Uk based builders

[Cliff D]

I'm after a solid bodied mando but with a longer scale than standard (say 17" or so). Whilst I'm sure there are plenty of builders in the US of A I was somewhat hoping to be able to discuss this with someone a little closer to home! Your suggestions please.

[Matt Hutchinson]

You could try Cedric Thorose in London, he makes a nice mandolin (and great resonator guitars too).

Send me a PM if you'd like his contact details.

Matt

[Fliss]

Paul Shippey has recently introduced a solid bodied electric mando to his range:

http://www.paulshippey.co.uk/

John Marlow's solid body mandolins also look interesting, I think:

http://www.jmarlowstringedinstrument...k/frameset.htm

Fliss

[mrmando]

The Gordon~Smith mandola might be what you need, if there are any about. Other builders: Dave Farmiloe, Chris Eccleshall, Tony Revell, Nigel Stockbridge.

I don't know Cedric Thorose; please PM me with his contact info.

[Richard.g.hampton]

Phil Davidson makes some really good mandolins, although I've not seen an electric one by him. However, I've always found him him very approachable and willing to chat about possibilities. I'd recommend giving him a call. If you have the money (and I mean quite a lot!) Andy Manson in Crediton does superb bespoke work, both acoustic and electric. Trevor at The Acoustic Music Company in Brighton is also always a very good and knowledgeable source.

Happy Hunting!

[Cliff D]

Trevor is very helpful, but claims his expertise is more in the acoustic arena, hence my initiation of this thread! By way of explanation I currently have an Alden (which I very much enjoy) but from here the four string direction seems to be the most interesting way to go. So, an instrument that permits some string bending would seem to have the most potential - & I suspect that the scale of the mandobird (& the fret hight) has limited potential. The Mandoblaster could be a candidate, but, as ever I like to research the options before parting with wonga!

[mandelect]

Colin Keefe, in the East Midlands, showed me a very nice Les Paul styled custom electric mandolin, when I picked up my refretted Mandoblaster from him.

A production 17" scale electric mandola is available from Rigk Sauer at Risa. I have a black single pickup version, which I love. I think he only makes the twin lipstick model now. Look under Tenor Ukuleles at product No Uke432 ...ignore the fact that Rigk calls it a Uke; he offers it set up as a Mandola as well. You don't pay import duty into the UK either.Risa Link

[UKSam]

Paul Shippey has recently introduced a solid bodied electric mando to his range:

http://www.paulshippey.co.uk/ #

John Marlow's solid body mandolins also look interesting, I think:

http://www.jmarlowstringedinstrument...k/frameset.htm

Fliss

I second the Paul Shippey recommendation.

I've got a custom f-style on order with him, and he is an absolute delight to deal with. He's very happy to consider most customisations, and in my opinion he should be charging an awful lot more than he does!

Sam

[Cliff D]

Mandelect: I note you have both Mandoblaster & the tenor Risa! So, how do they compare? The Risa looks like a hollow body & the shape is a little weird to my eye, but yep, that could be an option! I thought Risa were no longer in production?

[mandelect]

Cliff: I love both instruments, but the 17" scale Risa definitely has the edge when it comes to sustain - it's somehow a bigger, richer more guitar like tone. String bending and vibrato are also easier on the Risa - more room to play with. My single pickup Risa has a solibody; Rigk only seems to make the hollow body, twin pickup version now. I do agree that the design is quirky, and it's not really to my taste either.

The Mandoblaster has a 14.5" scale length and I tune it (with heavier gauge strings) down to DAEB, which it seems very happy with. The top "e" on most emandos can sound a little harsh sometimes. Tuning it DAEB, I find the top "b" to be very useable. The Mandoblaster does sound fine when tuned standard GDAE, though!

I would definitely recommend a *17" scale instrument; there are very few mando tunes that I can't manage on the Risa ...and I have short fingers!

*...as long as you're happy with dola tuning, and you don't mind transposing. Don't know if a 17" scale instrument would stand octave mando tuning ...I suspect not?

[Dagger Gordon]

Check out Richard Levens web site, in the Orkney Islands.

