Mini Review of JBovier ELS

[Bob Borzelleri]

My slightly tardy Christmas present came today. It is a Vintage Cream JBovier ELS in a HSC. The neck is maple, the fretboard is rosewood and the double cutaway basswood body shows its grain beneath the slightly translucent finish. I was pleasantly surprised by the effect. Fit and finish are outstanding.

Of the 6 mandos I own, the neck on the ELS comes closest in feel to my Tacoma M3E which is high praise, indeed. These are the only two mandos I play that leave me totally unaware of the neck while playing. The frets are slightly radised and appear to be about the same gauge as those on my Mandobird though with 24 as opposed to 21 on the Mandobird. The body of the ELS was clearly designed to fit bodies of humans. The ELS is simply the most comfortable stringed instrument I own.

But where this mando really stands out is in the attention to the tone and range of the electronics. I have often thought that many manufacturers are content to design and build the instrument and just leave the electronics to whatever is either available or cost effective at the time. Not so with this instrument.

The tone, balance and control over voicing are remarkable. Since Jeff Cowherd is suited to say why and I'm not, I will add a quote from an email he sent me before the mandos were released.

"The JB-53 "Neck" & "Bridge" (each different) pickups will be rated at 6k each. They will have a wider internal "rail" that extends almost to the treble & bass edges of a standard sized P-bass style pickup COVER (no external change from original). This allows either 4 or 5 strings to be picked up without the need to install an "oversized" guitar pickup on a mandolin body. Since there will be no "poles", there will be no issues with strings lining up or losing output during string bending techniques. The "JB-53"s work through the 3-way switch as "single-coils" in neck & bridge switch positions, and then the two become a humbucker in the center switch position. The tone of this center position can be catered to the players taste by raising or lowering the independent pickups."

That's what Jeff said. I say "thank you".

[bevb]

It looks great !

[Ted Eschliman]

Looking forward to getting mine. Here's an intriguing picture I got from Jeff:

[mrmando]

The red one is speakin' to me... ooh, wait, is that a Lake Placid Blue down on the bottom?

[Jim MacDaniel]

Nice -- I think I need the white Mandocaster-clone with the maple fretboard. ("Honey -- I know what I want for my anniversary present!")

[Jill McAuley]

You do need the white mandocaster clone with the maple fretboard - I just got one in Vintage Cream and it is the absolute business! Gotta say I'm partial to that Salmon Pink one too!

Cheers,
Jill

[bevb]

Black for me ! Only I said I don't need any more...but you can't have too may can you ?

[Glassweb]

Ted, any plans for an 8-string model? Let's not forget the "real" mandolin sound...

[no tyme flat]

I just got strat copy EMC 5 and is everything I expected but electronics weak on e string. Must need some adjusting, hope to contact Jeff about the adjustments with pick ups and or strings. I am a total newbie with emandos, barring my Daniels biker beater.

[Bob Borzelleri]

I just got strat copy EMC 5 and is everything I expected but electronics weak on e string. Must need some adjusting, hope to contact Jeff about the adjustments with pick ups and or strings. I am a total newbie with emandos, barring my Daniels biker beater.

What are the settings that result in the weak E string? Is it weak in all three toggle switch settings as well as the full tone knob range?

Mine is anything but weak and the strings are all well balanced. There is a noticeable softness to the E string when the neck PU is selected and the tone knob is rolled to reduce treble, but in the HB or bridge setting, the E string sings out loud and clear.

[no tyme flat]

I checked it in all three settings and the same results. I contacted Jeff and mentioned the issue and suggested the adjustment of pickup and a set of strings from emando (They come with stock strings) The e string rings out but noticalbly different. It may be the strings, the pickup setting or the bass amp I am playing it through. Again, a newbie. Jeff assured me if there is an actual issue here he would be right on in. Nevertheless still stoked playing this primier production of emandos!

[mando.player]

The outlier in that list of causes is the bass amp. That's where I would start troubleshooting.

[Bob Borzelleri]

The outlier in that list of causes is the bass amp. That's where I would start troubleshooting.

I think Charlie might be on to something here. I have two bass amps. One has a single 15" driver and the other has an 18" and 2 8" drivers.

Whenever I play a full range instrument through the single driver, the highs simply can't make their way out. However, on the 3 driver amp, the highs come through fairly respectfully.

[mandroid]

Fender Tube fans would do better, if volume is not a requirement. with a Champ or Blues jr.

a speaker bigger than the whole instrument is long seems a misapplication .

for the big guns for amp wars, at 11 , perhaps bi amp a Horn with its high frequency driver,
with a crossover to separate it from the other amp with all that bottom end.

[Bob Borzelleri]

Fender Tube fans would do better, if volume is not a requirement. with a Champ or Blues jr.

a speaker bigger than the whole instrument is long seems a misapplication .

for the big guns for amp wars, at 11 , perhaps bi amp a Horn with its high frequency driver,
with a crossover to separate it from the other amp with all that bottom end.

Actually, my bass amps are for my bass. I'm using a Roland Cube-60 for the ELS.

[bjc]

Just curious has anyone played these using a lot of overdrive? Like through a Marshall or Mesa?

[John Rosett]

Where are the 5 strings for sale? I can't seem to find them.

[mando.player]

Soon
http://www.elderly.com/brand/90N_other.html

[delsbrother]

Curious they mention how the pickups can sense 5 strings as well as four (and I assume, 8) and yet they're not available... yet?

[John Rosett]

$775 for a solid body seems kinda pricey to me. Where are they made?

[mando.player]

They are on the high side of the mid-market emandos (Jerman/Smith/BlueStar). I suppose the proof will be in the pudding. Since this is a new product and there are costs associated with overcoming the initial launch, the price may come down once things get rolling.

[no tyme flat]

I just got my new strings from e-mando and did a little adjustment on the pick up. I got the e to ring out much better in 2 of the 3 settings on the toggle switch but weaker with the rear pickup setting. I have not tryed another Amp, but will take the suggestions posted here. Thanks much! Loving that 5th string!

[Bob Borzelleri]

Where are the 5 strings for sale? I can't seem to find them.

The "EMC-5" (5-string) models definitely exist. Custom colored ones will be on display at NAMM this week and several others have already been sold to happy customers.

The 5 strings will be in dealers (including Elderly) sometime in February. They can also be ordered directly from Jeff Cowherd at http://www.mandolins.net/. If he has current stock, that might be quicker than waiting for February.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

Hey all,
Met Jeff Cowherd today at NAMM and tried out the 4 string EMS and the 5 string EMS. The 5 strings are not on display, but if you ask Jeff he'll get them out for you.

WOW. Really nice work. Love the maple necks and fretboards (they're 2 piece). The frets are bigger than normal mandolin frets (.080), and I love them. The instruments play well and sound great. Jeff has taken pains to get a good signal from the e string, and it worked. No drop off in signal strength on the e string compared to the rest as I played through the provided AER amp. Sweet and versatile sounds.

Jeff is going through a distributor for some of his sales, and that distributor hasn't picked up the colorful ones (candy apple red, butterscotch, green, blue) but they are carrying the translucent white and the sunburst.

Oddly, I think I'm more interested in the 5 string than the 4. I was flying around on the 5 string very comfortably, and usually I'm trying to pick between think in mandola terms and thinking mandolin terms.

There's definitely a JBovier emando in my future. Birthday's coming in a couple of months!

Daniel

[David Lewis]

I know this is an old thread, but I love my ELS, and I was saddened to hear they're not being made anymore. None the less, it's a brilliant instrument, and overdriven, wah and or clean sounds brilliant.