Played an EARNEST Junior Deluxe 5-string electric mandolin today!

[stevojack665]

Traveling and stopped into a good shop in Boulder, CO.
They had a 5 string electric hanging on the wall.
Well made. I'm not used to playing a 5 string but still really fun to play.
Good action, great fat tone especially on the C string. The pickup is super close to the strings and would take some getting used to.
I found this info on it:
http://www.earnestinstruments.com/junior/
http://emando.com/builders_active/Eckhaus.htm
I have no financial interest in this instrument, and I can't afford to buy it either.
Just thought I'd share.

[Bill McCall]

Nice stuff there. I like the semi hollow body and the long scale length to produce a nice fat tone. But he's retired and now only wants to do custom stuff, so apparently you have to get his attention to build something. Surprised he hadn't been mentioned much on this site, but I probably haven't looked that much.

[Mandobar]

Rumor has it Joel is getting ready to retire.

[kurth83]

Glad you enjoyed it, maybe lowering the pickup could get it out of the way. I have done that on both of my electrics that came with high pickups.

[Jim Bevan]

Thanks for that, Stevo.

I'm in the process of swapping out two Ryder humbuckers (which sound amazing) for two Ryder stacked humbuckers on my Mike Marshall 5-string for the sole reason that I can't lower the humbuckers enough to avoid hitting them with the pick. They take up all the real estate between the neck and the bridge, and I'm simply trying to create a space for the pick to travel in. Fingers crossed!

That seems to be a standard scale-length for 5-strings – the above-mentioned "MM5" and my Mann SEM-5 have 14.7" scale-lengths. I use lighter strings than what Jonathan Mann ships 'em with, and the C still sounds great.

[mrmando]

Looks like it's on consignment, which probably means I can't trade anything for it. Oh well. http://www.hbwoodsongs.com/used--unique.html