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View Full Version : Anyone have or play a Malagoli mini-Strat?



mad dawg
Mar-03-2005, 12:41am
Anyone know anything about Malagoli 4-string Strats (model CM-01) from Brazil? These look way cool, and based upon the exchange rate they look to run around US$200 shipped.

http://www.malagoli.com.br/cavacos.htm

Bob DeVellis
Mar-03-2005, 9:50am
They definitely look cool. If they're available for $200, someone should import a bunch and sell them for twice that.

mad dawg
Mar-03-2005, 11:08am
Interesting idea. I wonder if the zero fret would be off-putting to some potential buyers.

Lee
Mar-03-2005, 11:43am
This potential buyer is feeling rather put off. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

mad dawg
Mar-03-2005, 3:21pm
LOL! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

delsbrother
Mar-03-2005, 6:06pm
Where are you seeing the price?

I ran the page through Babel Fish and got this:

ACOUSTIC, ELECTRIC And MASSIVE CAVAQUINHOS

That would be a great name for a Tekno-Choro band - Massive Cavaquinhos.

Lee
Mar-03-2005, 6:15pm
yeah, were are those prices. They have a huge selection of pick-ups and hardware too. But I didn't specifically see the pick-ups or bridges for the emandos sold separately.

MinorSeventhMan
Mar-03-2005, 9:09pm
Those are really sweet! I would also be very interested in the price. What is a zero fret?

MinorSeventhMan

Billiam
Mar-03-2005, 10:09pm
Man, just when I thought I had the whole A style - F style thing worked out, I get hit with Strat or Les Paul!

pklima
Mar-03-2005, 11:00pm
Yes. The Massive Cavaquinhos should go on tour with the Dreaded Habaneros - which isn't a real band but I always thought would be a great band name.

Anyhow, that mini-Strat sure is cute. Looks much cooler than the mini-Les-Paul for some reason.

mad dawg
Mar-04-2005, 12:37am
Where are you seeing the price?.
Oh, I guess I should have said that I emailed the company asking about the price, and about two or three weeks later I got a reply. The price is R$378,00 plus R$192,00 rush shipping (3 - 5 days), or R$82,00 for the slow boat (20 - 25 days). Per the current exchange rates at xe.com, that makes the rush order about $216, and the slow boat for less than $200. (I guess you'll have to add customs on top of that.)

mad dawg
Mar-04-2005, 12:39am
...What is a zero fret?
There is a fret right in front of the nut, so that the open string sits on a fret instead of a nut. Proponents say it makes for a more even tone between open and fretted notes, and I guess it might make setup a little easier too.

mad dawg
Mar-04-2005, 12:41am
That would be a great name for a Tekno-Choro band - Massive Cavaquinhos.
Wasn't Mandodude once in a band called Massive Cavaquinhos? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Trip
Mar-04-2005, 10:38am
I have always been a Les Paul man, from my guitar days....and I think that is the best lookin mando/paul Ive seen

But you have to check out the endorsements at the bottom of the pickups page........ha!

Lee
Mar-04-2005, 10:58am
Man, I wouldn't want to get caught by those dudes saying anything derogatory about my Maglioni, er Magolini, er Malgonini, ... oh no, gotta run

MinorSeventhMan
Mar-08-2005, 11:43pm
This is the email reply I just got from them:



Hi Don ,

How do you do?
We manufacture cavaquinhos not mandolins. But cavaquinhos are very similar to mandolins. The diferences : Cavaquinho has 4 strings and a distance between 0 - 18 fret are 22 centimeters .
The costs about ship to the USA : US$87,00 ( express) and US$ 37,00 (economic ) .
The price about cavaquinhos : CM-01 US$ 112,00 and CM-02 US$ 123,00
best regards

Érico Malagoli


So not being a expert my questions are:

Do you think the cavaquinhos has the same string and fret layout: GDAE?

Do you think it sounds pretty much the same?

And being a novice mandolin player would I even notice a difference with the zero fret thing.

Thanks,
M7MAN

delsbrother
Mar-09-2005, 1:16am
Wow, cool! I guess I'm sending a Money Order to Brazil.. (anyone else scared by that prospect?) You should have asked him whether he made Bahian Guitars! (see emando.com)



So not being a expert my questions are:

Do you think the cavaquinhos has the same string and fret layout: GDAE?

They are tuned differently, but it shouldn't matter if you use mando string gauges and tuning. I think the scale is close enough for emando!



Do you think it sounds pretty much the same?

If you tune it like a mando it will sound... Like an electric mandolin. It's basically a solid hunk of wood with strings. It's not going to sound like an F5!

We should synchronize our orders to see if/when they arrive. Where are you located and what are you planning on getting?

Darrell

glauber
Mar-09-2005, 10:45am
But you have to check out the endorsements at the bottom of the pickups page........ha!
LOL! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
http://www.malagoli.com.br/captadores.htm

This guy is in Sao Paulo, where my Mom lives. There is a small chance i'll be going there this year (or if not, next year). Maybe i'll pay the guy a visit. I'm probably going to pick up some kind of (b|m)andolin when i go there, but i'm not sure if i'll get something nice to bring back or a cheapie to leave there.

delsbrother
Apr-18-2005, 11:07pm
They definitely look cool. If they're available for $200, someone should import a bunch and sell them for twice that.
Well, someone's putting that idea to the test! (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10179&item=7316336686&rd=1)

Is this you, Mad Dawg? If it is, you shoulda given us a review - and/or I'd have appreciated seeing it on the (new and improved! ) MC Classifieds before the 'Bay. C'mon! Where's the love for your emando - er, ecavaquinho bretheren? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Oh well, I suppose I'll play along..

Darrell

ps Dig the two bolt neck!

mad dawg
Apr-18-2005, 11:38pm
Yep -- that's me. I actually just received two of them in the mail this weekend, so I haven't really had a chance to do a thorough review for you (I will be getting together with a guitar-head friend of mine later this week to play with them with some effects). Overall though, I'm pretty impressed with the fit and finish on these things; the finish is flawless (I had to take the cover off to reassure myself that it was laquer-finished wood, and not some sort of solid resin body), and though the fretboard is thicker than I am used to (its about 1/4"), its fit with the neck is seamless, and the neck fits nicely to the body. They are pretty easy and fun to play, and the strings that came with them tuned easily to GDAE -- and they stay in tune well.

I was also amazed at the attention to detail with which the bodies were designed -- they have the contours on the top of the back and on the front where the forearm rests, just like on a full-size strat.

The only complaint I've had is that the bridge was not placed well on one of mine (not the one on eBay), so I think I am going to reposition it. It doesn't affect the playing or setup at all -- it just bothers me that it is a couple of degrees off of square (I'm a little neurotic that way).

(Oh, and sorry about putting it on eBay first, http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif but I couldn't wait to see what the market would bear for these, and rather than experiment with pricing on my MC-brethern, I thought eBay was a good way to get a feel for something like this without any sort of brand-recognition.)



BTW, my wife's initial review of them was a squeaky-voiced "how cute!" <groan>

mad dawg
Apr-18-2005, 11:39pm
I almost forgot, the owner told me he just shipped one express to somewhere else in the US, so I think we should be getting a review from someone else shortly as well.

Strange1
Apr-19-2005, 9:16am
That CM-01 looks a lot like my 1959 4 string elec fender mandolin. Sometimes called a Mandocaster.

Jack

mrmando
Apr-19-2005, 12:47pm
Strange1, who you tryin' to kid? It doesn't look like a Mandocaster, it looks like a mini-Strat. Unless your Mandocaster looks different from every other Mandocaster, there are significant differences in the body shape (Mandocasters are fatter), pickguard shape, no. of pickups (2 vs. 1), headstock shape, bridge design (uncovered vs. covered), and jack location.

mad dawg
Apr-19-2005, 2:48pm
BTW, I should state that I did not start this thread back in March with the intent to draw attention to something I was planning on selling. BobD actaully gave me the idea to sell them in his post. (And as soon as Bob left his post, I cursed myself for starting this thread in case someone else took Bob up on his advice! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif )

delsbrother
Apr-19-2005, 3:06pm
Mad Dawg, how easy/hard was it to deal with the Brazilians? (Boy, that sounds shady..)

I suppose if we see the eBay one go for more than $300 or so, we know the bidder isn't a MC regular! Oh, BTW no hard feelings - even if I end up gettin' sniped. (Used to that by now.. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif )

ps Have you played either of the commercially available emandos (Mandobird, Kentucky)? I'd be interested in how this one stacks up.

mad dawg
Apr-19-2005, 4:08pm
It was fairly easy to deal with Erico, but since it is easier to communicate with him via email, every communication has a built-in one-day delay. My bi-weekly housekeeper is from Brazil, and she offered to be my translator, but so far I have not had to take her up on her offer.

