Godin A8 Amp Question

[mistermyro]

I’ve just acquired a Godin A8, cognac burst finish, that looks great but could use a set up. Brian Dubbeldam has it at his shop in Ottawa and I’m sure it will be very playable when I get it back. This A8 will be a present for my son, away at university, who has been playing mando for about 3 years now ( and getting very good at it ). He has expressed an interest in the “electric side” and I’m hoping to surprise him at Christmas.
I still need to match an amp to this mandolin and as I know absolutely nothing about electric instruments ( always played acoustic ) I’m hoping for some suggestions that can help me get him properly started. I’ve looked around on the forum but I’m still at a loss. Perhaps someone here has an A8 and knows just what I need. All suggestions are welcome.

[mandroid]

A8 are in an Acoustic-electric Niche , and as such Amps with a wide frequency response would be better than a small Electric Guitar amp, (IMHO, of course ) ..

After looking at various Amps, I own a Roland AC 60. fairly small , dual channel stereo.
they pack around well aided by the shoulder strap on the High density Foam padded Gig Bag they ship in.

Can function as a PA too, so Mic-ing an acoustic is Practical

some have tried the Mackie SRM 150 powered Personal monitor and like it ,
Lighter weight, one channel and it sits on a Mic stand. with a boom mount capability
on top of it to still use a Mic on that stand to sing into .

[mrmando]

The A8's onboard preamp is quite good, and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it sounded through my Fender Blues Jr. That said, Crate makes a line of relatively inexpensive acoustic amps (I have a "Gunnison" model) that would be even better suited for this purpose.

[Bob Borzelleri]

'nother vote for the Roland AC-60. I play a Godin A8 through it and am quite pleased at the versatility.

That said, the smaller Rolands of the AC line are no slouches either and they are a bit smaller and lighter.

[Bruce Clausen]

My experience is similar to Martin's; I use a regular electric guitar amp and am happy with the sound. You're not really after an acoustic mandolin sound anyway with the Godin-- it's more like a small Rickenbacker 12-string guitar. I think it'll work through almost anything, including a mixing board. Main question should be in what situations will he be playing, and how loud? I get by with a Peavey 7 watt amp on some paying gigs, but as a university student he'll certainly want more volume than that.

BC

[mandroid]

The 4 Piezo Pickups and the Preamp / EQ Board are Made by RMC a company in Berkeley California.
I found them useful in a combination of divided pickups for Synth access.
another Niche RMC serves..

[David Ray]

Howdy - I play a Godin and a Jon Mann solid body electric mando in a band that plays a range of music from Allman Brothers to Van Morrison to Delbert McClendan to Tom Petty. For small gigs I use a Kustom 35 watt acoustic amp. For larger gigs I use a Fender Twin. The Godin sounds great in either situation

[Jim Nollman]

I plug my A8 into an LRBaggs ParaDi then into a Fishman Loudbox.

According to many respondents on the Cafe, these mandolins usually arrive from the factory in serious need of a proper setup. The older models came with a non-adaptable bridge, and often with a bad neck angle. The first issue made it impossible to raise or lower the electronic bridge, while the internal wiring made it impossible to move it forward or back. The second issue meant that the strings were quite a bit higher near the bridge than at the nut. Consequently, it took major surgery to set it up properly.

I originally got one of those models, and within a few months I sent it back when a rep told me they had started building new models with an adaptable bridge. They were very nice about it, and there was no extra charge.

I highly recommend you check to see if yours has a bridge with little gnurled screws on it to heighten or lower the action. That's a newer model. This adaptable bridge certainly helps matters, although not always enough. The new one I got still had the second problem of a poorly engineered neck angle. I sent this second one to a luthier who reset the angle, which made it possible to get a low enough action I could actually play. By the way, two years have passed, and i can tell you that action is lower than anything I have ever experienced on any acoustic mandolin. More like a strat. Now that this work has been done, it is a GREAT instrument.

[mandroid]

A8, Had one , Bolt on neck meant shimming the neck [I put a flatwasher around each screw, just loosened them and slid them between neck and body, that did the trick] brought it up nicely..
now with both neck and bridge tweak able all the better.

They didn't Glue the neck on when they added the bridge adjustment, did they?

[mistermyro]

Thanks everyone for the advice. It's especially nice to hear from people who play the A8. I'll report back when I get the kit organized. Thanks again.