Show your Mandocello

[kidgloves2]

Title says it all. I have G.A.S. for a mandocello and I'd like to get some ideas.

[Keith Erickson]

The Southerner Mandocello (http://www.santacruzguitar.com/acousticguitars/details/mandocello.html) from the Santa Cruz Guitar Company was the inspiration behind my mandocello pictured here. (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/album.php?albumid=157)

The conversion was done by local El Paso guitar builder Bill Farmer :cool:

[kidgloves2]

WOW Keith! That is really cool. 2 questions:

1. If you don't mind me asking, How much did the conversion cost?

2. Do you have any sound clips?

I might go the same route.

[Keith Erickson]

KidGloves,

It was really affordable since my mandocello was originally a 12-string guitar.

Let me see if I can attach a video of my mandocello.

Wish me luck :)

[Keith Erickson]

Okay....

Here is the video from the Facebook meet up group The Mandocello Enthusiast. (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=1174840978443&oid=42228490847)

[kidgloves2]

Do I need facebook to see it?

I really think I'm going to do this. I'm going to take a cheap martin and have it converted. Maybe a DX series. I have to see if there is a good local luthier.

[Keith Erickson]

Mandocello in the backyard

[Keith Erickson]

Let's see if this works

[Keith Erickson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOVJqOW_X6c

Ah heck........Here's a simple sample of my mandocello.

Enjoy :)

[Marcus CA]

This is my 2004 Weber Gallatin F mandocello. I LOVE it!

[kidgloves2]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOVJqOW_X6c

Ah heck........Here's a simple sample of my mandocello.

Enjoy :)

WOW! That is what I need asap! Great video.

I don't have the funds for a Weber. I'm oing to convert a cheap Epiphone instead of a martin. I can do most of the work myself except making the bridge. I'll ask the guy that does my guitar setups if he can do the bridge.

[kidgloves2]

This is my 2004 Weber Gallatin F mandocello. I LOVE it!

If I could afford it, that's what I ultimately want. One day. There is another video floating around here with one of these getting played. It sounds amazing!

[Keith Erickson]

WOW! That is what I need asap! Great video.

I don't have the funds for a Weber. I'm oing to convert a cheap Epiphone instead of a martin. I can do most of the work myself except making the bridge. I'll ask the guy that does my guitar setups if he can do the bridge.

KidGloves,

Thank you :redface:

We shot that clip around 9:45 in the morning and it was about 100º degrees.

This was originally a 12-string guitar so I was pretty confident that it could handle 8 string without any issues.

Good luck with your conversion. We look forward to hearing from you soon :mandosmiley:

[kidgloves2]

I'm planning things today. I think I'm going to put 2 banjo tuning machines in the middle of the headstock. I saw this link from the thread you were in:

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Structural/8StConvert/8stconvert.html

I really like what he did there, but the headstock is too much work. I'm trying too keep it as inexpensive as possible. I can do the headstock myself if I do it my way. I might be able to do the nut, but that's not expensive to have someone else do.

I'll keep you updated. :cool:

[PhilGE]

When I grow up, I wanna play like Keith... :)

[Keith Erickson]

:disbelief: WOW!!!!

Phil,

Thank you for the compliment but personally, when I grow up, I would like to play like Mike Marshall :cool:

[Bernie Daniel]

Here is my 1936 K-1.

[Bernie Daniel]

Here is a mandocello I made from a 1970's Arianna guitar.

[PhilGE]

:disbelief: WOW!!!!

Phil,

Thank you for the compliment but personally, when I grow up, I would like to play like Mike Marshall :cool:

Yeah, well, there is that... I'd be content with your level of playing.

I am slowly working on the guittern... :)

[Keith Erickson]

Here is a mandocello I made from a 1970's Arianna guitar.

Bernie,

Forgive me if I asked before, but was your 'cello originally a 6 string or a 12 string?

[Keith Erickson]

Yeah, well, there is that... I'd be content with your level of playing.

I am slowly working on the guittern... :)

Phil,

I bet that you can smoke me on the guittern :cool:

[T.J.]

Here's my 6-course, unison-strung mandophone... mandocello on the bottom four courses, octave mandolin on the center four, cittern on the bottom five, and mandola and mandolin when capoed at the fifth fret.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/album.php?albumid=432

The whole project cost me less than the price of a new Eastman 504 mandolin.

(The top course, tuned to B4, uses strings from www.octave4plus.com/ (http://www.octave4plus.com/) to tune so high at the 25.5" scale length.)

[man dough nollij]

Here's my 6-course, unison-strung mandophone... mandocello on the bottom four courses, octave mandolin on the center four, cittern on the bottom five, and mandola and mandolin when capoed at the fifth fret.

TJ, I've been following your mandophone threads. IIRC, this has never worked before, but you made it work with a 0.06" high B string, right? I wonder if that could be used to make a six string mandolinola (CGDAEB)? What is the scale length on yours (capo to bridge)? :confused:

[kidgloves2]

Bernie, those are so nice! I really like the blacktop Gibson. I have a thing for blacktop mandos.

T.J. I was thinking about taking a 12 string guitar and doing the same. Robert Fripp actually tunes his guitars in 5ths, he calls it "New Standard Tuning".


So many options! It's making my head spin. :disbelief:

[JCLondonUK]

Here's my Paul Hathway 'cello.

http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab360/JCLondonUK/Mandos.jpg

I love it! :)

[T.J.]

On the six-string mandophones, the distance from the fifth fret to the saddle is about 19"; the 12-string is just a hair less. I hadn't really thought of doing a mandolin-tuned instrument at a shorter scale length using the same strings.

Here's the problem, though... the O4+ strings just can't have loops put into them. There is a two-piece ball which clamps around the string. The ball has no hole in it, so you'll need a string-through bridge to make it work... and even then, I'd talk to the O4+ folks about what you want to do before going that far.

Given my experiences so far, though, I have no doubts it would work.

----

Incidentally, I've commented in the other Full Fifths Tuning threads about the issues I was having when I first tried full fifths in the '80s, and my decision to abandon the idea due to bad tone on a low F.

Fripp similarly couldn't get to full fifths, and decided to just tune the top string to the highest note he could easily get to. No one I know, including various Crafty guitarists, has managed to leverage that string to do anything amazing, and a few of them are now excited to be able to normalise that top string. The Fripp tuning was a compromise between the hope of full fifths and the failure of the then-current state of string technology.

Okay, enough of my thread-hijacking. We can discuss this in a thread more dedicated to the subject, if you all wish.

[Mandobart]

KidGloves - I got an Eastman MDC805 last April. It is a wonderful instrument. You can hear a sound clip (and see a price) at

http://www.themandolinstore.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=8126

I bought mine from The Old Boise Guitar Center in Boise, quite a ways from you. These are not easy to find, but it sounds great, is beautifully made, costs about $1000 less than an Ovation cello, ~$2000 less than a Santa Cruz and about $3000 less than a Weber. I don't play like Keith yet, but I'm learning.

[Keith Erickson]

Mandobart,

Would you happen to have a sound clip of your Eastman Mandocello? If I had the bucks, I would definetly picked on up if I could have.

...and thank you for the kind compliment but I still believe that Mike Marshall is the gold standard.

I would consider myself more of the ..........tin standard. :))

[kidgloves2]

T.J., I definitely would love to discuss this more. Sometimes I wish I just became a luthier so I could experiment with lots of ideas. One Idea of mine is to work off of the Fender Bass VI guitar concept in order to get the low F. That instrument is 30"scale. This would be for the rock/alternative world if I went electric. And I would make the strings single coursed. It would easily cover the bass range all the way up to guitar range and be tight. It would work acoustic as well, both single and double coursed. Probably great for fingerstyle! The nut would get pretty wide double coursed though.