(Re Mandobirds and Kentucky's, I have not played either of them yet. I did pick up a Mandobird for a few seconds at Gryphon about a year ago, but that was not enough as a basis for a comparison.)

Billiam
Apr-25-2005, 6:30pm
I suppose if we see the eBay one go for more than $300 or so, we know the bidder isn't a MC regular!
I guess that question has been answered - $400 winning bid!

johnnlion
May-09-2005, 10:00am
Mad Dawg,

I've been in communications with Erico at Malagoli myself and would like to purchase one of his Strat cavaquinhos. How did you go about transferring funds to him? He suggested an outfit called InterTransfers to do a web transfer, but the site requires your social security number that I'm really not too comfortable giving out... Any suggestions?

Thanks,
John

mad dawg
May-09-2005, 10:55am
I went through my local bank, who did a bank-to-bank transfer. Let me know off-line if you go that route, and I can send you some routing info for Erico's bank.

johnnlion
May-09-2005, 11:11am
Thanks mad dawg. I tried to work through the InterTransfer outfit, but it's not going too well... Feel free to pass along the banking info to me. My email address is:

john@restinglion.com

Thanks!

Christian McKee
May-09-2005, 1:30pm
So, had a chance to put together thoughts for a review yet? I could use a cheap non-mandobird instrument...

Christian

Lee
May-09-2005, 4:26pm
Bank-to-bank transfers are the only way to go for all my international money laundering needs. Depending on the foreign bank, possibly the money will be processed through an intermediate third bank.

mad dawg
May-09-2005, 5:31pm
LOL!

rakroft
May-10-2005, 8:57am
I used XOOM (www.xoom.com) for the direct transfer when I bought the mini-Les Paul style and it worked very well (they specialize in transfers to a small group of countries including Brazil). The transfer took a week and it is helpful if you let the Malagolis know when YOU have received confirmation of the deposit into their account to speed the completion of the deal (you will receive an emailed PDF of the actual deposit slip). I love what I call my "Les Paulette" and was very impressed with the professional service provided by Erico Malagoli (his English is better than some of y'alls!). No need for a middleman when purchasing from this family business in Brazil. An excellent little electric cavaquinho that sounds great with mandolin strings. My local post office held the parcel for me to pick up, but there were no duty charges. The company even mailed a hardcopy of my receipt that arrived several weeks after the sale. Have fun!

mad dawg
May-10-2005, 10:54am
rakroft -- What is the fee per wire transfer at XOOM.com?

rakroft
May-10-2005, 1:11pm
Depending on whether your funds come from a credit card or checking account, the fee is around $7-13 for a $200 transaction. I treated Malagoli Eletronica as a first and last name to work with the XOOM payee fields on the internet form. I did all of the communication with Erico Malagoli via email and it was very easy. He can give you the bank routing info as well as the factory address that you will need to complete the transaction.

morgan
Dec-07-2005, 5:59pm
Can any owners of these instruments provide updated reviews now that you've had them a few months? Any ideas as to the difference in sound to be expected between the "2 pickups single coil de guitarra" (strat model) and the "1 pickup single coil e 1 humbucker (duplo)" (less paul model)?

thanks

mad dawg
Dec-08-2005, 12:33pm
I like the looks and the twang factor of the mini-Strat better, and its tone control has a greater effect than does the one on the "Less" Paul. The Strat's fit and finish also seems a little better, but that's might be because the trouble spots I noticed on the LP (the recesses for the pickups) is covered up by the pickguard on the Strat.

I think the LP's top seems a little easier to play on, as its top seems larger than the Strat's and its controls don't get in the way like the pickup switch on the Strat can. If you like a fatter tone you can get that from the LP's humbucker. One thing that bugged me about the LP is the fact that the humbucker has a chrome top on a tan base, and I wish it was on a black base instead.

If you go with the LP, you might want to see if Erico has any of the natural finish models available, as the pics for it look really nice. If you go with a lacquer finish, both the red/wine and black are nicely applied and equivalent in quality, but the red finish looks sharper in person, IMO.