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Thread: What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

  1. #1
    Work in Progress Ed Goist's Avatar
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    Default What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

    Number of Pick-ups? Type? Location? Wiring?

    There are a couple that I like, but probably mostly because they're the guitar pick-up configurations I'm familiar with and have used:

    * 2 pickups - dual humbuckers, neck & bridge, three way switch
    You can get really massive, rich tone in the middle (both PUs) position!
    * 2 pickups - dual single coils, neck & bridge, three way switch (wired RW/RP to become hum cancelling in both PU position)
    I love the sound of the single coil neck PU on a Telecaster. Love it!

    What are your favorites for e-mando and why?
    c.1965 Harmony Monterey H410 Mandolin
    "What a long, strange trip it's been..." - Robert Hunter
    "Life is too important to be taken seriously." - Oscar Wilde
    Think Hippie Thoughts...
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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

    "Hi, nice to meet you. That cigarette really brings out the color in your eyes. I came over because I thought you looked a little bored. What do you say you and I get out of here and go do a little cow tipping?"

    ...

    oh, whoops, favorite pick-up configuration, not favorite pick-up line...
    Emando.com: More than you wanted to know about electric mandolins.

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    Registered User Perry's Avatar
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    Default Re: What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

    The little sawed off P90 in a late fifties EM-200 I had was 'killer". Wished I never sold that mandolin. Played like "butta" and rocked!

    See Jeff Bird for an example of the tone

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    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

    I really covet the sounds on other people's gear.. some how cope with what I have on mine..
    writing about music
    is like dancing,
    about architecture

  5. #5

    Default Re: What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

    For 4 & 8 string emandos i prefer something designed for them for the look . for 5-string emandolin i really like the Active EMG guitar pickups the EMG-SA set . it comes with 3 rail strat pickups and a 5 position switch . i get a different tone from each setting . be careful though the switch is bigger or the same size as many emando bodies which can be problematic for conversion . works nice on 14.5 in scale with only 20 frets .

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    Work in Progress Ed Goist's Avatar
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    Default Re: What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

    Quote Originally Posted by rico mando View Post
    ...snip... for 5-string emandolin i really like the Active EMG guitar pickups the EMG-SA set . it comes with 3 rail strat pickups and a 5 position switch . i get a different tone from each setting . be careful though the switch is bigger or the same size as many emando bodies which can be problematic for conversion . works nice on 14.5 in scale with only 20 frets .
    Nice! Now those are some mean looking pick-ups!
    I assume the adjacent rails are RW-RP for hum cancellation (so #2 would be wired the reverse of #s 1 & 3, right?)
    However they are wired, they sure perform well in your recordings!
    c.1965 Harmony Monterey H410 Mandolin
    "What a long, strange trip it's been..." - Robert Hunter
    "Life is too important to be taken seriously." - Oscar Wilde
    Think Hippie Thoughts...
    Gear: The Current Cast of Characters

  7. #7

    Default Re: What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

    How about a well placed handwound 4 pole humbucker with coil tapping? Check out the video:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJjJobrOipM

    It's being used as a humbucker in the video, but it sounds great tapped as well. You could just use a volume pot with push/pull tapping or a volume and a tone. I find it to be simple yet versatile. I was going to add a piezo bridge, but the cleans are so nice I really don't see the point. Actually, to me, the humbucker sounded more natural than the piezo, so I got rid of it.
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  8. #8

    Default Re: What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

    Quote Originally Posted by Wesley Owens View Post
    How about a well placed handwound 4 pole humbucker with coil tapping? Actually, to me, the humbucker sounded more natural than the piezo, so I got rid of it.
    Humbucker ;the best way to go for custom made pups for sure and i'm with you on being better than piezo for sound . sweet looking axe too

    Ed - i beleive the EMG strat rails have thier own technology or just well shielded enough to not be noisy at all . you can also go for ceramic instead of alnico magnet ones as well for a different tone http://www.emgpickups.com/products/index/70/7/1

  9. #9
    Work in Progress Ed Goist's Avatar
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    Default Re: What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

    Wesley, thanks for posting the video. Marvelous!
    And the Owens is a thing of beauty...Visually and sonically! Congratulations on a marvelous build!
    Very nice playing also.
    That humbucker sounds great. I love when you drive it just to point of distortion...Great grit!
    Do you lose much volume when you tap it down to a single-coil? And I assume it's the neck coil that's active during the tap?
    Thanks again for the link to that great video.
    Do you have a builder's website?
    Rock on!
    c.1965 Harmony Monterey H410 Mandolin
    "What a long, strange trip it's been..." - Robert Hunter
    "Life is too important to be taken seriously." - Oscar Wilde
    Think Hippie Thoughts...
    Gear: The Current Cast of Characters

  10. #10

    Default Re: What's Your Favorite Pick-Up Configuration for E-Mando?

    Thanks for the kind words! I have been developing that mandolin from the ground up for a while. I really wanted it to be a modern take on the f-style mandolin and have a voice of its own. I wanted it to be all about the mandolin, not just some guitar pickups thrown in a smaller body. Anyway. As far as the coil tapping, yes, I've been using the neck coil because it has slightly more output than the bridge-side coil. You could use either, or wire it to switch one or the other out with a 3-way switch. The middle could be the humbucker mode. The pickup uses an alnico magnet and reads a little over 11.1K ohms. That allows me to get close to 6K on a single coil, so it has decent output. The loss in volume depends greatly on the amp. For me, it seems to be more of a loss in drive than a big loss in actual volume. I'll do another video and coil-tap it when the mandolin comes back. My friend, Olin Davis (Rattlesnake Mandolins) took it to a bluegrass festival this weekend. Olin really encouraged me to design this mandolin and gave me great feedback along the way. I'm glad he pushed me to do it, I always wanted to design an electric mandolin and I really love playing it!
    My website is in the middle of being re-designed. It is www.owensguitars.com I will be getting all the info loaded into the new sight in the next few weeks including a new mandolin page. There are a couple pics up of guitars. It will all be up soon, I hope.

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