maybe a new nut, but I'm waiting to hear back from Weber.

[8strings]

With travel being a large part of my occupation, I am also very interested in a good quality travel mandolin. Even though mandolins are considered small instruments by comparison, the standard shaped mandolin still is too big to carry on board with all of my other hand luggage, including laptop bag. My Martin backpacker mandolin hangs nicely off my shoulder and is mostly unnoticed by the airline check-in/cabin staff. Something of similar dimensions and 'higher' quality would definitely make me upgrade. I have recently contacted Peter Mix from Rigel mandolins to encourage him to design and build a 'backpacker like instrument' with the quality of a Rigel neck and a slim/ streamlined body. If all of you, or the ones really interested, would write to Peter as well, maybe he will come up with something for our niche market. At least it will make him aware that there is some demand out there for something that has not been really explored that well.

[JEStanek]

My sweet Pea came (used) with a second set of strings in the gig bag along with a Weber pick and Nile Hakkonens book. The extras were D'Addario J62s 0.010, 0.014, 0.024, and 0.034. I haven't noticed top sinkage. I heard on other threads J74s and other medium to heavies are death to Sweet Peas.

Jamie

[EMS]

I'm digging up this old thread to ask a quick Sweet Pea question!

I got one for a birthday present not long ago, and have had some fun playing it--but the action is much higher than my Mid-Mo or my Fullerton, and it looks like the bridge can't be lowered. I'd love to bring it along on trips to noodle around on, but playing it for any length of time just leaves my fingers sore!

Would putting lighter strings on help with this? Is there anything I can do other than swapping out the bridge for something lower? If not, is there one y'all would recommend? (I've never done that before, but I don't see why I couldn't!)

[JEStanek]

You could always have a luthier lower the height of the bridge that's on there. If you're comfortable doing it yourself you can do that too. Lowering the bridge to the top with some sandpaper may do the trick. This page at Frets.com (http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Mandolin/FitBridgeFeet/fitfeet.html) demonstrates one way to do this.

Jamie

[EMS]

Thanks, Jaime. You know, I'm not sure it IS the action--it doesn't look all that higher--I'm now thinking that maybe it just has heavier strings than I'm used to. I'll check with Elderly (that's where my father in law got it) and see what they put on these; eyeballing them, they're heavier than the strings on anything else I now play.

[JEStanek]

Go to the source... Rick Banuelos is their sales manager he is Rick B. on the Café. He started this thread (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=15;t=52092). You could send him a PM or call him at work. Here is Weber's Contact Us page. (http://www.soundtoearth.com/contactus.php)

Jamie

[EMS]

Wow! Thanks--will do! I'll let y'all know what I find out.

[Cary Fagan]

I have a sweat pea for travelling and really like it. When I first got it, i thought the action was high too, and every time I start playing it I have to get used to the difference. But after a while it's fine. I think the action is set higher to get more sound out of the little thing.

For those times when I get bring a regular mandolin, it's just great to have.