Anyone play the 8-string Fender Mando Strat?

[Tate Ferguson]

Just wondering if anyone can comment from personal experience on the recent-issue, now apparently discontinued, 8-string Fender Mando Strat. Seems to be plenty of commentary here on the 4-string version, but little to be found on the 8-string one. Thanks.

[mandolinstew]

Just wondering if anyone can comment from personal experience on the recent-issue, now apparently discontinued, 8-string Fender Mando Strat. Seems to be plenty of commentary here on the 4-string version, but little to be found on the 8-string one. Thanks.

I bought one and installed a new Allmuse pickup.It sounds and plays good.Its fun to play if you have a good amp.Its for sale in the classifieds.

[mandroid]

Yea they seem to just Do Shorter batch runs , then dont re order another Batch.

PM & I can haggle..

I have the Korean Fender FM 61 se, , Made my own scratch plate so I can sell it either as Original for Less

or ask More for Both Pickup- Pots - Jack plates sets .. Havent played it in a while, Interested?

I havent listed it yet, dont have a Camera . Every One wants Pictures ..

[mrmando]

C'mon gang, I think we're pushing the envelope here. The forum is not the place to promote your instruments for sale.

[Theo W.]

Ya know, personally, I think a 4-string is better for electrics. The double courses are there for added volume and electrics usually don't need that attribute . I'm a fan of the 4-strings for easier fretting and bending of notes, etc. But YMMV. Good luck with your search!

[mandroid]

Any More I Use My Internal Pickupped MIX A5 when i need the 8 string sound to be heard better
Which, iving in a small town that is (temporarily) affordable + not working any paid Gigs is Rare..

Years Back I and a (Way) Much Better Local Mandolin player Both Bought a FM61.. Neck Set on mine was Fine, Quite playable action.

His was Off , and so was only really suited for something like Bottle Neck playing.. but they were Cheap..
Glued in Neck not worth resetting

His Real Mandolin, FWIW, was made By John Sullivan, no pickup , just plays into a Mic..

Mostly in Portland ..




'/,

[darrylicshon]

I had a buddy who has one , i have the 4 string , i don't like the headstock shape, so i haven't bought one yet. I have played his and i like it. He hasn't upgraded anything on it. I do own a few 8 string electrics most likely I'll buy one one day.

[mandolinstew]

I had a buddy who has one , i have the 4 string , i don't like the headstock shape, so i haven't bought one yet. I have played his and i like it. He hasn't upgraded anything on it. I do own a few 8 string electrics most likely I'll buy one one day.

The headstock looks different when you are standing up and straped on.

[mandroid]

BITD [60's] I used to own a Fender 12 string acoustic Guitar , the headstock design recalls those guitars,
they're quoting Fender's own traditions.

[Verne Andru]

FWIW I found the re-issues to be quite heavy. Like I was wearing a boulder strapped around my neck.

OTOH the 1990's Korean made Fenders [if you must have a Fender] - the 61 se and 60 e - are semi-hollow and very comfortable to wear for long periods of time. I have a 60e that is a very nice little 5-stringer. This is important if you're used to an acoustic mando - a solid body electric is a lot heavier.

Be aware all these Fenders require setup and component swaps - electronics are particularly horrible. The older Korean's can be had cheaper than the new re-issues when they come up.

There are alternatives for electric 8's, such as Eastwood's Mandocaster, etc. that are also worth looking at if brandnames are not important.

[mandolinstew]

FWIW I found the re-issues to be quite heavy. Like I was wearing a boulder strapped around my neck.

OTOH the 1990's Korean made Fenders [if you must have a Fender] - the 61 se and 60 e - are semi-hollow and very comfortable to wear for long periods of time. I have a 60e that is a very nice little 5-stringer. This is important if you're used to an acoustic mando - a solid body electric is a lot heavier.

Be aware all these Fenders require setup and component swaps - electronics are particularly horrible. The older Korean's can be had cheaper than the new re-issues when they come up.

There are alternatives for electric 8's, such as Eastwood's Mandocaster, etc. that are also worth looking at if brandnames are not important.

I have played four hour gigs with a Mandostrat and didn't find it heavy at all.It weighs 3lbs 11oz,a Stratocaster is twice as heavy.I weigh 160.

[Tom Wright]

I have played four hour gigs with a Mandostrat and didn't find it heavy at all.It weighs 3lbs 11oz,a Stratocaster is twice as heavy.I weigh 160.

As Verne pointed out, this is important if you're used to acoustic mandoilins, but as you say, it ain't much compared to an electric guitar.

