Michael Kelly prototype 3-point jazz mandola

[mrmando]

I believe I've seen one other of these instruments here on the Cafe -- someone had set it up with a floating jazz guitar pickup and it looked fantastic. It's a Rigel-style prototype Michael Kelly mandola that I snagged on eBay with no hardware. Now it's set up and sounds great.

Anyone else seen one of these before?



More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9627770@N07/tags/mandola/

[Jim MacDaniel]

That's wicked cool, Ted -- way to shop! I would like to see them productionalize that in mandolin and dola scales. I like the red burst, but do I see a cross-promotional MK/JM model in Mandohack blue in our future?

[mrmando]

That's what I get for wearing my MandolinCafe hat when I type. People mistake me for Mandohack. We don't look so alike without the hats, if you know what I mean.

[johnwalser]

Here's my Dola with the Benedetto S6 Floating jazz pickup. I also included a picture of my third Michael Kelly instrument (the other two are mandolins). Hope your new MK gives you great joy.
John

[mrmando]

That's the one I was thinking of, John. Wow ... yours either has more highly figured maple than mine or it just shows up better. Where'd you find it?

Jim: Somehow I doubt these will go into production, especially since both known prototypes have been dumped on the secondhand market!

[johnwalser]

Got my JazzDola on ebay and it was set up miserably and sounded terrible. It took a new bridge, strings, work on the nut and such before it started sounding good. Mandohack played it at NAMM last year and said it sounded just like he has been wanting his electric instruments to sound. It also plays like butter!!!! Mine has a "Morgan Monroe" scroll on the headstock. Sent a sound file to Mike Compton and he said it sounded like a "Rigel on Steroids".
John

[Jim MacDaniel]

That's what I get for wearing my MandolinCafe hat when I type. People mistake me for Mandohack. We don't look so alike without the hats, if you know what I mean.

LOL! Sorry Martin -- I don't know why I thought Ted was the OP. In a recent post he said he owns one of the pre-lawsuit Rigel copies by Fender -- maybe I had that on the brain when I saw this one.

Good catch on this one nevertheless.

[Ted Eschliman]

Just for clarification, Martin is the better looking of the two of us.

[mrmando]

Just for clarification, Martin is the better looking of the two of us.

I dunno, kids ... decide for yourselves: