My Garage-Built 8 string Emando

[jman72]

Hi Everyone,

I saw all of these cool emandos that people have built and thought I'd share mine. I built it pretty much from scratch, modeled after the specs and dimensions of a traditional F-style (with some obvious changes). Only things I bought pre-made were the hardware (tailpiece, tuners, knobs and electronics). It was a ton of fun to build and its awesome to play. I've included a pic of the "rough-fitted" instrument and a couple of the finished product.

I used a Dimarzio humbucker and wired it for a coil-tapping arrangement. Through my Fender Twin, I can get nice sweet acoustic-ish sounds (single coil), all the way to a smooth distortion (humbucker) with the right pedals. In my band, I've played everything from Monroe to Satriani on it and the audience always loves it.

Thanks for looking!

John

[Rodney Riley]

You people keep postin scratch built stuff on here, you're gonna force me to do it too....

Really cool lookin' John

[jman72]

Thanks Rodney. I highly recommend building one from scratch if you get the chance. I had NO experience beforehand, so it can't be that hard!! And I must admit, it was a real thrill to start with a few boards and turn them into a mandolin. I can only imagine what it's like for acoustic builders!!!

When I built it, I really wanted something that was as close to a traditional mandolin as possible, but electric. I looked for a kit, but couldn't find one like I wanted. So, I just started out (blindly!!) and used my electric guitars as a guide. Every step of the process was a challenge (having to learn everything as I went along), and when I finally had it together, I held my breath as I strung it up half expecting it to break! But it held, and it plays better than I had hoped for. Something for my kids to have someday.

John

[Ben Milne]

Nice one, you've done well and ended up with a classy looking electric.

[rico mando]

looks good bro

[Ed Goist]

Very, very sharp John!
Congratulations! Well done.

[Mandobart]

Looks great John! I've been contemplating doing the same thing. That's just a Dimarzio guitar pickup?

[jman72]

Thanks everyone- I really appreciate the compliments and support! The pickup is a Dimarzio Tone Zone S guitar pickup (stacked humbucker DP189). When I was building the mando, I emailed the guys at Weber to see what pickup they used in their Maverick solid body electric mandolin. The Tone Zone is what they recommended, so I went with it. I have it wired for three-way use- single coil and two humbucker positions. It has a great sound- very clean and strat-like in the single coil position, but thicker in the two humbucker positions if you want more bite. I personally think its a perfect fit for an electric mandolin (and since it has the continuous rail magnets, you don't have to worry about string spacing) and I'd highly recommend it. Of course, the pickup was the most expensive part of the mandolin (about $65), but well worth it.

John

[Elliot Luber]

Schweet lookin' axe.