which ac/el mando should i go with?

[i-vibe]

hello,

i'm looking at the following three ac/el mandos and wondering what words of advice and wisdom folks might care to offer.

within my budget are the following:

MICHAEL KELLY LEGACY FSE

FENDER FM62SE

GOLDTONE GM110 (their take on a poor man's Rigel)

ideally i would like something that does both the acoustic AND electric thing well. i like the idea that the MK is in fact a traditional full size F model....and i like the two band eq and volume on the top bout.

the fender has a more traditional vol and tone knob and it seems not so great an acoustic output.

the goldtone does not appear to have any controls at all for volume, tone, etc. is that right? hmmm. that scares me a little.

thanks in advance for sharing any and all thoughts.

[sbarnes]

i have the fender 52e #(or whatever it's called - the acoustic/electric 'a' model......
it has a plywood top so it's not gonna sound that great acoustically but the holes in the top for the tone and volume knobs and the hole for the pickup and the pickguard being attached to the top really dampen any vibrations that the ol plywood might otherwise make....
i haven't played a michael kelly (i've played the legacy model but not the acoustic/electric model) #but it does have solid wood and the pickup is in the bridge i believe and the volume controls mounted on the side instead of the top lead me to believe that the top would be freer to vibrate than the fender....
the fender is sensative about amp position too, it'll feed back at the slightest chance.....
don't know anything at all about the other one......

[steve in tampa]

I have an MK Dragonfly wiht the electronics. Love the instrument. It just keeps sounding better. The electronics are a little weak, but sounds good when tailored with a pre amp w/ eq.
Nice to have onboard volume. The EQ does not do much, but can fine tune the signal without have to go to the amp. I have also used an Aphex Acoustic Exciter to bring out some fuller tones.
A lot is also going to depend on your amp or PA. When I plug this in, it is usually to a PA, and I carry the Aphex in the case, just in case. I think that you will find a piezo system in any instrument will need some doctoring to sound full.
Overall I might suggest that you look for a good playing and sounding instrument first, and let the electronics be secondary.

[Pedal Steel Mike]

I just got a Rigel which also does not have any controls. I use an external preamp instead. I use an MXR Micro-amp, but there are others that are just as good and possibly better. I believe Boss makes a pre-amp specifically for acoustic instruments with transducers.

As with any electric acoustic instrument, feedback can be a problem. For that reason, in addition to the Rigel, I also bought an inexpensive solid body electric. This will be my rock band/bar gig instrument.

You might also consider the Godin.

[i-vibe]

"I also bought an inexpensive solid body electric. This will be my rock band/bar gig instrument."

what did you get? and what did it cost if i may ask?

i've played a couple of godins and was not impressed...they were all set up horribly and the neck felt a little lilliputian (how's that for redundant?) to me.

sounded good plugged in though. i have a godin multiac duet nylon str gtr i just love...but their mando...i really DID want to like it.....

[Pedal Steel Mike]

"I also bought an inexpensive solid body electric. This will be my rock band/bar gig instrument."

what did you get? and what did it cost if i may ask?
I paid 100 bucks for it on E-bay. It's one of those 2 pickup round bodies with a cutaway that are sold under several different names. If you do a seach on E-bay for "electric mandolin" you'll see half a dozen of them.

As I write this, the mandolin is in transit on it's way to me. I'm sure that it will need a lot of tweaking to be made playable. I intend to get the frets dressed immediately, and will probably replace the pickups too.

But when it's done, it will be a functional instrument for bar gigs and other situations where I would not want to bring my Rigel.

[i-vibe]

sounds good mike. let us know what you think about it when she arrives.