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Thread: Moving up from collings mt but to what?

  1. #1
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    I love the MT. Plays like butter, sounds divine. Best buy for money, to my mind. But I need a mandolin with a mike. A mando that sounds and plays atleast aswell as the MT. Should I get another MT or should I move up and to what, in that case? What should I look out for or look for? Should I order a mando with factoryinstalled mike or go for separate mando and mike and have a luthier to set it up? All advices are appreciated.

    And as I play fingerstyle, sound and playability are more important that loudness. To capture the full dynamic range from soft fingertips to chopping nails. #

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    Mike who?

  3. #3
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    If you like the mandolin and all you need is the ability to plug it in look at the options available. Call Collings and see what they recommend first. Then spend some time on the Equipment board here reading about the options that are available after market. You don't have to cut holes in the mandolin or anything, there are some pretty intense non-intrusive methods for getting what you want.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
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    Modulator ;) PhilGE's Avatar
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    What MikeEdgerton said. If you have a mandolin that you love to play and you love how it sounds, call the professionals and get it done right. However...

    Also, why do you "need" a mic? Are you playing gigs? Are you recording? Doing both? Different mics and pick-ups are often "needed" for different applications. There is no one "best way" in any situation. Look at what Thile, Grisman, Marhsall, Compton, and others use in various situations/environments.

    Mics are easy to replace. An instrument you love is not. Take your time on this one - you and the relationship you have with your instrument and your music deserve it.

    -Phil

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    Registered User Perry's Avatar
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    May I recommend the MIX A5 with an internally mounted Schertler pick-up? I'm a former Collings MT-2 owner and did many a gig on it. I have no gripes about the Collings.

    When I got my Mix it replaced my Collings as my go-to gigging axe in a plug-in environment. It's tuning stability can't be beat and the convenience (and tone) of the Schertler is great IMO. Something about the resonance of the carbon fiber and the Schertler makes a good match to me.

    On a pure acoustic level the MIX is LOUDER then the Collings
    and doesn't "give it up" as easily when you mash down on it.
    It's also the axe I play around the house and practice on.
    It's toddler proof

    In nice listening rooms I often opt for one of my other wood mandos and stand in front of a mic but the MIX works well with a mic too.

    Oh I should add that the MIX plays and feels very nice; a chunkier neck then my MT-2H but I've come to really like it.


    Perry




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    do you use a tone gard? whether it effects tone is debateable, but it DEFINITELY effects volume. hands down.
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  7. #7
    Registered User Perry's Avatar
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    After my post I re-read the original post...isn't that always the case

    Loudness is not the issue; I would think for fingerpicking the mando you want something with a wider neck and finger spacing...

    hmmm the Sam Bush model comes to mind

    Perry




  8. #8
    music with whales Jim Nollman's Avatar
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    the most accurate acoustic mandolin amplification i have heard yet was Chris Thile at Wintergrass. i believe he plays a Dude with a Schertler transducer. If i was a bluegrass player looking to amplify, i'd probably go that route. Definitely have it installed by a pro.
    Explore some of my published music here.

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    Registered User Greg H.'s Avatar
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    The one issue on the Bush model would then be the tone. The Bush model, while I think they sound great, have a decidedly different tone than a Collings--not better, not worse, but very much different. So that might be a good suggestion, depending on how Jonas A feels about a Gibson tone. Another option might be to contact Collings and see what it would cost to have them make him another Collings MT but with a wider neck (and maybe a pre-installed pick-up). I know Weber is willing to be quite flexible on neck size so it may be equally easy to get such variations from Collings.



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  10. #10
    8 Fingers, 2 Thumbs Ken Sager's Avatar
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    I don't think you'll find an internal pickup (or mic) that can give you the subtleties you're after. An external microphone is the best at reproducing the nuances you mention. If you like your current mandolin find ways to amplify it rather than spend a grundle on a new mandolin that won't sound any better than putting a microphone in front of what you have now.

    Of course, if you play in loud settings and need to compete with drums, etc., you may find an internal mic/pickup is the way to go. I've never seen an internal setup that sounds anything as near as good as an external microphone.

    Best,
    Ken
    Less talk, more pick.

  11. #11
    Registered User bradeinhorn's Avatar
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    perhaps try a clip on mic - like the AT-pro7A. i have gotten good results with that.
    www.bigdrawbluegrass.com

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    I have an MT and use a K&K Silver Bullet mic that I mount to my Tone Gard (Gail Hester posted pictures on how she does it in a thread about K&K pickups). There are other ways to mount them as well. I think it sounds very good and better than a pickup. They cost less than $100.00 as well.
    Tim
    Passernig F5

  13. #13

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    hwo does the silver bullet do w/ feedback though?

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    I have not had any problems with it so far (only used it last night for the third time), but we do not play at high spls either. Worst case scenario would be that I would take some of the SB out of the monitors, but so far so good. I also use a separate microphone for soloing, which is set hotter than the SB. You could always use a volume pedal, etc. if you just wanted to use the SB by itself, but I do not know how much signal degradation you would have going through the volume pedal. I like walking into the solo mic for fills and leads.
    Tim
    Passernig F5

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