View Full Version : Goin Electric...
muzicfreak
Oct-24-2004, 5:06pm
Hiya All,
I am thinking about going for the electric sound in a little jazz experiment.. So i am wondering what everyone thinks is the best way to link up the old mando to an amp... I want something that is going to be worth while buying for the long term... So money isn't really a concern unless it's over 300 bucks hehe
but any ideas would be great
thanks
Gary
John Rosett
Oct-24-2004, 7:06pm
hey gary-
if you can find one, those old dearmond floating pickups are pretty nice. if it were me though, i'd start with one of the inexpensive A style mandos with the single coil pickup mounted in the top. heck, for $300 you could get one of those and upgrade the pickup or buy a pedal.
john
muzicfreak
Oct-24-2004, 10:32pm
Alright maybe i should explain a little more:) I have a Gallatin Weber and i am looking for a pickup to make it electric:) Any suggestions?
siren_20
Oct-24-2004, 10:48pm
If you want an electromagnetic (i.e. like an electric guitar) style pickup, the DeArmonds seem to be the only thing around. #They've been out of production for years but the odd one pops up on ebay now and then...I think I've seen one or two on the Cafe classifieds awhile back.
#
An adventurous person might try mounting an SJ Ryder (http://sjryder.com/pickups.htm) pickup on a pickguard (if your Gallatin has one, and has no fingerboard extension). Then you could even put a volume and/or tone control on the pickguard and run the wire from that to an endpin jack.
Pick-Up-The-World makes some nice piezo pickups that would probably work well with a normal guitar amp and guitar effects, that might be one route to consider.
JiminRussia
Oct-24-2004, 11:55pm
Would a violin pickup work? i've never tried one, but it seems like it should. Might be worth a try if you can borrow one from a friend to try out.
There's not a pick-up in the world that will transform a Martin into a Stratocaster. Before you put a pick-up in an acoustic mandolin, decide what "going electric" means to you. Elderly sells the Bluestar Mandoblaster and they're great electric mandolins for a very reasonable price. Have fun!
mrmando
Oct-25-2004, 2:40pm
Barcus-Berry has made a floating magnetic pickup -- Radim Zenkl uses them.
Violin pickups -- most of them will not work on a mando, except for the Schertler.
For more information on pickups than you'll ever need, go to emando.com.