In praise of solid body mandolins.
Just because I play mine every day.
5 reasons they’re awesome
1) tiny Moore, Sam bush. Need I say more? Actually, no, but I will.
2) lighter than a Stratocaster.
3) those lovely phrases you play on a mandolin, electrified, amplified and decontextualised
4) you can practice unplugged and not wake the rest of the household.
5) always gets a positive crowd reaction at a gig.
Why else?
Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
No feedback, and, yes, the crowd is almost always surprised at the sounds that “come out of that little thing!”
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I've been busking with mine all summer and yeah the reaction has been enthusiastic to my tiny guitar.
Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
Which one do you play and which are you favorites?
Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Astro
Which one do you play and which are you favorites?
JBovier ELS. I like the fenders and the epiphone too. Slowly writing a book on them. You?
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Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
I'm a big fan of them. I have many. I also like solidbody octave , which i have many also.
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Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gunnar
You forgot Sierra Hull
Great player! And yes, to my shame forgot her.
Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
When the banjo player in the band switched to electric, there was no other road to take. We have moved on to the amplifier wars, and an AC30 most always gets its way.
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Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
None of the above has enough strings.
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Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
David Lewis
JBovier ELS. I like the fenders and the epiphone too. Slowly writing a book on them. You?
I'm just sitting here trying not to want one...and failing
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Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
How about:
6) 100% more control over your tone. No reliance upon sound engineers who may or may not know what a mandolin is supposed to sound like.
7) Cool chord inversions available if you use a 5 string.
8) Feedback when you want it, not when you don't
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Astro
Which one do you play and which are you favorites?
Arrow G5 by Paul Lestock. It's the same body as the 8 string acoustic that Tim Connell uses. But this one has 5 strings, a sunburst, and a Kent Armstrong pickup mounted to the pickguard. It also has a 15" scale length to help power the low notes.
JBovier EMC-5. Basically a mandocaster but with 5 strings and better pickups --also a slightly longer scale length. I think it's 14.5" or 14.75".
The Arrow is my main gigging axe, but I record with both.
Shot of last night's set list and my pedal board.
-Octave pedal
-Boost w/compression (loud & louder)
-Boost
-EQ with or without boost depending on the room
-A little overdrive
:)
Daniel
Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Astro
I'm just sitting here trying not to want one...and failing
It’s a beautiful thing. The tone knob gives it a mellow sound with just a bit of 'chill' - a trebly overtone if you will. Both pickups make it A humbucker. But it was a good tonal range. The neck is superb. The tuners are smooth and stable. The hardware is great.
Sigh. I love it so.
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Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
One word.... Bends
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Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
darrylicshon
I'm a big fan of them. I have many. I also like solidbody octave , which i have many also.
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Nice, what’s the scale length of the little bass you have there?
I’ve been playing a ukulele bass tuned in fifths (which has great tone, fat rubber strings/acoustic) and I wondered what it’s like (playability etc) to play a real steel string solid body bass with electric pickups.
Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
[QUOTE=atsunrise;1734264]Nice, what’s the scale length of the little bass you have there?
It's an octave mandolin 19" scale
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I am a newbie, literally. But decided to invest straight away in both acoustic and electric. I am too old to wait!
This beautiful Oldtown will be in my hands next week !
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Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
I have a McCormick f-style solid body mandolin. I replaced the original lipstick pickup with a custom Seymour-Duncan. I use it quite frequently.Attachment 179664
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Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
I'm partial to semi-hollow for weight reasons but all the aforementioned benefits apply in equal measure!
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My goodness there are some beautiful instruments here.
I mentioned mine, but here it is. Ignore the ugly thing holding it.
Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
Is there a good youtube video where I can check out a solid body elect. mandolin?
This is an exciting new thought - and I guess I stayed away because I really did not know where to start!
Thanks!
Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
What do you want to check? Do you want a review, or just to hear one?
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Re: In praise of solid body mandolins.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ABmando
Is there a good youtube video where I can check out a solid body elect. mandolin?
This is an exciting new thought - and I guess I stayed away because I really did not know where to start!
Thanks!
Here's a recent thread on Eastman's new El Rey that shows one side of the electric mandolin world
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...y-Video-Review
Then there's Nash the Slash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zose15iYVM