Need to plug in!!!! Badly!!!

[DevilishDandolinMan]

Hello. My band just got a drummer and my directional condenser mic is not working out anymore. Does anyone know of a good mandolin that already has a pick up in it? I found this one http://www.dannyd.com/michael-kelly-...ndolin-walnut/ Does anyone know anything about this one?

Please HELP!!!!!

[Markus]

There are a number of pickups that can be added to a mandolin, which often can solve that.

At some point in terms of stage volume/etc, you likely want to move to a dedicated A/E like the Godin or Ovation, else a solidly electric.

In terms of pickups, there are a variety, and a variety of prices. None sound as good as a Mic, IMO. Many folks, including me, have added piezos to our instruments. Baggs Radius, K+K are both popular. I feel a preamp or similar device is an essential part of piezo use, so budget to find something that matches your pickup.

To add: I added a K+K to my Breedlove. When it's required to plug in, it works. I prefer working with a mic as it sounds more perfect, but it does it's job and didn't cost that much. I found out everything I needed searching here, there's a LOT of great threads.

In terms of an acoustic/electric solution, I would look more to the Godin/Ovations if you want a dedicated `plugged in' mandolin. They're built not to feed back at volume, very plug and play. Michael Kelly's look more like conventional mandolins, but are not designed for that use any more than adding a piezo or other pickup to your current mandolin [IMO].

[lenf12]

Lots of ways to skin this cat but I wouldn't count the MK mandolins as the best way. My preference is to retrofit a K&K Twin or similar pickup (like the jjbelectronics.com - higly recommended and much cheaper than K&K) to your current mandolin. When paired with a decent pre-amp or DI box, these can sound very natural and should be much less expensive than buying a new mandolin. YMMV

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

ps - there are a multitude of threads on mandolin amplification to be found with a search of this forum.

[mandopete]

NFI

This one looks like a pretty sweet set up.....

Collings MF

[dcoventry]

http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/58492

This Phoenix JAzz model will solve many problems for you: Pickup, transducer, mix both, and MAS down and out for a while!

[mandroid]

Drummer, sticks, Rockin' it?
a solid body with an electric guitar pickup in it is the way to go.

loud stage turns an acoustic with a soundboard pickup , into a microphone.

[charliede]

There is a section called Octaves Zouks(etc) below. In it is "Four Five and Eight String Electronics" which has threads with all the information you need.

[Jim]

Ovation has a good p/u & pre-amp in it ( not that a di box doesn't help) and you can stick a mic in front of it too. Lately my AE setup in my AE148 with the pickup plugged in and a shure sm57 infront of it. I can still move in close to the mic to make a break louder and yet have some ability to move away from the mic and not lose signal completely. Also am able to run fx on the p/u channel.

[Bryan Gunsher BG Pups]

Hello. My band just got a drummer and my directional condenser mic is not working out anymore. Does anyone know of a good mandolin that already has a pick up in it? I found this one http://www.dannyd.com/michael-kelly-...ndolin-walnut/ Does anyone know anything about this one?

Please HELP!!!!!

If you are interested I'll send you a removable external pickup that I'm developing. It's free of charge just let me know what you think of it.
Shoot me a PM if you would like one.

[mrmando]

Devilish, what mandolin are you playing now?

Adding a pickup to your existing axe is often more practical than getting a whole new instrument. To inform yourself on the general topic of mandolins with pickups, visit Emando.com.

[homejame]

or -you could go cheap and get yourself a tanglewood - twin pickup. already inside the thing. Its what Im using when I have to go electric. ok - they're built to a price . but they do a job.