[Cliff D]

Yep, certainly the Risa seems worthy of further investigation.Is the neck slightly radiused or plain flat? (the Alden's radiused, although its cheap!). I've only tracked down two UK vendors: the ukulele shop & the surf shop, which seems to be the official Risa outlet. I am already thinking that it might be cheaper to buy one & then stick a new body on it (if I were not to get on with the semi hollow/general wierdness of the existing) than have a new instrument made up from scratch. As for tuning, I'd be keeping it in fifths, probably with a 10 or 11 gauge for the top string & experiment around until I'm happy with the feel & sound - I'm not fussed what the actual notes will be.

[mandelect]

Cliff: The Risa has a plain flat unradiused fretboard. I ordered mine directly from Rigk at Risa - no duty to pay within the EU, just P&P, which is very reasonable. See link below.

Risa Electric Tenor - Product No. UKE432

The looks aren't my cup of tea either, but rather than build a new body onto a 17" Risa neck, I'd personally go for having an instrument built from scratch.

I'm also not fussed about what the actual notes are ... as long as they're in fifths

[Cliff D]

No, I would not go butcher it straight off, this is just a "fall back" position. If one has a bolt on neck & all the other bits a solid body is relatively easy to fashion: no great skill necessary, & one can knock together a prototype out of chipboard! (I believe the Danelectro guitars are just hardboard, & they sound ok!). So, I've registered my interest at the link you provided; I think the tobacco sunburst version might soften the bizzareness of the shape! Tuning wise I was initially thinking of trying a minor third below standard Mando tuning - but what have you found to work for you, & how you define the potential range, without prejudicing the intonation?

[mandelect]

I've only tried CGDA 'dola tuning on the Risa. Rigk set it up that way for a nominal fee - the nut slots needed adjustment to accomodate the tuning.

String gauges are: C = 0.038"w, G = 0.026"w, D = 0.017", A = 0.011"

I've just looked through my files, and I notice that Risa's old webpages mention GDAE (octave mandolin) tuning as a possibility. He suggests the following string gauges:

G = 0.048"w, D = 0.032"w, A = 0.021", E = 0.014"

CGDA works well for me - nice even tone across all the strings, and up the neck. Strat style, adjustable bridge/string saddles, means that intonation is never a problem.

[Cliff D]

Well inasmuch as you have been satisfied with the dola tuning at the string gauges quoted & have not felt any need to change them (whereas it appears you did on the Mandoblaster), that seems like a healthy endorsement to me. Do people tend to go for slightly heavier bass strings on 4 string instruments vis a vis 8 strings? (so far I've only experienced 8 strings): I was looking at Martin of E Mando's string sets & thinking the bass end was possibly a bit punishing (well, for an electric). It would now seem I am headed in a slightly different direction from when I started the thread, & considering an instrument I would have completely rejected on aesthetic grounds, so your posts have been quite persuasive!

[mandelect]

I presume that Martin's string sets assume an average emando scale length of about 14.5"? His 4 string GDAE sets seem normal to me; the 5th string, low "C" used for 5 string instruments, & 4 string 'dola tuning is heavy, but about right at .050" - in fact, I used to use a .052" for the bottom "D" (DAEB tuning - a tone above 'dola) on my 4 string Stewmac electric. It's the compromise you have to make when tuning so low on a short scale instrument. Of course a 17" scale instrument allows for much lighter string sets for the same tuning.

I only changed the strings gauges on the Mandoblaster to facilitate the tuning of DAEB. The standard string gauges were fine at mandolin GDAE tuning. I also had my 'blaster refretted with a heavier gauge fretwire.

Aesthetics aside, if you do decide on ordering the Risa, I hope you will be pleased with it. If you were close the East Midlands you'd be welcome to try mine, however, I'm away from the weekend, until next Tuesday.

[foldedpath]

Do people tend to go for slightly heavier bass strings on 4 string instruments vis a vis 8 strings?

My Breedlove Zenkl mandola (hollowbody with pickup) is a 4-string, and it shipped with a whopping .060 on the bottom (factory gauges were .015, .024, .038, .060). That's on a 16" scale length, designed for normal mandola CGDA tuning.

