# Octaves, Zouks, Citterns, Tenors and Electrics > Four, Five and Eight-String Electrics >  Eastman El Rey?

## Verne Andru

So a few of these showed up a few months ago then crickets.

Anybody know if they will be a regular part of Eastman's offerings or just a one-off?

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## Dave Greenspoon

Found one locally at pre-tarrif prices. Paying it off now; hope to have it home in a couple of weeks.

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Verne Andru

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## Dave Greenspoon

Mine came home today. Acclimating to the house, but the first few minutes thru the Cub 10 and some fx were a lot of fun. Really comfortable, and sounds great no matter the style, all across the frets and strings. The Lollar is a dream. Totally loving the aesthetic as well, especially the thumbnail inlays.

Update: Had a chance to run it thru the Rivera briefly, and it really sounds excellent. No annoying extraneous sounds like a piezo will often provide. Unlike a single course electric with a humbucker, it _really_ sounds like a _mandolin_.

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mojocaster, 

Paul Statman, 

Rick Jones, 

Verne Andru

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## ajh

> Mine came home today. Acclimating to the house, but the first few minutes thru the Cub 10 and some fx were a lot of fun. Really comfortable, and sounds great no matter the style, all across the frets and strings. The Lollar is a dream. Totally loving the aesthetic as well, especially the thumbnail inlays.
> 
> Update: Had a chance to run it thru the Rivera briefly, and it really sounds excellent. No annoying extraneous sounds like a piezo will often provide. Unlike a single course electric with a humbucker, it _really_ sounds like a _mandolin_.


What is the scale length?

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## mandolinstew

> Mine came home today. Acclimating to the house, but the first few minutes thru the Cub 10 and some fx were a lot of fun. Really comfortable, and sounds great no matter the style, all across the frets and strings. The Lollar is a dream. Totally loving the aesthetic as well, especially the thumbnail inlays.
> 
> Update: Had a chance to run it thru the Rivera briefly, and it really sounds excellent. No annoying extraneous sounds like a piezo will often provide. Unlike a single course electric with a humbucker, it _really_ sounds like a _mandolin_.


Is the e string sound loud enough?Does it have the same neck as other Eastmans?

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## Dave Greenspoon

Scale length seems pretty standard.

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ajh

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## Dave Greenspoon

E string sounds fine to me, but I haven't really dialed it in yet. It is really still acclimating. Neck feels like my 515, or at least not different enough to notice.

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## Leester

> So a few of these showed up a few months ago then crickets.
> 
> Anybody know if they will be a regular part of Eastman's offerings or just a one-off?


Dennis at the Mandolin Store said two weeks ago that he has a bunch of them on order and is just waiting for the order to be filled.  My guess would be that Eastman may have underestimated their popularity so are struggling to get production up to speed.  You can sign up with Elderly Instruments (and likely the Mandolin Store as well) to have them email you when they get one in...right after I get mine!  :Laughing:

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Paul Statman, 

Verne Andru

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## Dave Greenspoon

A little more time on the El Rey has been fun. The neck is different from the 515 regarding heel cap design, etc. The width and shape are pretty much the same; the ER-M may be just a bit more rounded. 

This morning it was the Loudbox's turn. Mine is the older version. Went straight into channel 1, and had a plate reverb selected. Specifically went to the "acoustic" stuff: fiddle tunes, blues, and klezmer for a critical listen. Again, the Lollar sounded fine on the e strings, both in chords and single note runs. The radius feels a little different than the 515, but the fretboard is comfortable for my hand. The point being this instrument is not simply for folks looking for amplification and effects. This is an electric instrument that really offers an amplified acoustic sound without compromise.  You can certainly funk it up with effects, and you can certainly plug it straight into an amp. The sound is going to be excellent either way.

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## Eastman Rep

Production on these is alive and well.  Over the next week or two there will be a large batch heading out to US dealers with more on the way.

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Mandolin Cafe, 

Mandoloon, 

Paul Statman, 

Verne Andru

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## Verne Andru

> Production on these is alive and well.  Over the next week or two there will be a large batch heading out to US dealers with more on the way.