Mandobart, I have played a few eastman instruments, both guitar and mandolin. They really are great instruments. I have no doubt the Mandocello is amazing. I like to support the American makers as much as possible unless I'm going REALLY inexpensive. If I went into eastman price range, I would probably ask Andy Poe if he could make me a Scout Mandocello. It would probably cost a few extra bucks. But I bet it could be near that price. I would love to see your Eastman though! :)


And Keith, you're probably more gold plated standard. Your fingers move well! :)

[Bernie Daniel]

Keith Erickson:... was your 'cello originally a 6 string or a 12 string?


Keith -- it was as 6 string. I am going to look into having a luthier do some kind of reinforement on it as a preventative measure.

Given my experiences I would say that a far wiser choice with be to start with a 12 string -- then you should be 100% on safe grounds.

I have asked a number of times on several forums if anyone could tell me if a K-5 mandocello has any extra bracing compared to an L-5 guitar but no one has ever tried to answer it.

Not too surprising I'd guess as you can probably count on one hand the number of folks who have ever had both instruments in their reach at the same time!

One thing I will say this conversion manocello makes an absolute a monster sound --rolling thunder -- but with a guitar neck it is harder to play then the Gibson K-1.

If I will probably sell the conversion one of these days soon as it have recently acquired a 1936 TG-00 tenor guitar and a 1929 TB-3 tenor banjo and that is where all my "spare" time is going.

That and given my limited musical talents it takes me twice as long as most to get things right anway!! :(

kidgloves2, thanks for the kind remarks! :)

[Bernie Daniel]

Mandobart, that is an absolutely awesome looking and sounding mandocello -- hats off to Eastman for that one!!!

Now can they get up the nerve to make a scroll model? :grin:

Take me back to yesterday when giant mandolins roamed the earth.

[Keith Erickson]

Mandobart, that is an absolutely awesome looking and sounding mandocello -- hats off to Eastman for that one!!!

Now can they get up the nerve to make a scroll model? :grin:

Take me back to yesterday when giant mandolins roamed the earth.

Agreed!!!! I've found the sample and it's amazing.

Is it me or does it look amazing similar to a Lloyd Loar Mandocello?

[Mandobart]

okay this is the first time I've ever done a youtube post or a video here (or anywhere), thanks to my 14 year old son...



Just a short little tune to show how the Eastman 'cello sounds. This was recorded on my little olympus camera with very basic audio/video capability. I have even less capability.

[Bernie Daniel]

JCLondonUK: Here's my Paul Hathway 'cello.

That is a good looking set of insturments. I like to hear more details about the Hathway mandocello -- do you have it tuned CGDA?

[Bernie Daniel]

Mandobart, very very nice you should continue to post now!

That is a great sounding instrument! The sound of the f-hole mcello seems to have the same relationship to an oval hole as is the case with the mandolins. There is a recording of Tony Williamson play a Loar K-5 on the "Sound of the American Mandolin" project and yours sounds very much the same.

Great picking too!!

Oh yeah! I was going to mention you remind me of Juan Pablo Montoya the race car driver! I did a double take when I you video first flashed up. You could pass for his brother :)

[Bernie Daniel]

Keith, I like to see more on your 12-string conversion. Is there a string that details you conversion somewhere. Also what kind of a guitar was it when you started?

[kidgloves2]

Mandobart, That was a really great video! Thanks for taking the time to make it. Those Eastmans could really make me change my mind about buying foreign instruments. I've never played a bad one.

Also, nice picking. I hope you got bit by the video making bug. Once I get a mandocello all set up, I plan on making videos. I think the more people see these things in action, the more likely they will also play mandocello. I'd love the see the mandocello popularity grow!

Thanks!

[Keith Erickson]

Mandobart,

You tube has been blocked from work so I will make sure I take a look at your video the 1st chance I get when I get home.