I have come back to preferring double-strung. It is not about loudness, but the way it alters the attack and decay, and also the beautiful sound of double strings almost perfectly (but not quite) in tune. I have both 5- and 10-string solid body mandolins with identical pickups. For the former I need overdrive to give it some color and to extend the attack and sustain, and sometimes I want chorus to make the tone spread out. I find I don't need any of that for the 10-string. Its attack is rounder and richer, it sustains fine, and the tone shimmers without electronic assistance. It is more work to tune, and bending strings requires more art, but it's only a matter of degree.

And using double strings answers the question of "why bother with an electric mandolin?" It sounds quite different from a small guitar, and much more interesting tonally. The Fender is going to need tweaking, setup etc. But it is not a budget-buster and it looks pretty sharp. I agree the droopy headstock is weird-looking, but so is a Bigsby or a Batwing Harmony. Embrace it.

[darrylicshon]

BITD [60's] I used to own a Fender 12 string acoustic Guitar , the headstock design recalls those guitars,
they're quoting Fender's own traditions.

That's about the only reason I'll probably buy one

[lenf12]

I don't know...that wacky "Gumby" headstock leaves me cold. I would think it makes the mandolin neck heavy and I would soon be looking to borrow a band saw. I never liked them on the original Villager acoustic guitars either. Not that it matters, but I would have preferred that Fender found a way to re-work a Strat shaped headstock for the 8 stringer. That I would buy...



Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[EdHanrahan]

... never liked them on the original Villager acoustic guitars ...

I'm pretty sure that the Jazzmaster-ish bodied Electric XII ('65-'69) predated their acoustics, 12 or not, by several years. Also referred to as the hockey stick head, as girls' field hockey was fairly common at the time.

http://www2.fender.com/experience/gu...ing-electrics/

[lenf12]

Actually, they are contemporary. The Villager 12 string was introduced in '65 as well if this ad copy is to be believed.

http://shop.fender.com/en-US/acousti...968607021.html

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Tate Ferguson]

Thanks for the replies! I play an Eastwood 8-string equipped with a single hum-canceling pickup mounted to a pickguard I fabricated from scratch. Just wondering if this Fender model, whose looks I like, might be an improvement.

For me, a four-string e-mando is a bit too much like a tiny electric guitar. Like an earlier poster on this thread, I think that one of the special things about the sound and feel of a mandolin, acoustic or electric, is eight strings in four courses.

[mandroid]

The resonance of an acoustic body (supporting the Bridge) does have influence on the sound of even one with a Magnetic Pickup.

[Emandojangle]

Just wondering if anyone can comment from personal experience on the recent-issue, now apparently discontinued, 8-string Fender Mando Strat. Seems to be plenty of commentary here on the 4-string version, but little to be found on the 8-string one. Thanks.

I have the four string model and two of the 8 string models. I highly recommend upgrading the bridge and pickup in all of them via the available Moongazer/Almuse combination. Strat knobs look cool on them too. The bridge upgrade was really a must for me on the 8 string models, as I could not get adequate intonation from the stock bridge.

Once upgraded, I took one of the 8 string mandolins and tuned the G and D strings an octave apart. The other I left in standard tuning. I think they are a blast to play. I know weight is a concern, especially to acoustic players. But I find the heavier 8 string very solid and comfortable to play, and the hockey stick shaped headstock balances it out quite nicely.

I fully admit, I am an emando player and collector - not an acoustic player, so that is my disclaimer. But I can tell you that compared to my treasured Mann and Rickenbacker mandolins, the Fenders with upgrades are a lot of bang for the buck, nicely made and fun to play. I am sorry they discontinued them.

[mandolinstew]

I have the four string model and two of the 8 string models. I highly recommend upgrading the bridge and pickup in all of them via the available Moongazer/Almuse combination. Strat knobs look cool on them too. The bridge upgrade was really a must for me on the 8 string models, as I could not get adequate intonation from the stock bridge.

Once upgraded, I took one of the 8 string mandolins and tuned the G and D strings an octave apart. The other I left in standard tuning. I think they are a blast to play. I know weight is a concern, especially to acoustic players. But I find the heavier 8 string very solid and comfortable to play, and the hockey stick shaped headstock balances it out quite nicely.

I fully admit, I am an emando player and collector - not an acoustic player, so that is my disclaimer. But I can tell you that compared to my treasured Mann and Rickenbacker mandolins, the Fenders with upgrades are a lot of bang for the buck, nicely made and fun to play. I am sorry they discontinued them.

I set mine up with the G and D octave tuning and find it works on certain songs.I've heard it called Skeeter tuning.