The .060 bottom string felt a bit heavy to me, but maybe that's how Radim likes it, since this is a signature model. It's also designed for fingerstyle, where you may need a little more "oomph" on the bottom when you're using just bare fingers instead of a pick. Anyway, for now I'm trying a slightly higher DAEB tuning with flatwound gauges .012, .021, .030, .048. That tuning seems to take some of the mental gymnastics out of transposing fiddle tunes, and it still sounds very different from a mandolin. YMMV based on scale length, tuning, flat vs. roundwounds (I think flats are a little higher tension?).

I decided on those gauges by plugging the numbers into this handy online calculator:

String Gauge and Tension Calculator

If you have a rough idea of the factory-supplied overall tension at a given tuning, you can use that as a starting point so you don't blow up the instrument. You might go a little heavier on a solidbody, but there's still stress on the neck to consider. So sneak up on higher tension slowly, as you try different gauges.

[mandelect]

John Marlow's solid body mandolins also look interesting, I think:

I tried one of John Marlow's electric mandolins many years ago at Ivor Mairants in London. A very nice instrument - I would have bought it if it had been 4 strings rather than 8.

Also tried a Dave Farmiloe 5 string electric at a music/trade fair a few years ago - a beautiful instrument. I would have been tempted to buy it - if it had been 4 strings rather than 5 .... can you see a theme starting to develop here?


There are some great UK makers out there. How about the Oakwood Flying V on this page: Oakwood Flying V ...mind you, it could do with losing 4 strings!

[mrmando]

I presume that Martin's string sets assume an average emando scale length of about 14.5"?

Well, the "Normal" set is, I believe, the same gauge as D'Addario 74s, and assumes a standard 13.875" scale length. Either of the lighter sets would probably work better on a slightly longer instrument.

His 4 string GDAE sets seem normal to me; the 5th string, low "C" used for 5 string instruments, & 4 string 'dola tuning is heavy, but about right at .050"

You can always mix & match if you order sets from me. I currently stock C's in .44, .48, .50, and .52. Someday I'll add a custom order form to emando.com so people can put together their own sets from any gauge in stock. Of course, you can already do that if you just ask me about it.

[Cliff D]

Hey, I did not intend to spark a debate about normal string gauges! (although if people find it helpful, fair do's!).I've yet to get to play a 4 string & I was just making an observation based on the changes I had to make to my Crafter to make it a little more playable. I know heavier strings give better tone (& I play with heavier strings on my electric guitars than many other players), & as I progress with mandolin I may well up the tension. It just seemed to me probable that when one is dealing with double string courses it seems logical to lighten up a little on the bass side. When it comes to string bending on guitar I like to bend one string whilst simultaneously applying vibrato to an adjoining string. Obviously tuning in fifths will possibly close some of the guitar technique doors, but it will almost certainly open others, & there is little to be lost by giving it a try. I do visit Coventry on occasion & I am very grateful for the offer to try some other mandolins which I would like to take up next time I am in that neck of the woods. The whole world of Mandolas/Tenor guitars & their ilk seems like a mythical land, waiting to be explored!

[Cliff D]

The Oakwood instruments look delicious, but possibly next time round, as their prices don't quite suit my tight little fist! I think the Risa will probably do for the next stage of my "mando-lescance"! Incidentally the surf shop are selling off a Risa set up as an 8 string mando, tobacco sunburst, at quite a heavy discount(see the Mandelect link above) some-one out there may be interested in it. They've yet to come back to me about a potential tenor purchase!

[trevor]

Cliff,
If they are using American nomenclature they might be confused by the term tenor. For 17" scale they might just think of it as a mandola.

[Cliff D]

Hi Trevor: I will put my hand up to often grabbing the wrong end of the semantic stick (& leaping to conclusions prematurely), but if we are discussing the Risa out-put, they regard the product as a "tenor uke" & quote the scale as 17", so I am using their own terminology. While I'm here, I did look to see if you did mail order strings on the web-site, but did not spot any mention. Is the UK mandolin playing population so small that this is just not viable for you?

[trevor]

Cliff,

There's no wrong end, different people use different terminology, it can get very confusing.

If you phone we can send you some strings but there are companies that specialise in mail order strings, probably also cheaper than us.

It is a case of specialisation, that's what they do, we do what we do. We don't have an office staff to deal with large quantities of mail order for lower value items. Just me and Ed in shop, usually only one of us at a time.