Octave mandolin for blues/rock lead

[Jim Nollman]

I noticed a Dean 5 string solid body Octave mandolin for sale last week in the Classifieds. It sold pretty fast. I was very close to bidding on it, because I thought this 2 pickup instrument looks like the perfect instrument for every mandolin player who has ever fantasized playing lead guitar

Can anyone recommend a recording of somebody playing an octave mandolin in the role usually filled by lead guitar? For those of us who are most#at home with the 5ths string setup on a mandolin, trying to play blues or rock on a solid body guitar doesn't come naturally. But you just got to have that sustained tenor tone color.

[Jim M.]

One I can think of is Lief Sorbye, of Tempest, a Celtic-rock group:

http://www.tempestmusic.com/images/lief_cropredy.jpg

He's got a cool selection of instruments. You can check them out at www.tempestmusic.com

You should ask in the CBOM section, too.

[jefflester]

Can anyone recommend a recording of somebody playing an octave mandolin in the role usually filled by lead guitar?
Michael Kang of String Cheese Incident fills this role. Not necessarily an "Octave" scale length, but longer scale than regular mandolin. There are over a thousand SCI recordings at LMA (http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Aetree%20AND%20creato r%3A%22String%20Cheese%20Incident%22) and I'm not really an SCI fan so I can't recommend any one in particular. Kang also plays fiddle, but if you hear an instrument that sounds like an electric guitar, it's Kang. There is a guitar player, but I believe he only plays acoustic.

http://leftovercheese.com/sci.kang1.JPG

[Jim Nollman]

Is that double neck instrument, a mandola/octave combination? Imagine the tension caused by 16 strings! I'd like to know the pounds of pull.

Also, looking at Michael's really gorgeous instrumernt, I can see there's an entire world of mandolin possibilities out there I hadn't even knew existed?

[Perry]

Not quite an octave but Neko Case (sic?) has been quite succesful playing electric tenor guitar

Here's a pic (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.statenews.com/dispimage.phtml%3Fimage%3D12251&imgrefurl=http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml%3Fpk%3D35581&h=219&w=288&sz=42&hl=en&start=11&um=1&tbnid=wyahNNl2z2x3CM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=115&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dneko%2Bcase%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26h l%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN)

[Jim M.]

Is that double neck instrument, a mandola/octave combination?
According to Lief's page, it's

"Custom built by John Knutson In Forestville, California. This is the first "Sorbye trademark dbl. Neck mandolin" Made in '89, and rebuilt in '98. Mandolin tuning on the top neck, and an octave lower on the bottom neck. Pickups by Alembic, and custom painted strap by Vicki Berndt."

See more of his stuff at:

Lief (http://www.tempestmusic.com/html/lief.html)

[groveland]

Consider this? (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=16;t=40200;hl=teleberger)

[Jim Nollman]

Groveland, I read your struggles building a 6 string instrument tuned in 5ths. There are a few threads on the Cafe, that have convinced me that 5 strings is probably max, and also that it is probably easier to tune and play if the extra string is a high B rather than a low C.

I definitely don't want an instrument with a guitar neck. It's too wide for what I'm used to playing. I am comfortable playing a mandola, and so I'd simply use that standard neck width and make it 21 inches in scale length.

Another interesting idea is that Allen in Berkeley, he of the cast tailpiece fame, is now turning out fretboards on a machine with about 100 configurations to choose from. This includes some scale lengths from 19-22 inches, which is perfect for an Octave mandolin. They are inexpensive and accurate. Allen was the guy selling the solid body octave Mandolin the other day on the Cafe.

I just got a new Godin A8 mandolin, so I need to to focus playing that for at least a few months. But I have begun talking to a luthier about building me an Octave Mandolin, most likely something with a sound chamber without a sound hole for a bit more resonance. Something like the sound chambers in my Godin. This builder has suggested that we should put in a bridge transducer and an EMG neck pickup and add a pot that will let us mix the two. Phoenix, in Maine makes a jazz mandolin with this combo of transducer and magnets. That one is quite spendy, but from what I've heard, it is an incredible instrument. If money was no object I'd commission that luthier to build me my perfect Octave.

It makes me wonder if Rigel ever made an electric octave. anybody know?

[jmkatcher]

Rigel made an electric mandolin, but I've never heard of an electric octave from them. At one point I was looking intensely to have one built, but eventually just learned electric guitar. Have you seen the GD Armstrong instruments?

[Jim Nollman]

Hey Katcher, you just about ruined my day, leading me to those Armstrong guitars. I had to search my soul to realize what foul deed I would be willing to commit just to own that lacewood slide bouzouki!! I notice he's in Oregon. I'll definitely go check it out the next time I drive tthrough Newburgh.

Has anyone ever considered organizing a mandolin tour to Oregon? That is a big bucks proposition. One day spent with Mowry in Bend, another day with LeStock, then Breedlove, and of course Armstrong. I'm sure there are 10 or 12 other mandatory stops. Hell, we all might as well move there.

Too many instruments, too little time.

[James P]

I like some of what Mandolier (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=mandolier) is doing.

Here's his shop site:
http://mandolier.com/