Silverangel Econo A #446
150 year old redwood top, lots of flame on curly maple back, sides, neck, headstock, and pick guard. James tailpiece. K&K Twin internal pickups ("just in case" I ever want to amplify - easier to install during construction than later). Toneguard. D'Addario EJ75 (heavy) strings as recommended by Ken. Curly maple McClung arm rest.
Ken was great to work with and was patient when I asked dumb questions, lol. Nice learning experience resulting in a cool mandolin that I'll pass down to one of my sons.
The mandolin has deep rich bass tones and in that respect is a step up from my Eastman MD315. The low end does come at a price, though, and that is that this Silverangel mandolin doesn't cut as well as my MD315 did. After playing it hard for a week, I tested the Econo A with my Saturday morning group this weekend (banjo, guitar, electric guitar and electric bass). After about a half hour, the bass player noted that this mandolin wasn't as loud as my MD315. I had sort of felt the same way when I got the mandolin, but was curious to see what my group thought.
SO, the Econo A is a nice mandolin with gorgeous low end, but it might not be the best choice if you're trying to cut through unamplified.
I'm hoping that in time the Econo A will be louder, but for now it will most likely be used when I play by myself or potentially with one or two relatively quiet instruments (not a driving Scruggs style banjo, lol).
Doug Brock
2018 Kimble 2 point (#259), Eastman MD315, Eastman MDA315, some guitars, banjos, and fiddles
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