Bales Electric Mandos - Looking for feedback

[WJF]

And by feedback of course I mean your opinions, not the screeching kind of feedback from an overamped electric

These look interesting but I've never run across one ... was hoping someone who had might weigh in here and offer their thoughts on construction, fit & finish and of course ... sound.

Thanks!

[mrmando]

Terry was talking about sending me an instrument to review. Guess I should remind him...

[WJF]

That's great news ... I'm seriously considering taking the plubge for a Schwab but wanted to nake sure I'd covered all my bases first. Any feedback you can share wiould be greatly appreciated!

[Jim MacDaniel]

Martin -- I wonder if you could also get your hands on one of his emandolas? Seems to me a 4-string emandola might be more versatile in a rock environment than a 4-string emandolin, given its lower range. (Also, given its longer scale, one might not have to worry about a sloppy C string that has been reported as an issue by some players with 5 string emandolins?)

[kilerbeebs]

I went out to Terry's place yestday to look at his mandolin and to tour his shop. I played around on a mandolin that he had made years ago. This was one of his personal instruments. I thought that it sounded very nice and with the sound holes you didn't have to plug it in to hear it. The only other electric mando that I have played is the mandobird. Terry's mandolin definately had a richer, more "organic" tone. Granted the one that I played had a bridge and a pickup that he doesn't use anymore. Terry is working on one for me. I will certainly let you know what I think when I recieve it in late August. It is very hard to shop around for an electric mando because they don't usually carry several brands at your local music shop. Terry will build your mandolin to your specifications which is cool, or you can buy one that morgan's music has. Their clssifieds are here on the cafe. I recommend the f-hole because you can practice without pluging in.

[twid3]

Terry's built an electric mandola for me. I've had it for about six months and love it. He has it posted on his website. It's the blonde curly maple mandola. In fact I recently ordered a companion, a matching electric mandolin - four string, which I might add, he built in about two months. I believe he is now building full time. At the time my mandola was built, that was not the case and it took a bit longer to finish.
I particularly like the width of the neck @1 1/4" and the rounded neck. The neck has some heft to it, as does the instrument, and feels good in my hands. Fretboard is radiused with VERY SMOOTH action. Sound is true up and down the neck. The mandola chords clearly.
The finish is really nice, clear on curly maple and looks like it will hold up for quite some time. Don't think there is a truss rod through the neck but I could be wrong on that - no obvious sign of one.
I changed to a fatter bottom string to eliminate a bit of "wobble" in the low tone. This seems to be common on mandolas and octave mandolins and is easily corrected. I guess it depends on your touch or how "hard " you play...
Body seems to be two-piece bookend type construction and he has matched up the woods nicely. Top is curly maple and rest is alder, I believe. He added snowflake inlay on it for a modest charge.
Sound is very clean. I play it through a Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue and it just sounds great. You can get a pretty wide range of sound effects out of it. I gravitate towards jazz, blues, and 1920's-40's type of music.
As for any negatives - would have preferred a hardshell case for it instead of a gig bag. He uses a razor pickup but I kind of wanted a Bartolini put in it.
I have found him very honest, fair, and pretty easy to contact. Quality is good and price is reasonable. Workmanship appears to be that of a quality craftsman. Though I have not ever had my hands on a Schwab, it’s hard to envision what the quality difference would be for money spent. I say go for it!

[M. Wilson]

I LOVE my Bales eMando. I got it from Morgan Music, too. It is blonde, f-hole and sounds and plays great. I go after a jazz sound, and it is fat and even all up and down the neck. It feels great to wear and hangs right. The action, even with pretty heavy strings on it, is very easy to play. I totally dig it. Email me at mark@tuners.com if you want to see some great photos of it, OR if you'd like to hear some recordings of how nice it can sound, too.

The workmanship is perfect in every way.

[TJBales]

Hello, I would like to clarify that we do use a fully
adjustable truss rod in all of our electric mandolins
& mandolas. It is adjustable at the the neck heel, with
a 5/16" gibson style hex nut.
Please feel free to post any questions you may have
about our electric mandos.
We will have pics of our latest instruments on the
website in about 2 weeks.
Many Thanks....Terry & Jude Bales
www.balesguitars.com

[kilerbeebs]

I just recently recieved my mando from Terry. #Beautiful work. #Like I said ealier, I have little to base my comparison on, but I feel that this is much better than the mandobird that I played in the store. #I sounds good and clear and has a full tone. #I like the one that he made for me better than the one that I played at his shop. #I am impressed by the detail work that was done on this. #Terry obviously takes pride in his product. #He seemed pretty proud of himself when I came over to pick it up. #I am trying to talk my wife into picking up steel guitar just so that I can have Terry make her one. #Having Terry make this for me was easy because I could go over to his shop and pick out the wood and everything that I wanted. #Terry mixed the color himself and I think that it worked out awesome. #I wouldn't recommend purple though. #You probably wouldn't like it, and I think it is best that I have to suffer the indignity of owning the only purple one he has ever made. #Actually, it is lavender. #

here is a link to a picture. #

http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3329171

email me at killerbeebs@hotmail.com if you want more pics or have questions, that I probably can't answer. #

Terry...considering that you are from SW Missouri, it is not a big surprise that you are such a bad@$$.

[Ambrose]

I received my new electric mando from Terry and Jude Bales just over a week ago - a four string model in "violin amber" with chrome hardware (there are examples on their web site). It's a real beauty, excellent action and a dream to play. No doubt this is due to the attention to detail and quality of workmanship which are exceptionally high. It sounds great played through a Korg Tone Works for some interesting effects. The ordering process went very smoothly and Terry and Jude took great care to ensure that any special requirements were met. The mandolin arrived safely to me in the UK after Terry confirmed it's despatch. In the short time that I've had this mando I can't stop playing it - it's become my soulmate! If you are thinking about getting an electric mando please don't hesitate in checking out one of these - you won't regret it!

[Dan Margolis]

My initial contact with Terry was very smooth. #I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product. #Dan