Thanks,

[JCLondonUK]

That is a good looking set of insturments. I like to hear more details about the Hathway mandocello -- do you have it tuned CGDA?

Yes, CGDA. I haven't had it very long (a few months) and have been having so much fun with it in CGDA that I haven't tried any other tunings yet. I've never played another mandocello, either, so am not really very qualified to comment, but for me the Hathway is excellent. When I wallop the low C, the whole neighbourhood shakes. :grin:

[Keith Erickson]

Keith, I like to see more on your 12-string conversion. Is there a string that details you conversion somewhere. Also what kind of a guitar was it when you started?

Bernie,

There is a thread somewhere. I tried pulling a Mike Edgarton but I'm not as good as he is when it comes to searching threads ;)

My 'cello originally was a 12 string Japanese Madiera Guild which I purchased at Haskell Music Center in Haskell, NJ for $225 dollars in 1985.

As a 12 string guitar, it had a full, rich sound and it was my main axe when I played in the church choir in Ringwood, NJ.

Outside of church, my 12 string was used to cover Zeppelin, Rush, Yes, Zebra and Triumph tunes.

Fast forward to 2003/ 2004 El Paso, Tx...

When I decided to pick up the mandolin as my main instrument, my guitars pretty much took a back seat.

Mrs 8_String and I decided that it was time to clean out the hobby room. She saw the 12 string and she flat out said that since it's not being used, it's got to go.

Oh it do go alright :))

...I took it over to local guitar builder Bill Farmer and I had him convert it to a mandocello and 2 weeks later I was a mandocello player.

Transformation from 12 String to Mandocello:

-The top 4 tuning pegs were cut off from the headstock

-The black paint was removed from the headstock down and then it was stained to show the rosewood.

-Bill then put a bass clef abalone inlay on the head stock

-Bridge was made from rosewood and the deer bone was spaced and measured

-The nut was made from deer bone and it was spaced and measured

-Strings were from our own Martin Stillion (Mr Mando)

That's the abreviated version of how things came about.

Bill Farmer did an fantastic job and I'm couldn't be happier.

My apologies for hi jacking the thread :mandosmiley:

I hope I answered your questions.

[Keith Erickson]

Bernie,

Thank you answering my question. I was curious on how the bracing is holding up since you're adding 2 extra strings (and probably thicker strings to boot).

Personally speaking, I was completely comfortable knowing that if my Madeira Guild originally had 12 strings, the bracing would defintely handle strings 8 with out any issues.

It sounds like your Ariana a monster indeed. Even if I was to get a hold of a "real" 'cello, I would have still held on to it just for conversation.

[Keith Erickson]

okay this is the first time I've ever done a youtube post or a video here (or anywhere), thanks to my 14 year old son...



Just a short little tune to show how the Eastman 'cello sounds. This was recorded on my little olympus camera with very basic audio/video capability. I have even less capability.

Absolutely beautiful!!!!! :disbelief:

Outstanding !!!!! :)

[Boombloom]

I'm a bassist who has struggled with mandolin for years. I started reading about mandocellos here at the cafe and decided to pursue one. The plan was to play basslines on it. I bought a scratch and dent Eastman at a very good price from John Bernunzio. I love everything about it. I love the feel, the sound and the way it looks. Now I'm a bassist who has struggled with the mandocello.

[Bernie Daniel]

Boombloom: Now I'm a bassist who has struggled with the mandocello.

I wish I could play bass and I also wish I could play the mandocello -- so you are at least one up on me!:))

[Boombloom]

I'm a bassist who has struggled with mandolin for years. I started reading about mandocellos here at the cafe and decided to pursue one. The plan was to play basslines on it. I bought a scratch and dent Eastman at a very good price from John Bernunzio. I love everything about it. I love the feel, the sound and the way it looks. Now I'm a bassist who has struggled with the mandocello.

I just noticed an Eastman in the classifieds here on MCafe. They have fairly wide fretboards. Pretty guitarish. I really like mine.