Mk electrics?

[John Rosett]

I was wondering if anyone is using the Michael Kelly acoustic-electric mandolins for regular gigging. I've been plugging in for years, and always wished that there was a dedicated A/E mando with active preamp and onboard controls like these. So-are they any good? Can you plug them straight into an amp and get decent tone and volume?

[John Rosett]

I asked this same question about a year ago with the same results. I guess that they don't sell very many of these...

[mickey66]

One of the guys in one of the band's I work with plays an MK A/E with all the onboard stuff....sounds real good BUT has a volume problem in that he can't get it loud enough FOR HIM the rest of us hear him just fine...the pick-up is a fishman.Now,having said all this I know other players who are using the K & K "Big Shot" I also have this on my Mando....a very Natural sound and the pick-up is very hot and does not feedback...you will need a pre-amp with this system.... although,I can run it through a small amp direct with no problem....either system is good but so far I like the K&K.

[Folkmusician.com]

I sell a lot of the Michael Kelly's with the Fishman pickups and Michael Kelly is almost always back-ordered on their A/E mandos, so there should be a lot of these out there.

They do sound good plugged in. After setting them up I test the pickups through a Marshall Acoustic Soloist amp. If I were playing loud gigs with bad room acoustics, I would want some additional EQ control. A good mixer might be enough. This is an OEM Fishman system (not the same as the M-100). The onboard preamp has Volume, Bass and Treble sliders. The output is a standard line level signal. This can go directly into an acoustic amp or PA system. The signal might be a little hot for an instrument level input such as on a regular guitar amp.

[Dan Adams]

When we were deciding to play all acoustic through microphones or through acoustic/electric amps and PAs, I purchased a MK LegacyME on the auction site for less than $300. It appears to be a 2nd based on the finish, but it sounds just fine without amplification, or with amplification. The onboard allows me to adjust the volume, treble, and bass. We generally play small venues, so the volume is fine. I've never had to boost through a pre-amp, even though I have one on hand, just in case! If necessary I would go through an amp, and into the PA to increase the volume, or have the ability to balance within the PA system while playing live. We're a duet, so I'm not competing with all those other noisy instruments, I could be spoiled. Most of the time I still play one of the performance mandos through the mic, but it's nice to know I have a backup when the location is too noisy to be effective. Playing the electric/acoustic also allows me to pick the mandolin without having to 'pound' the strings in an attempt to gain volume as I play through the mic, thinking it is necessary to acheive the volume needed to carry through the noise. Dan

[John Rosett]

I always play through an amp on stage and run a line out to the PA. Too many years of begging the sound man to turn it up in the monitors so I could hear myself.
I was mostly wondering if the MK preamp really gives the pickup the kind of boost that an in line preamp would, and if these mandos had more output that just a passive pickup would.