Da best electric mando?

[Kirby161]

Im looking for the best electric mando you can get for under 500$.
I found a mandobird for 250$ but i was wondering if it has any down sides to it. Does fender make any good ones?
gimmie your input.

[Mteresko]

There have been a couple of threads about the Mandobird, and the consensus is that it is a great deal. Try searching the archive. I've been waiting for mine for a few months, but it is in transit now and I should have it Thursday. $180 at Music123 and if you throw in $20 of more stuff, shipping is free.

[peterbc]

The mandobird is great. I have two problems with it: One is that the neck doesn't have a truss rod, or any reinforcing that I know of. But since there are only 4 strings, and they will probably be lighter tension anyway, that's not a biggie (but I would like one, just for piece of mind). The other problem is that the bridge is a little too far forward so I can't seem to get the bass intonated correctly. But, it's close enough for me. And for $180, it's a great deal. I havn't heard many electric mandolins (I'm really just a bluegrasser) but I think it sounds great, and plays pretty nice too once you set it up. I took a heavy duty sponge (the green side) to the back of the neck and now my hand slides up and down like butter. I was fortunate enough to find one in a store here for $180 so I could play it first, but I think it's a great little axe for the price.

Peter

[Sellars]

I own a recent 4-string Fender mandocaster-ish reissue. I bought it for 160 euros, and it is superb!

It has good quality pots, very good tuners, the fretwork is superb, the neck has a perfectly smooth satin laquer, that lets you slide up and down the neck without effort, and the finish on the body is flawless.

The only downside is that the pickup is a little harsh sounding, so you'll need to throw in a lot of bass with your amplifier.

If you can get a hold on one of these (I believe they are not easy to get), you'll get a lot of emando for your money!

R

[johnwalser]

The best electric for under $500 has got to be my Mandobird with the replacement Bartolini pick-up I put in it. $180 for 'bird and $50 for pick-up and while it don't sound like quite like my Schwab, it sounds closer than the $1400 price difference than you might expect.
John

[Ken Sager]

I love my Fender 5-string. They're no longer in production, but you'll see them pop up in the classifieds or on ebay every now and then. The C string actually comes in quite handy, and when found they're almost always under $300.

I'm about to embark on the 4-string Mandobird, as the P/C ratio (price-to-cool) seems very favorable right now.

Best,
Ken