Mandolin pickups

[TheMandoShop]

kyle i have a mcintyre i mounted on the outside of my a model i bought the pickup back in the 90s its round. Is the feather the same sound or better? I tryed mounting it on the inside but couldnt get it to stick, it sticks on the outside finish but not the inside unfinished wood. I remember it advertised it as a outsider.It has a black gummy puddy any recomendations about pickup or adhesive to use? thanks bob

The putty adhesive is part of the sound design of the round pickup that attaches externally and I suggest using it that way for best results. The McIntyre Feather is designed to attach internally with double stick tape. I haven’t used the external round so I can’t really compare the sound of the two. Installing the feather pickup internally requires drilling out the end pin hole so the 1/4 inch input jack strap button can be inserted. I first anchor the mandolin and then use two separate drill bits to first drill a hole through the tailpiece and then use a tapered bit to drill the hole in the wood end block. Next I knock all of the wood shavings so they are visible in the f-hole and with a straw inserted in a vacuum insert the straw into the f-hole to vacuum out the shavings. I use a piece of coated wire inserted into the end pin hole and pulled out through the f-hole and then threaded through the holes in the 1/4 inch input jack and twisted in place so I can pull the 1/4 inch input jack through the f-hole and out the end pin hole. The nut and washers on the 1/4 inch input jack can be adjusted so once the strap button cap is on it allows the 1/4 inch input jack to stick out just past the cap so when the 1/4 inch plug is inserted into the input jack it will make good contact. If the input jack is too far recessed into the cap then the cap can get in the way of inserting the 1/4 inch plug causing a connection failure. It may take several tries adjusting the nut and washers till the input jack is extruding just beyond the strap button cap. Before installing the pickup it is critical to clean the inside surface of the mandolin. You can take a coat-hanger and bend it into a pad shape at one end and create a curved handle at the other end. Tape a cloth or paper towel to the pad shape, insert it into the f-hole and thoroughly clean the area where the pickup is to be placed. I’ve made two tools to place the pickup. One is shaped like the cleaning pad with a medium adhesive piece of masking tape taped in place so the edge of the pad exposes the sticky surface of the tape. The other is shaped like the cleaning pad but with brown binding tape covering the edge to create a smooth surface. Attach the feather pickup to the sticky edge of the masking tape tool and insert the pickup through the f-hole. With mirrors position the pickup behind and parallel to the bridge. Reach through the other f-hole with the binding tape tool and hold the pickup in place against the inside surface of the mandolin. While holding the pickup in place with the binding tape tool pull the masking tape tool off of the pickup. Use the binding tape tool to smooth out the pickup and make sure it is securely attached to the inside surface of the mandolin. If for some reason the adhesive gets corrupted you can apply a layer of clear double stick tape and repeat the process. It’s the same kind of process for the K & K twin internal pickup. Properly setting the input jack to extrude just beyond the strap button cap, thoroughly cleaning the inside surface and securely attaching the pickup are the keys to a successful internal pickup installation.

[Mandobart]

I've also used guitar-specific pickups like this. Worked ok, but has the following disadvantages generic to most of these types:

1. Looks terrible with the external wires, etc. Frankenmando.
2. Doesn't really fit the oval hole, so instead of using the two-piece clamp I set it in place with some blue tack putty (yes I use that stuff for everything)
3. Magnetic p'ups don't work as well on bronze based strings as they do on ferro-magnetic (monel, steel, etc.). I like the jazzmando strings on my Mandobird VIII
4. The external cord running down the soundboard gets in the way, has to be held away somehow and you have to be careful that adapters/plugs etc don't damage the finish.

[redrector]

Thanks kyle for the info. redrector