What's in the Mix?

[hank]

This is for you guy's and gal's that are playing carbon fiber music boxes. I'm a big believer in play before you buy and that, not all mandolins of the same model and make are equal in tone and power. With this in mind I still ask the question what make and model mandolin does your Mix most sound & play like? I ask this in a more or less general sense perhaps a better question would be what are these mandolins strong points and weak ones so far as sound goes. Can you really get an almost indestructable beater that sounds as good as our more delicate wooden ones? ~:>~:>~:>~:>~:>

[mandroid]

I have a Mix A5 the neck is comfortable but not slim, analogy is the old 20's Oval hole .

Peter says he learned from the A mold , it came out larger than He envisioned ,

the F mold is different, the neck slimmer and not as deep , [& 2x more $]

The sound is unique , good , but different ...

from my limited exposure to wooden Mandolins, but that is mostly because

I only get to play the ones I've paid for.

I have Monel strings on mine.

[Eddie Sheehy]

I have an F4 Mix. The sound is superb. There's kind of a reverbish sound in the higher trebles. Plenty of sustain. Easily the best mando I've ever played - that includes a Bluett F4 and a Gibson Fern. And, it has a Schertler pickup which projects that the acoustic sound accurately. And, it's a work of art... note the avatar...

[John Flynn]

I like 'em. I want one! I have played four of them and my observations are:
> They are pretty consistent. They all tend to sound alike, which is not a bad thing. Even the oval hole ones sound a lot like the F hole ones.
> They tend to be more balanced to the bright/treble side to my ears. When I get one, I will likely string it with T-I's to get a darker sound.
> The back is very active when you play. You can really feel the vibrations against your gut, more than with a wooden instrument. I've not heard of anyone using a Tone Gard on one, but it would be worth trying.
> The A's at least are super light-weight.
> I gotta believe they are practically indestructible.

[Perry]

I have a MIX A5; one of the first ones....IMHO it does not compare to a wooden instrument's tone at all....it really has it's own unique sound...

Mine has the earlier chunky neck that I've grown to like.
It stays in tune forever.
It's the ultimate plug-in mandolin.
It's the first truly "roadworthy" mandolin
You can really lay into it without compressing the tone.

On the negative side the tone does not vary that much in relation to where your picking hand is positioned (near or far from bridge)

[mdithk]

I have had an A5 for about a month. It has more volume than my wooden mandos, and about the same as my wooden/metal Dobro, although my husband says the Dobro is louder.

When I was in the shop I played it against a Collings and it was much louder.

And--warning: female take on it--it smells really nice. Hard to describe, but nice.

[Tim2723]

There is no such thing as an indestructible mandolin.

[Steve L]

There is no such thing as an indestructible mandolin.


I believe him!;)

[jim_n_virginia]

I've been MASing for a Mix F-5 for a good while now. I've been waiting for the prices to drop and someone to not like theirs and dump it in the classifieds but the prices have stayed high and furthermore people are getting what they ask for them from what I can see. In other words the Mix's sell slow but they are holding their value.

There must be a good reason for that and I am guessing because they look and sound great ... which makes me want one EVEN MORE!!! :crying: