crafter

[billkilpatrick]

having swung from "only acoustic" to purple flame electrics in the space of a week, i'd like to hear what anyone has to say about a crafter e-mandolin. it was mentioned - briefly and unkindly - a year ago (in relation to godin and ovation) but i wonder if attitudes have changed since then.

thanks - bill

[Stillpicking]

I had one for a year or so and liked it , real good for Irish and folk stuff. Made well and with that plastic back stayed in tune even when I pulled it out of the trunk on a hot vacation day.

[Lee]

Very reasonable price and the neck played nicely. I played it in the store plugged into a 70's Fender Champ and was impressed. Even sounded OK unplugged. I've seen several and they seem consistent. In comparison I've seen some OK Ovation Applauses, and a few with horrible action. But the electrics are great.

[billkilpatrick]

after a lifetime of wood worship and dismissive anti-electric(ism) i've just bought a crafter e-mandolin with a resin fibre bowl. when i clast my icons, i go turbo.

i don't feel any different ...

- bill

[ryru14]

I was the one who was blasted last year, about standing uo for what I could afford, I have since added an f-style do to my miss sized case warping my a-styles neck. I took my crafter into the store and told the repair uy to make the action on the f to match the crafter. It is still my primary axe, sice I mostly play celtic and rock/folk but since I have yet to find a hard to fit it well I bouht the F to take with me on deployment.

signed a happy crafter owner
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[billkilpatrick]

since placing the order i've developed acute feelings of emptyhandedness.

my primary interest is early european music - pavanes, salterello, etc. - which i play very much like folk music. when considering the quality of the instruments that most musicians of the time had to play with, a "cheap" korean import seems like a gift from the gods.

it should also be said that i'm starting to experience feelings of uninhibited un-snobbishness.

e-yours - bill

[billkilpatrick]

my crafter arrived yesterday and its an absolute e-peach; solid, well made, beautiful finish, lovely tone ... i've entered a whole new world ...

i should have bought the VERY EXPENSIVE (!) hard case that goes with it - the instrument's worth it.

blissful - bill

[ryru14]

Where did you find the hard case? I have not found one that fits yet.

[billkilpatrick]

i'm not 100% sure it is a hard case. i asked for a photo, just to be sure but they won't be sending it till monday, at the earliest.

to answer your question ... info@guitarpeddler.co.uk

i assume you're in the states. hohner u.s. imports crafter instruments (at least they did) have you tried there?

- bill

[ryru14]

Thank you I will look into it.

[ryru14]

No luck on the Hohner (http://www.hohnerusa.com)website. but I did find this (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10179&item=2565468993)on ebay. This store has several. Ryan

[chopz]

my crafter arrived yesterday and its an absolute e-peach; solid, well made, beautiful finish, lovely tone ... #i've entered a whole new world ...

i should have bought the VERY EXPENSIVE (!) hard case that goes with it - the instrument's worth it.

blissful - bill
I love my crafter. Sounds a lot better than my Epiphone for a lot less money.

[Dolamon]

Bill - One of the real problems with Crafter (and Ovation come to think of it) is the choice of strings is pretty pathetic. I've heard there are some newer sets available besides the original 'Adamas' but don't know, or remember for sure.

Any of you guys in the U.K. might want to get in touch with Newtone and see what he can come up with. I don't think I'd go with anything over the Medium guage sets as ... the bridge can get wonky and either bow the top or unglue itself in hot weather. As for playability ... I own a few custom made instruments and it is the only instrument I can leave out when the weather changes. Which says a lot. When I bought mine used, it came with the gig bag which I built up with a neck support and much heavier padding and insulation around the peg head and neck. As far as playability, this is a fun instrument to play either plugged in or acoustic. It isn't too big on public sound but it is probably the mandolin I play most often as it is readily available.

