Gold Tone mandocello -- thoughts?

[jswag]

I have always liked the way Tim O'Brien uses his Octave, or mandocello, (not sure which it is, or what tunings he uses). I'm no Tim O'Brien, but I do like the sound of the guitar body, and would like to have a similar sound for some songs that my wife and I play and sing together in our sets. Something in a price range, good build and sound, - for those of us semi or non pros.
I agree with a better string spacing, no visible p/u, and I personally don't need or care for a cutaway.
I will be interested to see how this all "shakes" out.

[Emmett Marshall]

If they have to go with guitar body and neck pickup why not go way out and do 5 course also?

That would be really interesting actually. I wonder what it would be called then? Would it "still" be an octave mandolin in someone's opinion, or maybe a "Git Cittern"?

[mrmando]

I wonder what it would be called then?

I would call it a liuto cantabile, naturally.

[Emmett Marshall]

I could go along with that - if it had less guitar attributes and sounded like one. Why not a Cittern though? Am I missing something there?

UPDATE: Nevermind, I figured it out. Liuto Cantabile is more appropriate! But then again, doesn't "Liuto Moderno" work well also?

[mrmando]

I officially don't know the difference between a liuto cantabile and a liuto moderno, but I'm sure someone does.

[foldedpath]

Here's what a 'cello can look like in the "Big A style" shape. We recorded this a few months ago, two local musicians with an A-style mandocello made by local luthier James Curtis (NFI). I was experimenting with mic placement here, trying find a position that would capture good sound without getting in the way of the video. I don't think I did justice to the bottom end of that thing, but here it is anyway:





This is the kind of music where the instrument can find a home and a purpose. I don't think it works to just force it into other established genres.

PS. These guys were basically winging it, on the longer scale instruments. It's a piece of music they normally play on octave mandolin and mandolin.

[musicofanatic]

"I would prefer an A style.. and do not see how it could be more expensive".

I will presume, if it's been chosen for a prototype, then Goldtone must either be already tooled up to produce this body or has a supplier for it. For the company to tool up from scratch, an "A-style" body would be much more expensive.

[40bpm]

Please, no visible electronics.

[hank]

. I've always suspected that one of the reasons acoustic music sounds so different recorded is the way the sound waves are propagated from the face of a speaker cone is inherently different than the actual acoustic waves rich with harmonic overtones. Sort of like an abbreviated sound wave with the same tonal frequencies but lacking (information/detail?) that is needed to truly reproduce the depth of real acoustic sound generation. Great video anyway foldedpath. I could almost see the huge pressure pulses bouncing around in the room even if I couldn't hear them. Ah, what a treat to have been there to experience that acoustic Lion's ROAR!!!

[lukmanohnz]

What a cool instrument - great texture. Of course, I'm still just trying to figure out how to play the damn mandolin...

[fatt-dad]

that 'cello on Foldedpath's video has the exact aesthetic I'd want.

Regarding the GT, nix the visible electronics and don't mess with the headstock - well, other than the need to adjust the nut width and tuner placement according to other posts. I just don't know about that.

Regarding the video, I couldn't listen to it. I didn't like the looper effect and wanted to hear the acoustic instrument. I mic would have been fine, not too fluent in sound reinforcement.

I do want a longer-scale mando-instrument. I was mostly thinking in terms of an octave mandolin, but maybe I'd try a 'cello? Haven't ruled it out. Two years ago, I bought a 12-string guitar and didn't quite realize how much fun I'd have with it. I suspect the same would hold true for an OM or 'cello?

Good luck and thanks for thinking of us!

f-d

[Bernie Daniel]

I bet 5 courses could work at 1 11/16".

I suppose it's true that Eastman mandolin necks run a bit narrow ...

And it's true that the Eastman mandocellos have playability problems ...

but other than that they both concern Eastman instruments, those two facts are not related. Eastman cellos have playability issues because the necks are too wide, not too narrow, and because the string spacing is off.

Yes that works great! Here is a The Loar arch top guitar that I converted into a 5- course mandocello -- CGDAE. It was a gem to play. One mistake I made is to the distance between the two C strings -- they should have been a bit closer together.

[Dave Wrede]

I would have to echo the rest of these members about the neck. I have one of the Eastmans and while it is a lovely instrument and I do get compliments on its sound (but not my playing!), I had to have the string pairs brought closer together in order to make it easier to play. Get the neck and string spacing right and this thing just may sell itself.

[dschonbrun]

So, Wayne (the owner) has been reading everyone's comments and he suggests that we could add scrolls to the headstock (similar to our regular mandolins), to have it look more similar to a mandolin. How do you all feel about this change? Would it help?

I would tell Wayne that the headstock and the body need to reflect eachother to unify the design. Changing one to a Florentine design aesthetic with the other being more Cremonese... they wouldn't gel visually.

[Bernie Daniel]

I would tell Wayne that the headstock and the body need to reflect eachother to unify the design. Changing one to a Florentine design aesthetic with the other being more Cremonese... they wouldn't gel visually.

Personally I think a scroll head stock looks best on an F-style instrument -- in any case it is cosmetics.

More important by far is how the instrument plays right. The guitar neck/nut will be a drag on your sales as soon as the first unhappy customers start getting frustrated. Get your hands on an old Gibson K-1 and see how much better a 1.5" nut plays.

Or arrange to borrow this mandocello from me and see what a gem it is to play. It was a 1940 Vega arch top (super jumbo) before I redid the neck, fret board and nut (1.5") and converted it to a mandocello.

This instrument this plays like "butter" and you'll never get that with a wide guitar neck/fret board/nut.

[Mandolin Cafe]

Gold Tone has indicated on their Facebook page they're about two weeks away from having the first batch of these ready. We'll see if we can dig up some other information like possibly where they'll be available.

[Steve Ostrander]

I think that I'd be more interested in an acoustic version, and if I wanted to amplify it I'd install a K&K.

[lenf12]

I don't know which I like better, the mandocello or the looper. It does sound pretty cool however. I might like to have a K&K to go along with the magnetic pickup. Steve, for the acoustic version, just don't plug it in.

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Paul Statman]

That looks and sounds pretty great to me. I'd really like to hear it played unplugged.

[NotMelloCello]

Since they've finally been released and gotten into at least 2 hands, then check out this other thread on this forum in the CBOM area.... Skip to the 4th page and scroll down to guys holding these mandocellos and start reading. I am currently in battle trying to get mine squared away, and it's not easy.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...one-mandocello

I should point out that I communicated with Wayne several times on this, and wanted a wider neck - not narrower. Big disappointment to have a 1.5 inch neck. For an instrument that many folks will double on - the widest appeal would be to guitar players, not mandolin players - and I think they erred in their choice.