Any heading to Canada?

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## mojocaster

What do they retail for, new?

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## simo26

I just got one from Corner Music in Nashville they had two I searched all over the US they were the only ones that had any.

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Verne Andru

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## mojocaster

Finally saw one online for sale. $1100-ish is what they seem to retail for.

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## Eastman Rep

US MSRP is $1,383.  There will be a a couple going up tp Canada as well.

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Paul Statman, 

Verne Andru

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## Dave Greenspoon

I spent about an hour this evening putting it through its paces. I was plugged in to the Rivera. Used the amp's reverb and gain, using the footswitch to mix it up. The R212 is loaded with 25 watt Greenbacks.

1. It sounded freaking glorious.  Set the clean at edge of breakup, and played with the tone and volume knobs. So fun.

2. I'm still looking for my sweet spot for tremelo. The pickup is pretty much where I would be, and I don't love the feel of the strings there for trem. A little higher up the neck is OK; great tone but just OK. So far it seems I get my best results closet to the bridge.

3. I'd love to know the tapir for the knobs. Still finding out where what happens at the different settings. 

4. The guys on The Acoustic Shoppe video are spot on: You eany an El Rey. And YOU want an El Rey. And YOU want an El Rey. EVERYONE wants an El Rey.

Between this an my MD515 from The Mandolin Store, I'm drinking the kool aid. #IPlayEastman

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Paul Statman

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## mojocaster

This. This is a tapir. So I assume you mean the taper?  :Wink:

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keme, 

Paul Statman

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## Mandoloon

I've had one since the beginning of October (an El Rey, not a tapir, although tapirs are pretty awesome, too -- just harder to strum). I concur with Dave: the El Rey's a great instrument, and it really does have an authentic mandolin sound. The e string on mine is loud enough, too -- not ear-shreddingly so, but it definitely projects well and feels balanced with the other strings. It's a sharp-looking instrument, the build quality is great, and it's really fun to play -- I catch myself grinning whenever I do.

They can be really tough to find, though -- I couldn't find any locally when I wanted to buy, so I had to buy online.

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Verne Andru, 

WaxwellHaus

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## Chief

I see these are widely available now. I'm tempted, but really don't need another mandolin. Of course- if I sold one of my others!!!!!!!!!

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## Dave Greenspoon

So today proved that this instrument sounds great even through my modest 1982 Peavey Studio Pro's maligned high gain channel. Once dialed in, it sounded fine just straight in with the onboard reverb around 3. The speaker is an Eminence Patriot Red, White and Blues. Sure, its not toooob tooonz, but it's not supposed to be. This instrument just keeps making me smile.

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## Joel Glassman



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## Khatarlan

My El Rey arrived last week.  I can’t claim any real talent with it, but it has me grinning like a fool just with the experimentation.

Decidedly not bluegrass, but with a couple of tweaks on the DAW it takes me anywhere between Chet Atkins to Black Sabbath.  Great fun for Hank Williams or jazz if that’s your thing.  Build quality better than I expected.  Neck and frets feel quite good - a near match for my Weber.  Muscle memory between the two hasn’t tripped me up like my electric tenor guitar did. 

If I could be certain that Curt Mangan monel strings would work, I would change to those and have the strings feel the same.

If you get a chance to try it, give it a whirl! :Mandosmiley: 

Khat

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## DocT

I am really interested in one of these. I am saving my pennies and one day this year I will break open my piggy bank and get one. Too cool.  :Cool: 
I wonder how it will sound with some distortion? Gasp!  :Disbelief:   :Smile:

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## Daniel Nestlerode

You won't need distortion, a bit of overdrive will create as dirty a sound and be a bit more versatile with 8 strings.

It's fun.  

But I prefer to use an 8 string in place of a 12-string guitar if you see what I mean. Clean, chime-y, jangle-y, rather than dirty.   :Smile: 

Daniel

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DocT, 

randybrown

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## DocT

I was told the El Rey has a real Mandolin sound. What is best, an acoustic amp or an electric guitar amp?

