View Full Version : Batwing Electric
Wow, I'm pretty impressed with the playability and tone of this mandolin for the low price.. these go for around $250 on ebay (acoustic) or $300 (Electric). I was really expecting it to be more of a wall-hanger cool-looking maybe-use-plugged-in only piece, but I'm actually quite impressed with the tone
It intonates nicely, has an adjustible bridge & truss rod (I think, haven't popped the cover off heh), tuners that work very well, no rattles or buzzes, decent frets.. something new to watch for on ebay if you're in the market for a nice low-priced starter instrument. I gotta say, despite my normal fascination with the now-pricier old Gibsons, this is a heck of a nice instrument
Don't get me wrong.. lots of plastic and stuff that feels cheap on here, it does pass all the minimum requriements for a playable isntrument for me though. Intonates, tuners work, nut/bridge slots don't grip/slip, decent action/neck.. and the tone beats a lot of entry-level stuff I've played.
mythicfish
May-12-2006, 8:20am
Gee! High praise and kind words for a modestly-priced instrument.
I was hoping it would arrive in time for Teds visit; but no matter. If anything, it's all the better for the travel time.
About all that plastic: It may be cheap, but Harmony put it in all the right places. As for the tone, I have it on good
authority that the top was harvested from a 300 year-old plywood tree and air-dried in a commercial clothes drier
in a laundrymat in downtown Akron.
Noticably absent from your review: That wonderful DeArmond Gold(en) Tone PU which was specifically made for
this instrument.
I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Curt Roseman
mandopete
May-12-2006, 8:45am
Holy Cow Batman!
So far I've only plugged in to the PC so not sure on the pickup yet. I did some guitar hero reels with the "distortion pedal" (ie my PC) in the loop
mikeomando
May-12-2006, 9:43am
Welcome to the club. I think every emando player should pass through a batwing phase. Bat-suit optional.
I feel like wearing bright blue underpants over my jeans and shouting
Come along Pick Boy™! To the jig mobile!
JEStanek
May-12-2006, 9:56am
See the mando in the Dittbops videos on their page. Amanda was a Harmony Batwing player until they made some dough. www.dittybops.com That is a cool looking e-mando! Glad to see it get high praise for an inexpensive way to get ones feet wet electrically!
Jamie
Brad Weiss
May-12-2006, 10:25am
#That is a cool looking e-mando! #Glad to see it get high praise for an inexpensive way to get ones feet wet electrically!
Jamie
Ouch! I wouldn't want to get my feet wet playing electric!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif #But that is a nice mando- worked well enough for Yank, so it's got to be more mando than most can handle.
glauber
May-12-2006, 10:29am
Whenever i see one, i'm disappointed by the looks, because i'm always expecting something more Batman-ish.
But then, Batman seems to prefer a more traditional look himself:
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/8008/batmando6lp.jpg
Jim M.
May-12-2006, 10:42am
So the next CD will be "Shatter the Electric Clam" ?
JimRichter
May-12-2006, 11:06am
Dan
That's pretty much the Yank Rachell electric mandolin. Though later on he tended to play a Flatiron F rigged up with a pickup (I believe this was the mandolin given to him by John Sebastian), the mandolin most identifed with him are those old Harmony F's with the DeArmond pickups. Great mandolins for the price and definitely within the realm of pawn shop blues instruments.
Here's a photo from my musical partner Gordon Bonham's site (Gordon used to play with Yank in Yank's electric band) showing him with the Harmony. (That is not Gordon in the photo with him).
Jim
mythicfish
May-12-2006, 11:38am
Dan,
I sincerely suggest that you plug it into a guitar amp (tubes, if you got 'em) and CRANK IT UP!
Jigs? This will get your "Irish" up.
Curt
recklessmando
May-12-2006, 1:12pm
I feel like wearing bright blue underpants over my jeans and shouting
Come along Pick Boy™! To the jig mobile!
I'd pay a dollar to see that.
glauber
May-12-2006, 1:29pm
I'd pay a dollar to see that.
Nah! He does that all the time. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
I did actually have a remixed electric guitar/distortion/grunge version of a reel set mixed when we did "Shatter the Calm", but we figured it sounded a little.. well.. odd
It's a fun sound though. I've always liked some of the distortion fiddle Ashley McIsaac did on a couple of his disks. I've got some tinitus and sensitivity in my ears that pretty much puts the kaibosh on playing with loud amps unfortunately, even when I have my musician plugs in place it hurts too much.
Kinda like making a mandolin into an offensive weapon. Like a banjo.
Jim MacDaniel
May-12-2006, 6:24pm
I'd pay a dollar to see that.
Nah! He does that all the time. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
I'm sure that's a real hit at the pub!
JEStanek
May-12-2006, 7:37pm
I'm willing to bet he's not the only one at about 1AM dressed that way... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
Jamie
mikeomando
May-12-2006, 10:48pm
Hey Danb, what are you going to do about a strap?
Well I don't normally play standing up, but I could loop one end through the tailpiece and a wrap around the peghead if it seemed vital