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Thread: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

  1. #1

    Default Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    I am looking for info on this electric Mando I bought on ebay. The only info I could find was on emando.com. Company was out of Toronto in the '80s and made mostly electric violins.
    Anybody know more?
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  2. #2
    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    Well, there isn't much else to know. The instrument has just a piezo pickup, not a magnetic one. I think the body is the same one Amazing used for its violins, although of course the neck is different. I've seen maybe 2 or 3 of these mandolins over the past 25 years. I presume they made more violins than mandos, although the violins aren't very common either.

    How does it sound?
    Emando.com: More than you wanted to know about electric mandolins.

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  3. #3
    Mandolin user MontanaMatt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    Wow, that is AMAZING
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  4. #4

    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    I have not played it yet. Took it right over to my electric guitar guru for a set up. Very interested to hear it.

  5. #5
    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    Well, I was looking at it too ... I probably would've tried to get a luthier to add a magnetic pickup to it. I think I recall seeing one other one that had been modified in that fashion.
    Emando.com: More than you wanted to know about electric mandolins.

    Notorious: My Celtic CD--listen & buy!

    Lyon & Healy • Wood • Thormahlen • Andersen • Bacorn • Yanuziello • Fender • National • Gibson • Franke • Fuchs • Aceto • Three Hungry Pit Bulls

  6. #6

    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    I will try it out with the Piezo first. It will only be for my own enjoyment.

  7. #7
    Registered User bbcee's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    I probably would've tried to get a luthier to add a magnetic pickup to it
    I bought a flat humbucker from a Swiss kid on Etsy for a similar project a couple of years ago. It sounds really nice! I'll see if I can dig up his info

  8. #8
    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    Quote Originally Posted by mrmando View Post
    Well, I was looking at it too ... I probably would've tried to get a luthier to add a magnetic pickup to it. I think I recall seeing one other one that had been modified in that fashion.
    That was probably me. I own an Amazing emando -- much the same as the OP has, but in red rather than blue. Same sort of hard case. There's a lot of discussion as to how I modified mine in this old thread:

    Link

    In brief, I replaced the original piezo with two new pickups, a rail-type mini humbucker and an undersaddle piezo with on-board pre-amp, each with separate controls and separate jacks. Works fine and can be used to generate a wide range of tones, although I don't play it much these days as I tend towards the acoustic end. I probably should check if the battery for the piezo pre-amp is still OK or whether it has leaked...

    I really like the design of these, but they will never become collectables because of the name -- try to find useful information online with the search term "Amazing mandolin"!

    Martin

  9. #9

    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    Thanks for the link and nice job on the conversion. I like the red color of the body. You have given me some options to think about. I saw a pic of the violin in the MOMA. Did you ask the maker how many mandolins they made? Mine has 263 on the body.

  10. #10
    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    Quote Originally Posted by tildowns View Post
    Thanks for the link and nice job on the conversion. I like the red color of the body. You have given me some options to think about. I saw a pic of the violin in the MOMA. Did you ask the maker how many mandolins they made? Mine has 263 on the body.
    Sorry, I don't really remember -- that was over ten years ago, and I don't think I saved the emails. I can't remember seeing a serial number, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. On it's own, the number wouldn't tell you whether this is mandolin #263 or Amazing #263. Probably the latter.

    Have fun with yours!

    Martin

  11. #11
    Registered User bbcee's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    @tildowns, here's the flat pickup maker, which might be interesting - no routing!

    https://www.sixtus-pickups.com

    NFI, just a cool idea, and he's managing to make a business out of it.

  12. #12
    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    No way are there 263 of these mandolins. That has to be an overall instrument number.

    I came across a secondhand Amazing violin a number of years ago at Danny's Music in Everett, Wash., but I didn't buy it. That's the only time I've actually seen one of the instruments.
    Emando.com: More than you wanted to know about electric mandolins.

    Notorious: My Celtic CD--listen & buy!

    Lyon & Healy • Wood • Thormahlen • Andersen • Bacorn • Yanuziello • Fender • National • Gibson • Franke • Fuchs • Aceto • Three Hungry Pit Bulls

  13. #13
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    Quote Originally Posted by bbcee View Post
    @tildowns, here's the flat pickup maker, which might be interesting - no routing!

    https://www.sixtus-pickups.com

    NFI, just a cool idea, and he's managing to make a business out of it.
    No polepieces? Which one did you use for the electric mandolin?
    Jim

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  14. #14

    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    After getting it back from the set up, I think I will keep it stock with the Piezo pickup. I am running it through a small Ibanez acoustic guitar amp.
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  15. #15
    Registered User bbcee's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amazing Musical Instrument Company Electric Mando

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Garber View Post
    No polepieces? Which one did you use for the electric mandolin?
    I used the "Sixtus "6" Mini humbucker". I used it on both my electric & acoustic tenor guitars, didn't try it on my acoustic mandos (and I don't have an electric mandolin). It should fit fine on the OP's Amazing, there would just be overhang on either side. Hm, actually maybe too much.

    He taught me a neat trick - on the acoustic tenor, the unwound A & E strings were shrill compared to the wound G & D's. I put a penny on the high string side, which nicely covered the area of the A & E strings, and balanced them out with the wound ones. The electric sounded fine right off the bat, naturally.

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