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Woyvel

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## Verne Andru

> I was told the El Rey has a real Mandolin sound. What is best, an acoustic amp or an electric guitar amp?


Not sure the El Rey has a "real" mandolin sound as it uses a modified guitar humbucker for a pickup and is limited to what it can put out.

Regular guitar amps are EQ'd to enhance a guitar's mid-range and tend to lean towards a distorted tone. Without actually having played one, I would suggest an acoustic amp or a solid-state amp with a good mid-range control to get you close. Stay away from tubes as they distort - which is great for guitars but bad if you're looking for a clean acoustic mando tone.

I think the El Rey with a single-coil pickup (or the ability to coil-split the Lollar) and piezo would get closest to traditional mandolin sounds but that requires modding the stock instrument.

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## C2WAVE2

> I was told the El Rey has a real Mandolin sound. What is best, an acoustic amp or an electric guitar amp?


I just got one in the mail, today.  It’s awesome! But I wouldn’t say it sounds like acoustic mandolin, no matter what kind  of amp
You plug it into.. due to the nature of the near solid body, and humbucker pick up.
 It does play like an acoustic, the feel of the neck, size and all.

I’m playing mine through a Fender Twin Reverb, and it’s clean, clear with tons of sustain. Beautiful. I can’t be happier!

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Verne Andru

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## Daniel Nestlerode

Hi Doc,
The El Rey has an electromagnetic pickup in it, so it is meant to be played through a 'guitar' amplifier, rather than directly through a PA or 'acoustic' amplifier.  People hereabouts have had good experiences running emandos through bass amps as well.

Enjoy!
Daniel

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DocT

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## Merula

Mine is sounding fine through my Trace Elliot Acoustic Cube. I'm not sure what people mean who say it doesn't sound like an acoustic. Do you mean unamplified acoustic?. For what it is I would say it gets pretty close to an amplified acoustic sound but can sound like an electric guitar if you want it to. The tone control is very nice - all the way down seems to give it an entirely different warm sound and the closest to acoustic. So nice to have something that behaves like a guitar with guitar effects. Loving mine.

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## C2WAVE2

> Mine is sounding fine through my Trace Elliot Acoustic Cube. I'm not sure what people mean who say it doesn't sound like an acoustic. Do you mean unamplified acoustic?. For what it is I would say it gets pretty close to an amplified acoustic sound but can sound like an electric guitar if you want it to. The tone control is very nice - all the way down seems to give it an entirely different warm sound and the closest to acoustic. So nice to have something that behaves like a guitar with guitar effects. Loving mine.


Hi Merula,  I think  the question is whether an acoustic amp is going to make the El Ray sounds more acoustic?
Im not totally sure, as my only acoustic amp is broke, but as I recall, it didn't make any difference on  my electric guitars sounding  more like an acoustic guitar
going through it.
To me,  the El Ray  is the equivalent to  a Gibson ES-335 semi hollow body,  in the guitar world..  That guitar is never
going to sound like an acoustic, no matter what amplifier..There just not enough top movement, and the magnetic pickups, dont capture it.
You not getting the woody sound that many do with their true acoustic mandolins plugged in,  using pizeo and microphone pickups. 

 There was another comment, I heard,  the fact that El Ray is an eight string
electric as opposed to many  4 string electrics, out there, in that regard, it does get closer to a standard acoustic mandolin, then those..
YMMV   Chuck

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## C2WAVE2

I just a posted a video of me and my El-Ray,
I can't do it justice, but will keep trying!
Chuck

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ajh, 

Mandoloon

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## Mandoloon

I'd say an acoustic amp isn't likely to make it sound more like an acoustic.

Of course, I'd also suggest that real =/= acoustic. And "sounds like an acoustic mandolin" =/= "sounds like a f-hole carved top." I think to some extent, this is a semantics issue. My acoustic mandolin doesn't sound dry -- it's got a sweet voice and it has more sustain, so my El Rey's much closer to that than to a dry, woody instrument with a rapid decay. Even so, I wouldn't say the El Rey sounds just like an unplugged acoustic instrument. How could it?

