Just finished an electric mandolin...

[Jim Brosseau]

First post on the forum, after visiting here almost daily for a couple of years...

Thought it would be interesting to post a thread for the latest build I've done, even if there's danger of being shunned by traditionalists...

I was trying to keep the original scale length and the same contact points as a regular mandolin, while making it even easier to travel with and learn about the electric side of things.

The whole story, with a bunch of pics of progress along the way, was blogged here:
https://jimbrosseau.wordpress.com/2015/ ... ost-there/
https://jimbrosseau.wordpress.com/2015/ ... close-now/
https://jimbrosseau.wordpress.com/2015/ ... ned-thing/

And the final result is here:



I could probably add a fake headstock and scroll, maybe a fern inlay, but you close your eyes and you don't need any of these things :P

Interested in your thoughts on this one...still a few things to tweak, but it's already got good sound with these two single coil pickups (I've got a humbucker and a P90 in the works), and plug this thing into a guitar effects processor and it's just crazy (...reconnecting with the Nash the Slash of my youth)!

[spufman]

That's really cool, thanks for posting!

[mandroid]

D ring or screw eye, for a hook, like a Sax strap, would be a good addition.

[John Flynn]

Very cool! I'd love to see the finished back and a detail of the tuning mechanism.

[Jim Brosseau]

...mandroid, that's a great idea, I've been struggling with strap attachments, particularly around the tail end. I've even got a sax strap lying around here somewhere...

Here's a pic of the underbelly of this thing, just plain ol' mandolin tuners from Stewmac. Can also see the cover for the 9v slot as well. One side removed for clarity, they're easy enough to reach in with fingertips to tweak tuning, but the sides just come off (magnets) when it's time for some serious tuning...

[mandocrucian]

If you are a guitar player, or want to mess with a single 5- string mando 14"/mandola 17"19", or a electric OM. figure out how the two (or more) bodies can be modularly fitted and bolted together in various configurations: 8-string mando/elec guitar 8-string/5-string 17", 5-string/OM etc. (you may not always want the longer neck on the bottom.

Having two necks in different registers or tunings at your immediate disposal you can switch between will be an advantage if you are playing in a band.

[Jim Brosseau]

...mandocrucian, I like to push myself with each build, but really?! Perhaps sometime way down the road...

[mandocrucian]

If you think modular now in the design stage, you can reconfigure attach together whatever doubleneck combination you want or need for a particular situation. Really

http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/t...ck-guitarbass/

http://guitarz.blogspot.com/2010/03/...s-modular.html

[zedmando]

Not being a mandolin traditionalist, I love the look--I'd love to try it--or something like it

[Ron McMillan]

That's an amazing piece of work. Well done, Jim. I can't wait to see what you come up with next

[ricomando]

Nicely done ! I have wanted to build something similar like this my self . only with 5 strings
and no I do not want a ham sandwich

[David Lewis]

First post on the forum, after visiting here almost daily for a couple of years... Thought it would be interesting to post a thread for the latest build I've done, even if there's danger of being shunned by traditionalists... I was trying to keep the original scale length and the same contact points as a regular mandolin, while making it even easier to travel with and learn about the electric side of things. The whole story, with a bunch of pics of progress along the way, was blogged here: https://jimbrosseau.wordpress.com/2015/ ... ost-there/ https://jimbrosseau.wordpress.com/2015/ ... close-now/ https://jimbrosseau.wordpress.com/2015/ ... ned-thing/ And the final result is here: <img src="http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=133951"/> I could probably add a fake headstock and scroll, maybe a fern inlay, but you close your eyes and you don't need any of these things :P Interested in your thoughts on this one...still a few things to tweak, but it's already got good sound with these two single coil pickups (I've got a humbucker and a P90 in the works), and plug this thing into a guitar effects processor and it's just crazy (...reconnecting with the Nash the Slash of my youth)!

Beautiful.

[jefflester]

If you think modular now in the design stage, you can reconfigure attach together whatever doubleneck combination you want or need for a particular situation. Really

http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/t...ck-guitarbass/

http://guitarz.blogspot.com/2010/03/...s-modular.html

Or the John Knutson modular triple neck:

[Rob Zamites]

Amazing! The pickup winder was creative genius at work - fantastic!

[Jim Brosseau]

...learned a TON about winding pickups, mostly the hard way, but this thing works quite well - both these single-coil pickups have exactly 8000 turns, and both come in at exactly 8.75k ohms. Used different magnets for the slugs (Alnico 2 and 5), so can listen for differences as advertised. This setup makes a new pickup, whatever configuration I want, to be less than $20 and an afternoon's time.