J Bovier / Blue Star / new Fender / or...?

[mandok]

Hi there - I am a fairly new mando player but am interested in playing around with an electric 4-string and thought these 2 looked interesting, if I can save up the moulah...

Anyone played both or have ideas about what the differences btwn the two might be outside of single lipstick vs humbucker pick-ups? I apologize for ignorance here about mandos in general, tech stuff in particular.... I really know nothing. There's not a lot of sample 4 strings to play around with in stores here either, that I can find.

The new Fender 4-string looks pretty to me but cheaper and no reviews... not sure about the gamble. Cheaper is definitely closer to budget, but 1 better quality instrument might be a safer bet than shopping around for a cheaper one. Mandobirds and Kentucky 4-strings seem to get mixed reviews, although some people love them. Not a lot of samples to try out here in person that I can find.

So I guess questions are:

What are opinions Blue Star vs J Bovier electric models -- anyone played both? Differences??

Anyone played the new Fender 4-string? Opinion? How does it measure up vs other entry-level models at this cheaper price point?

thanks for any info. :)

[mtm]

there's a lively thread on the Fender here ...

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?91754-New-Fender-Emando

[rico mando]

I have played none of these but I would expect all to benefit from some additional attention from a skilled set up / repair guy . buy used and the set up may all ready be done and it will still be cheaper than new

[mandok]

there's a lively thread on the Fender here ...

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?91754-New-Fender-Emando

Thank you :) I will take a look. I haven't had much luck finding any info about the blue star in particular. Looks like the JBovier gets positive reviews with the new Fender getting pretty good feedback considering its low price. B y the time I can afford to buy, perhaps I'll know more...!

[mandok]

I have played none of these but I would expect all to benefit from some additional attention from a skilled set up / repair guy . buy used and the set up may all ready be done and it will still be cheaper than new
Thanks for the recommendation. I did not think of the set up upside of buying used. I appreciate the suggestion.

[Pete Martin]

While I haven't played the other 2, I recently purchased a JBovier used. Here are my impressions so far.

Good: Low cost. Good, adjustable tailpiece. Once set up correctly, plays in pretty good tune.

Bad: It is a fairly cheap instrument in many ways. The pickups are not great (I think he winds his own). The neck is too long, forcing the 2 pickups to be placed right together and because of that, each sounds nearly identical. 2 pickups should have different sounds due to their placement but not on this instrument. The electronic hardward (knobs and pickup switch) are low quality and somewhat noisy. The cord on mine often flips the pickup switch to a different position than what I want as the switch moves VERY easily. The nut is low quality plastic that on mine was not correctly set, thus has 2 buzzing strings. Below average tuners.

It depends on what you are looking for in an electric. If you just want something to knock around on, this would be fine.

Because I am looking for a professional quality gigging instrument, to get it to this level, I am probably looking at spending 700 to 1000 more.
1) new pickup (would have guru Jason Lollar make me one)
2) new nut
3) new pots, switch and jack
4) new tuning pegs

I also own electrics 2 from Jon Mann, EM4 and EM5. They are vastly superior in every way to the JB. If you want a professional instrument, save up and get one from Jon.

[Michael Eck]

My experience after half a dozen gigs is that the new Fender is a professional instrument in every aspect.

[mtm]

My MandoStrat arrived yesterday. As a novice and this being my first electric instrument, there's really nothing of substance I can add that's not already been covered, but it seems like a very solid instrument, and my first impressions are quite positive. The feel of the neck is not much different from an acoustic. I do get a bit of a buzz from it but I believe it's more related to the room I'm in. I've only had one evening to play with it, but running through garage band with different amps/effects was quite interesting.

[mandok]

Delayed thanks for all of this feedback. I am definitely a novice. I play an electric and acoustic-electric 8-string (quite badly, I must add) in a rock-and-roll band and am looking to play around even further on another instrument. I guess it's so much fun I just want to keep going with it!

My two current instruments are inexpensive entry-level --- one is an ae Alabama (which I am pretty sure is similar to all the other acoustic electrics at that price point, but with a different name... there seems to be quite a few that at least look identical...) and the other is a turquoise Eastwood mandocaster (which I need to get adjusted because of weak e-string and loose tuners) which offers a completely different sound. I have nothing to compare them to, but both are fun to play.

Sometimes a better quality instrument can inspire you but other times, you get what you can afford just to get started on it. :mandosmiley: Emando has a couple of Blue Stars but I'm having trouble finding any info on them except that they've been around a while and have a single lipstick p/u. I have lots of time to think about it at this point because I have to save up the moulah.

Anyhow, thanks for the input above. I hadn't heard the negative about the J Bovier before, but again, I am a novice. It sounds like the Fender is not a bad place to start for a novice and the price is certainly more manageable for me.