Install a pickup or acoustic/electric mandolin

[jeffrobean]

Hello,
I'm kinda stuck in a decision that I need to make. #I have a kentucky km-140 which plays awesome and I play in a type of folk rock/funk/bluegrass band with a drummer. #So I need to amplify my mandolin. #Right now I have been using a peavey microphone to mic the mandolin but the loud drummer drowns me out. #Oh yeah I also forgot to mention there is an electric guitar player that plays in the clean channel and a bass player. #There is also an intention to add a keyboard player. #I cannot afford a schertler pickup. So now I'm kinda lookin at a schatten which is 120.00 or just trading/selling my kentucky to get some kind of acoustic/electric mandolin such as an Ibanez. #I'm kind of afraid of the indiana or the johnson acoustic electric. #Has anyone experienced this problem? or has any used the indiana or johnson acoustic electric mandolins? thanks for any help with my dilemma.

[thistle3585]

If you want an acoustic 8 string tone just amplified then I would look at the Godin A8. They have gotten some good reviews. You might also look through the electric mandolin section or at emando.com for more info.

[Nick Alberty]

If you want a great pickup, go to a company called Pick-Up The World. Search for it on the web and it'll be an easy find.

The have a nice under bridge pickup that's very thin. It also has a jack which can be mounted on the edge of the mandolin with a clamp....much like a when a fiddle is plugged in. You have to do NO cutting or screwing on you mandolin and can completely remove it if you want later.

I play in a country band (besides 2 bluegrass bands) and it works well. It has no buzz, hums, or any feedback.

I would recommend the pre-amp line driver. It wears on your belt and uses a 9 volt batteryand has a on/off switch with volume control.

They also give you a great warranty.....5 years I believe.

I usually plug my mandolin into the pre-amp, then straight into the sound board. I can get massive volume and compete over a drummer.

I would recommend a EQ direct box. Maybe the L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic.

Hope this helps. It's been great for me.

[Tebbie bear]

the Ovation mm-68 is a great acoustic-electric

[jim_n_virginia]

I mostly play into a mic but occasionally I have the need to plug in and need a pickup. I tried the Fishman bridge pickup and it sounded too harsh to my ears and I didn't like the visable wire and the external jack on the edge of my mandolin.

So I tried the Macintyre Feather and I really like it. It was about $114.00 and easy to install and it installs internally so you don't see anything. The only thing is that you have to enlarge the endpin hole to accomodate the endpin jack which is no biggie to me and didn't affect the sound not one iota.

Let me state though it STILL sounds like an amplified mandolin even with the Fishman Pro Platinum EQ I use but I can get it close and I can crank it up and not quite get the quack that I did with the Fishman bridge.

The best sound is to play into a mic but if you need to compete with a drummer or something I highly recommend the Feather.

[mandroid]

If its getting too loud, onstage, the acoustic pickup
will be tough to control feedback.
Godin A8 and Ovation MM68 are nice integrated pickup instruments.

Coil magnetic pickup would resist that more, [8 string ala Eastwood or, mandobird?] than one attached to the soundboard or in the bridge.
if the guitar player has a Strat , the level may be trending higher than if he has a bridge saddle pickup on the acoustic.

taking the EM A50 to the tavern jam lately,myself.

[earthsave]

I've got an original style McIntyre stick on pickup, with a jack that attaches to body violin chinrest style and a ParaAcoustic DI that I bought years ago and eventually quit using if you are interested. It has great woody tone sound but we went to an AT4033e right after I bought all of that stuff. The whole shebang cost me about $250 or so back then. I even bought a nice Fender Acoustasonic Jr. too that is sitting around taking up space in the "music room"

The McIntyre was a nice sounding setup and they have improved the look of these over the years.