Good mandobird amp

[Christoph]

What would be a good amp for a mandobird 8 string? I'll be playing bars once in awhile with my rock&roll buddies, playing clasic rock. Looking for something with great sound that not to heavy to carry around. Any suggestions?

[igowing]

Most smaller tube combos should suit you well. I'm a half stack kind of guy but my favorite smaller amp for mandolin is the Ampeg Rocket series amps. Good amounts of clean room but also a real smooth overdrive with a nice bite that suits mandolins quite well. Most Fender tube amps such as Blues Juniors, Deluxes, Devilles, ect. all are also quite nice for the price and popular. Bring your mando down to your local store and check out what they have. Most tube amps can be got used quite a bit cheaper on craigslist too if you look around. Apart from Rolands for jazz I have never been a fan of solid state amps for mandolin.

[bbrizzy89]

Hey yea i almost bought the mandobird once but chickened out and went acoustic electric lol. Couple tips for u:

1. Buy a Boss octave pedal- that way when u want to play chords and fill in a deeper range, you can. Like if a guitarist is soloing for example. (depends on ur instrumentation)
2. Something ive used recently is an ART Tube Preamp, which lets me get some boost out of my acoustic electric, which i guess is a little different, but idk i like having it around. It doubles as a DI box for PAs and stuff.
3. Check out my youtube channel! It might give you some fun ideas! Ive done a WIDE variety of stuff with electric mandolin, including some one-man band stuff with a loop station and mandolin. www.youtube.com/bbrizzy89

[Christoph]

Thanks for the tip on the pedal, I'll look into that. From what I've gathered so far is that it would be better to go with a tube combo amp and preferably two speakers rather than one. I liked your vid, nice sounds!

[Soundfarmer Pete]

IMHO, in a rock setting, a nice clear tone is best for chord work so as not to get lost in a mid range mush.
Fender amps have a good reputation for clean sounds (OK, so I use a beat up old Power Chorus so I am biased :-)
If you want a chuckle, check out my MySpace page - there are a few photos of mandolin interest there too

http://www.myspace.com/soundfarmerpete

CheeryBye

[Daniel Nestlerode]

Christoph,
igowing's advice to take your mando to the shop is excellent. Go to every shop you can get to within reasonable traveling distance. Try EVERY amp you think you won't mind carrying to your gigs.

Don't turn your nose up at solid state amps. They're much lighter to carry, and can have good tone.

Personally, I find amps with smaller speakers suit mandolin better. Pay attention to the difference between 10" and 12" speakers.

Try using amps designed for acoustic instruments too. They don't overdrive well, but if you don't want a dirty sound they may be just right for you.

When you test the electric instrument amps, adjust the EQ/Tone controls liberally. See which knobs/faders affect the mandolin and which ones don't. No one makes a mandolin amp. They're ALL guitar amps.

Enjoy the hunt!
Daniel

[mandroid]

with My E Mando [another kind] I use the effects loop function of my Roland AC 60, to plug in the Yamaha DG stomp pedal dtigital EFX in,
Theres a mono out and a stereo return so it integrates fine..

sometimes an 8 string with the effects added will sound like you should own a 4 or 5 string too.

[craig.collas]

Hi
Ive am using a fender champ with my weber maverick and love it. I have a Fender twin as well but it is heavy. The champ isnt loud but I use a mike in it and run a baker tone press compressor and voodoo lab sparkle drive. Have fun!