I do stand by what I've said to others about it, though -- that it has an authentic mandolin sound (authentic =/= acoustic). What do I mean by that? When I chord, I can get a nice chop. On the low end, I get that bit of chonk (mix matters in that respect). It's electric, which smooths and extends the the single notes, so there's less crispness than with my acoustic, but the courses still create a nice chime (especially obvious when I bring up the treble). These are elements that, to me, sound like an authentic electric mandolin rather than a tiny 4-string electric guitar. I wanted something that sounded like an electric mandolin instrument, so I'm happy, and I'd say in that sense, it's an authentic mandolin (but full disclosure, I don't think acoustic guitars are the only "authentic" guitars, either).

YMMV, though -- if someone sees "woody" and "dry" as the defining sound qualities of a "real" mandolin, and s/he wants the El Rey to sound just like that (and sound unplugged, to boot), s/he will likely be disappointed. In that case, one would be better off selecting one of the many wonderful acoustic mandolins on the market that have those qualities. I wouldn't consider this instrument a replacement for my acoustic -- I sure do dig it, though!  :Smile:

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## Merula

The Godin A8 might be more of what you are looking for if you want a more acoustic sound. I have both and would chose the El Rey over the Godin if I had to pick one.

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## Verne Andru

> The Godin A8 might be more of what you are looking for if you want a more acoustic sound. I have both and would chose the El Rey over the Godin if I had to pick one.


Godin has a different build and uses RMC piezo saddles and preamp, which are prolly the best of the best for piezo.

El Rey is a rock machine to my eye. It's built more like an ES-335 than a mandolin. A 5-string with the Lollar would totally rock.

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## Daniel Nestlerode

> A 5-string [El Rey] with the Lollar would totally rock.


Yes, and lengthen the scale to 15" and it would be, for me, pointless to try to resist buying one.
 :Smile: 

Daniel

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Verne Andru

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## Lord of the Badgers

Hi all
I'm currently in the process of downsizing my gear - i have found that i only really play mandolin with the band, and we're LOUD. Otherwise I'm all tenor guitar *sigh*  :Smile:  

the F5 was great at cutting through our mix but counterintuitively I've decided I'm selling it. Keeping the badgerlin, which IS acoustic, but is maybe a bit muddy when plugged in compared to the f5. 

I can't countenance the Godin. It looks too "old guy thinking he looks cool" for me... !! Even though pickup wise it's the sound choice. I'm not a fan of flat fretboards though. 

I love the look of the el rey - i'd dearly like to get into that as a live mando. But i want it to sound alright, and not like an electric guitar. 

But do you think in a loud band, it'll sound acoustic enough? I play an AER Compact 60.3 amp. 
Probably been asked a few times in this thread.

I'm up against acoustic guitar, brass and elec bass, plus drums.

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## Lord of the Badgers

Actually I found my answer with a further google. This LINK

Not sure this has been shared on the cafe before, but this Facebook post is visible without login

to me this is the sound i need for the band - powerful and clear - and not like an electric guitar

Folks are right to distinguish the point...

Does it sound acoustic?

- NO - not in the sense of sitting and listening an acoustic mandolin in the room, or mic'd up.
but for me... 
- YES - because this is close enough to how my F5 sounds through our PA when going via my AER and its K&K internal pickups.

If I was a proper mandolin player seeking HiFi amplification, I'll use my other acoustic mandolin

But for the band I think this is IDEAL. The sound is definitely "mandolin" and not "little electric guitar". 

So am I right in thinking we now have a clear answer as to what this mandolin is to mandolin "sound"?

it's got a fantastic PLUGGED IN mandolin sound... but it's NOT an out and out acoustic sound replacement  :Smile:

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C2WAVE2

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## willnherrin

I'd like to hear more about the quality of the overdrive/distortion tones on this thing if you could elaborate? cheers!