[billkilpatrick]

thanks very much for that. i live in italy and bought my mandoline in the uk but i'll check out newtone. i've just ordered some ball-end, pyramid strings from germany - hope they're ok. good idea about re-enforcing the padding, etc. on the gig bag. eugene mentioned that the bowl backed suzuki he bought had a weakness in the neck - is this endemic with all mandolins, i wonder or just the pacific rim ones.

still grinnin' and achin' - my left hand feels like a mallet but i really enjoy playing this thing.

thanks again - bill

[Dawgrobber]

Just looked at a Crafter this date. Nice low action, no buzzing, sounded ok without an amp. Can't say what it sounded like with an amp as I did not test it.

Priced at $239 w/o case. Seemed decent enough for the price. I wonder how it would stand up.

[billkilpatrick]

i sent a letter to crafter complaining about the blisters on my fingers but sympathy was noticeably lacking in the reply. #i sent another letter and asked if there was someplace i could delve into the nitty-gritty of this wonderful little instrument. #as yet, no response from korea but i did copy this ( ... for them that's interested ... ) from an on-line, ebay music shop in the u.k.: # #

"Crafter M70E Professional Electro-Acoustic Mandolin
#
These are extremely capable instruments and are one of the most popular electro acoustic mandolins available.#

You will find other look-a-likes but …this is the original, and the best.

The body has a High-Tec composite bowl back and passive Pick Up and has a cutaway for easier access to the higher fret positions. The two-band PR-40 slide EQ control box is fitted to the topside of the body and has a high gloss finished African Burbinga soundboard.

The hardwood mahogany bridge is designed to accept ball end strings. White plastic binding protects the front of the instrument.

The profile of the hardwood neck is very comfortable to play …not too narrow! It is fitted with a rosewood fingerboard, nickel silver frets and pearl dot markers. The headstock is the classic ‘Crafter’ style and is fitted with gold finish oval machine heads with pearl buttons."

i was interested in the quality and type of wood used in the construction and would still like to know what make of pick-up is installed in it.

regards - bill

[mrmando]

Original, schmiginal. 'Tis an Ovation ripoff.

[billkilpatrick]

yeah? ... so? ...

highteccompositebowlback - bill

[chopz]

Bill - One of the real problems with Crafter (and Ovation come to think of it) is the choice of strings is pretty pathetic. I've heard there are some newer sets available besides the original 'Adamas' but don't know, or remember for sure.

Any of you guys in the U.K. might want to get in touch with Newtone and see what he can come up with. I don't think I'd go with anything over the Medium guage sets as ... the bridge can get wonky and either bow the top or unglue itself in hot weather. As for playability ... I own a few custom made instruments and it is the only instrument I can leave out when the weather changes. Which says a lot. When I bought mine used, it came with the gig bag which I built up with a neck support and much heavier padding and insulation around the peg head and neck. As far as playability, this is a fun instrument to play either plugged in or acoustic. It isn't too big on public sound but it is probably the mandolin I play most often as it is readily available.
Strings are not a problem for a Crafter or any string thru bridge. Just cut the ball ends off your guitar strings and insert them in the loop, crimp and you get the full selection of strings.

I buy mine in bulk from www.webstrings.com

[Ray Hart]

Might be a long way out of date, but here's my input.
Bought a virtually unused M70E secondhand and have played it enough to give an opinion. It is an electric instrument. Acoustically it is very thin and lacking in expression. Also very quiet compared to a purely acoustic mandolin. It is, however, well built. it works well, the action is okay, but needs a little tweaking. It's in tune, the bridge is in the right place and the machine head is smooth and accurate. The nut is 28mm wide. I've got stubby fingers and prefer 30mm, but it is manageable.
Once plugged in it completely changes character. As an electric instrument it is absolutely fine - although a lot of the sound quality is down to your amplifier/desk setup. I'm not sure about the pickup specification, but it sounds like a contact microphone to me. That's a good thing, by the way, allowing more texture to the sound.
Like acoustic/electric guitars, I'd say that unplugged is fine for practice, but plugged in is what you'll need for performance. It is also very well priced at around £150, if you can find one. Hope that helps. When I've got a bit more of a handle on mine I'll post a video.