McCormick Electric F-style

**DHopkins** · Aug-31-2014, 9:39pm

This is a Mac McCormick 8-string solid-body electric. I don't play electrics much but this was made by a friend and I'm told he only made three. Mac passed away in 2007. He was a truly eclectic man and a wonderful luthier. I purchased it because Mac was a friend and because I thought it needed to come back home to Columbus.

**mrmando** · Aug-31-2014, 9:49pm

Cool, where'd you find it?

**Jeff Mando** · Sep-01-2014, 8:17am

very clever--solid body that looks like an acoustic

**DHopkins** · Sep-01-2014, 2:07pm

Originally Posted by mrmando

Cool, where'd you find it?

Mac was a well-respected luthier here in Columbus, GA. He concentrated on guitars. He had a waiting list of customers when he died in 2007. Mac was a friend who helped me with some dulcimer construction techniques. Most of his work took place in a little room about 10X10, although the entire shop was much larger. I've never seen him working when he didn't have duct tape holding his shoes together. He was a pretty heavy smoker and that's what took his life. He did both construction and repair work.

At the time I first saw this mandolin, I couldn't afford it. And besides, I was doing strictly acoustic or acoustic electric but not just electric. A local musician purchased it from Mac (or it may have been Mac's estate after he died.) He later sold it to a man in Vermont. I had advertised in the classifieds here looking for a McCormick mandolin, acoustic or electric and the Vermont man was willing to let this one go. He said he didn't play it much and he thought it should go back home to Columbus. I agreed.

When I first saw the pictures of this mandolin, I didn't realize it was the same one I piddled with before Mac died. I'm told he only made three electric mandolins and I believe this may be the only one that's actually F-style.

As the pictures show, it has "sound holes" and looks like a regular F-style mandolin. The holes are for decoration only. The workmanship is great and it sounds like, well, an electric mandolin.

I used it on a couple of songs at our regular gig Saturday but it's not something I would play regularly. But I'm hanging onto it because Mac was something of a legend in this town and now I've got a McCormick.