> My El Rey arrived last week.  I cant claim any real talent with it, but it has me grinning like a fool just with the experimentation.
> 
> Decidedly not bluegrass, but with a couple of tweaks on the DAW it takes me anywhere between Chet Atkins to Black Sabbath.  Great fun for Hank Williams or jazz if thats your thing.  Build quality better than I expected.  Neck and frets feel quite good - a near match for my Weber.  Muscle memory between the two hasnt tripped me up like my electric tenor guitar did. 
> 
> If I could be certain that Curt Mangan monel strings would work, I would change to those and have the strings feel the same.
> 
> If you get a chance to try it, give it a whirl!
> 
> Khat


- - - Updated - - -

Anyone have experience with overdrive tones on the El Rey? Also how does it play when strung with just 4 strings?

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## Merula

> I'd like to hear more about the quality of the overdrive/distortion tones on this thing if you could elaborate? cheers!
> 
> 
> 
> - - - Updated - - -
> 
> Anyone have experience with overdrive tones on the El Rey? Also how does it play when strung with just 4 strings?



I have been getting a very nice overdrive sound with a Keeley compressor, Boss SD-1 and a Fender Smolder Acoustic OD. The Fender works for me as I'm using an acoustic amp and it gives some amp simulation.

I did try it with four strings briefly. It was okay but I didn't like how the strings were skewed towards one side of the fingerboard and had got used to the feel and sound of the 8, so I added the other four.

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## Woyvel

There are other threads addressing it, but in a nutshell, an acoustic amp such as a Fishman Loudbox is the general consensus to get an acoustic mandolin sound out of it

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## 2ndFidl

I got my ERM at the end of May. I thought the A was a little punchy so I went a little lighter on that string. Seemed to fix it so it's more balanced.
I love the instrument.....seems to sound good through an acoustic (Fishman Loudbox Performer) or a tube amp (Carvin Nomad) that I use for my Mann EM-5. The issue I have with it is the tuners. I know Martin Stillion did a review on it early on, and he said it had Grovers, but they went to these Pingwell things, and I can't keep the thing in tune. So, instead of enjoying the instrument, I'm bothered by that! Suggestions?

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## Daniel Nestlerode

> I got my ERM at the end of May. I thought the A was a little punchy so I went a little lighter on that string. Seemed to fix it so it's more balanced.
> I love the instrument.....seems to sound good through an acoustic (Fishman Loudbox Performer) or a tube amp (Carvin Nomad) that I use for my Mann EM-5. The issue I have with it is the tuners. I know Martin Stillion did a review on it early on, and he said it had Grovers, but they went to these Pingwell things, and I can't keep the thing in tune. So, instead of enjoying the instrument, I'm bothered by that! Suggestions?


I changed some Schallers on my Vessel F5 to Rubners.  Love them.

Daniel

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## jazzgtrl4

Just picked one of these up.  after trying to amplify my acoustic mandolin with just about everything..well all i can say is this sounds like a real mandolin lol,,,and i havent had to eq much at all.lol.....im running it through a Fractal Audio Ax8 into a EV PXM-12M powered coax wedge.

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Marcus CA, 

trodgers, 

Verne Andru

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## Verne Andru

I got to try an El Rey in a store today and I'm sold.

Beautiful build. Looks great, feels great and - plugged in - sounds great. Even the HSC is done with lots of class. The whole package just oozes quality.

I didn't put it through a lot of paces but I'm impressed with the brief demo I had.

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Lord of the Badgers, 

trodgers

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## Lord of the Badgers

Hey Verne, so compared to a K&K equipped acoustic thru a PA how'd you think this'll stack up? I seriously have been considering selling my f5 for cost reasons and replacing with the ERM
You see here, I'm not after it sounding exactly like an acoustic, but not wanting it to sound too electric - just enough for it to work well with my loud band. 
So, I'm aware of the limitations of a mando that works in the way the ERM works, but I did see a facebook vid that made me seriously consider it.

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## jparis51

I wonder if the popularity of the MDO305 could persuade Eastman to build an El Rey octave mandolin? I would buy it in a heartbeat. By the way, I've been lurking here for over a year but this is my first post, so I'll say hello everyone! And yes I play (poorly) an MDO305 with a K&K.

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Verne Andru

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## Verne Andru

> Hey Verne, so compared to a K&K equipped acoustic thru a PA how'd you think this'll stack up? I seriously have been considering selling my f5 for cost reasons and replacing with the ERM
> You see here, I'm not after it sounding exactly like an acoustic, but not wanting it to sound too electric - just enough for it to work well with my loud band. 
> So, I'm aware of the limitations of a mando that works in the way the ERM works, but I did see a facebook vid that made me seriously consider it.


2 considerations - volume and tone. The K&K is going to get you a bit of a better acoustic tone but will cause feedback problems at gigging volumes. For a working musician I would take the El Rey without hesitation.

I plugged into a Fender Princeton Reverb in the store's demo room and did a quick test. The sound was certainly much better than I expected with no problem identifying it as a mandolin. The double courses help in that regard but the pickup has lots of oomph with a nicely defined mid and high end. Any string-to-string volume variance (E-string) wasn't readily apparent and if existed could easily be accommodated by raising/lowering one side of the pickup (but I'd still like to see adjustable pole pieces and coil splitting).

It's on my list.

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Lord of the Badgers, 

trodgers

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## Lord of the Badgers

> 2 considerations - volume and tone. The K&K is going to get you a bit of a better acoustic tone but will cause feedback problems at gigging volumes. For a working musician I would take the El Rey without hesitation.
> 
> I plugged into a Fender Princeton Reverb in the store's demo room and did a quick test. The sound was certainly much better than I expected with no problem identifying it as a mandolin. The double courses help in that regard but the pickup has lots of oomph with a nicely defined mid and high end. Any string-to-string volume variance (E-string) wasn't readily apparent and if existed could easily be accommodated by raising/lowering one side of the pickup (but I'd still like to see adjustable pole pieces and coil splitting).
> 
> It's on my list.


hey man thanks for that. Wondering whether to find one over here (UK) and give it a trial. I don't get feedback that often on the K&K, but I don't need all the mandolin anymore as I really only play it for the band.  That said, we're only just about to go back to rehearsals, and we don't know what the future holds at the moment. 

Thanks

Oh another thing - what's the neck like? is it flat or radiused?

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Verne Andru

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## Verne Andru

> hey man thanks for that.
> 
> Oh another thing - what's the neck like? is it flat or radiused?


No problem. Fretboard has a radius to it.

I really like the feel of the neck - sits nicely in the hand. No pencil thin or tree-trunk. Reminded me of my Paris Swing which has a modern neck carve to it - no V, more like a C or D. Nice action and playable right up the neck. You can tell it's a premium instrument as soon as you pick it up.

The price [in Canada] was $14xx, which isn't that much higher than list in the US for a change. The weakening USD I'm sure has something to do with that. You might want to check around for availability - not much for sale in the US at the moment from what I can see.

Specs:

Eastman El Rey Mandolin ER-M Specifications: 

    Body Top: Solid Maple
    Body Back/Sides: Solid One Piece Mahogany
    Neck Material: Maple
    Fingerboard: Ebony
    Pickups: Lollar Mandolin Humbucker
    Nut: Bone 1 3/32″
    Bridge: Adjustable Compensated Ebony Bridge
    Finish: Nitrocellulose
    Inlay: Pearl El Rey Thumbnails
*Fingerboard Radius: 12″*
    Truss Rod: Single Acting
    Binding: Top
    Binding Material: Ivoroid
    Logo: Headstock
    Hardware Color: Nickel
    Tailpiece: Cast Aluminum
    String Spacing:1 5/8″
    Nut Height:0.018″
    Tuners: Pingwell RM-1583N-26A
    Strap Peg: Gotoh Nickel
    Strings: D’adarrio Nickel Bronze # NBM1140
    Case: Eastman Hardshell case

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Lord of the Badgers

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## Lord of the Badgers

great thanks Verne, I really appreciate it

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Verne Andru

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