4 or 8 string?

[Robert Moreau]

As someone else mentioned in another recent post I too am looking to pick up a Mandobird for late-night, semi-quiet practice at home.

I play an Eastman 515 now and am basically an acoustic musician.

I was just wondering if I would find a big difference between the feel of the acoustic and the feel of the electric.

I was also wondering if the 4 string or 8 string bird was more common. Is the 4 string more versatile as an electric instrument?

I imagine that the right hand technique would somehow change if you didn't have the doubled up strings. I guess as a regular acoustic player I should stick to the 8-string version, right?

Also does anyone know of any sound clips of the 4 and 8 stringed versions to compare.

Thanks for your help

[mandroid]

Question with a question: What genera of music?
If your technique includes a significant amount of tremolo in your playing the paired strings are
IMHO more like what feel you are used to.
But effects that are out of phase sensitive will sound 'different' with the same string pairs
because physically the 2 strings inevitably be out of phase with each other,
at least by the difference in time between the pick hitting one and then the other a millisecond later..

[barney 59]

There is definately a different feel but more than that with a solid bodied true electric instrument as opposed to an acoustic/electric the technique can be quite different. You don't have to hammer it to increase volume, Tremelo is a control knob on the amp as well as a picking technique and sustain can be as long as you want it. It's as different from an acoustic mandolin as a solid bodied electric guitar is from an acoustic guitar. I thing the feel of the strings will be something you'll get used too really quickly. Playing through an amp and having an infinate number of possibilities w/a series of knobs to turn on the amp and volume and tone controls on the mandolin can really be confusing at first to an acoustic player. You play something and than flip a switch and the samething sounds completely different!

[Robert Moreau]

Thanks for the replies.

To answer the question - I play folk and classical mostly, but I've getting interested in Jazz (with the help of "Getting into Jazz Mandolin).

Perhaps one day I may be interested in experimenting with different sounds, especially for jazz, but for now if I can recreate what I basically have been doing on acoustic (only through some headphones) then I'll be happy.

[delsbrother]

It'll never sound like an acoustic mando, but I have a feeling you'll prefer 8 strings.

[Robert Moreau]

Yeah, That's what I thought.

[Desnosfan]

One major thing I noticed that took me a while to get used to was the amount of sustain that the mandobird has over my Kentucky. It is somewhat helpful to me, since I am still learning a lot of comp techniques and I am more aware when I hit a wrong string, esp. with the basic C chop chord (I tend to hit the E course slightly, on the Kentucky, it dies quickly, on the mandobird it still rings even after I moved chords.) I wish I could've gotten an eight string and I think that is the way to go if you have funds and want it just to practice.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

I'v been thinking about this one for a while, and I just can't get over it.
OR? 4 OR 8? Or? Really? Dude! Both!

Yes there's a big difference. The electrics have less tension usually than acoustics. Makes strumming/picking different and fretting easier. Electrics, even amplified, have ZERO chop unless they're hollow bodied.

Fours are more common, probably owing to the long run of the Fender Electric Mandolins (mandocasters).

Daniel

[bonny]

Electrics, even amplified, have ZERO chop unless they're hollow bodied.

Could you expand on this? I still have a real lot of basic technical stuff to figure out on the mandolin and I'd been working on the assumption "chop" was a muting technique that was mostly in yer hands.

[Christian McKee]

Curious what you mean about chop, since I play chops quite a bit on my 5 string, but it's more in the soul/Motown sound than country/bluegrass. I'm quite happy with it, but it's really a more stabbing sound, than a chunking sound, if that makes any sense.

Christian

[Pete Martin]

One thing about an 8 string, it is very hard to get two strings exactly in tune. If you do, they don't stay there very long. Small intonation differences are not that noticeable to most on an acoustic instrument. They are painfully obvious on an electric instrument.

That is the main reason I play 4 or 5 string, single course instruments when playing electric.

[chris scott]

I was in the same situation and decided on a 4 string made by j. Mann. I was not sure howI would be using the instrument. Well it turns out that I use it for learning new tunes.(very comfortable neck), and for rocking out or recently jazz. I love my acoustic eight string but with electric, as mentioned before, the amp and effects can support the loss of the other four strings. thank for listening, Chris

[John McGann]

One thing about an 8 string, it is very hard to get two strings exactly in tune. If you do, they don't stay there very long. Small intonation differences are not that noticeable to most on an acoustic instrument. They are painfully obvious on an electric instrument.

That is the main reason I play 4 or 5 string, single course instruments when playing electric.

Thanks Pete, agreed; I've experienced that on every 8 string electric I've tried...a little chorus effect from the detuning, and you want to get a hair extension, leather pants, and start pouting while playing 80's synth rock like A Flock of Haircuts (maybe we should start a Duran Duran cover band and call it Duran Durango)...

[mandroid]

or Saran Saran .. [a Cling wrap brand for the British]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saran_(plastic)

[journeybear]

OMG! I think most of us know what Saran Wrap is! BTW, there is a song by that name by free speech advocates The Fugs, the lyrics to which I cannot share here ... There is a revised version available on the web that features accompaniment by what sounds like mandolin* and bongos. Approach with caution. Oh, the lengths I go to to include MC sometimes ...

I can hear it now ... "Saran ... saran so far away ........................"



* That's 8-string acoustic, BTW.

[We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress ...]

[Daniel Nestlerode]

Could you expand on this? I still have a real lot of basic technical stuff to figure out on the mandolin and I'd been working on the assumption "chop" was a muting technique that was mostly in yer hands.

bonny and taboot,
I guess I think of "chop" as two things. 1) A technique integral to Bluegrass that creates a percussive effect. 2) The quality of the percussiveness of the tone of a mandolin when the chop technique is applied.

A mando with good chop will have a satisfying kind of a "whack" to it. You'll be able to feel the air moving around the mando when you do it right.

This kind of tone characteristic is impossible to obtain on a solid body instrument. It doesn't move enough air, and the nature of a solid body is that it enhances sustain. Sustain is the opposite of chop.

You can use chop technique on a solid body electric (I do it myself), but it will not sound like an F5 style instrument.

Daniel

[Christian McKee]

I'm with you all the way. When I chop on the electric, it's not to achieve that driving chug, as with an acoustic.

Christian

[high_lonesome_sound]

Do what I did, buy an 8 string Mandobird and string it with only 4 strings when you want to crank out the real electric sound. Otherwise, with no effects and a clean sound you can get the 8 string mandolin sound. Have it both ways, at the price of adding/removing 4 strings. It works for me!

I realize that for a high-end player (either skill or instrument $) this solution may provoke dismay, if you are at the low level (on both dimensions) that I am, it is a really cool solution.

[mandroid]

how bout 5

[Taylor and Tenor]

I have two 4 string electric mandolins - one is a reworked double point (shown here) and the other is a kid's mini-Stat that I converted into a 4 string octave mandolin.

I find the 4 string easy to play although double point with a slightly higher action can be tough on your fingers with single strings. However, it can still be played as an acoustic where the solid body is strictly an amplified instrument but is light on the fingers by the nature of the instrument.

I don't play either one very much but they are nice to have. They didn't cost much - the double point I bought at a yard sale for 50.00 and mini-Stat I found at the town dump. Both of which I reworked myself.

CCS