# Instruments and Equipment > Equipment >  Best acoustic electric mandolin for the money

## mandosonthemarsh

Best acoustic electric mandolin for the money for under $500...any thoughts?

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## Tim2723

Different question.  An Ovation Celebrity MCS148 in used condition, or new without a case.

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## mandroid

...  if 70/30 which part is most important ? the acoustic or electric part ?

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## JeffD

Or the under $500 part?

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## allenhopkins

See *parallel current thread* from the same OP; many of these questions will be answered...

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## kkmm

IMHO, the Ovation mandolin sounds really good plugged in (I have the MCS-148).
Unplugged, it sounds more like a small acoustic guitar (sweet to my ears), not like a mandolin which typically sounds louder. 
If you play mostly with an amp, Ovation will fit your preference. I have played many AE mandolins, and still find Ovation sounds best plugged in, no humming, no feedback.
Also the Ovation has a wider fretboard (and of course the nut is wider) making it easier to play (at least for me).

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## TDMpicker

Why not buy a regular mandolin and add some good pickups?

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## michaelpthompson

> Why not buy a regular mandolin and add some good pickups?


Cuz then you're trying to make it work after the fact instead of using something that was designed that way from the get go. You could just as well say, "Why not buy a solid body electric and hollow it out?"

NOTE: Some exaggeration used in the above snide reply.  :Smile:  But the point is, an A/E was designed to do both from the beginning. Attempting to make an acoustic instrument play plugged in always features compromises and difficulties. Otherwise, why do purists insist on a microphone in preference to a pickup? Why do people fight for good sound from a pickup and endlessly discuss placement and type and feedback control and whether it goes outside or inside and whether you're compromising the integrity of a classic instrument with foreign electronic parts?

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## michaelpthompson

P.S., count another vote for the Ovation MCS148. I love mine.

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## mrmando

I don't know of any decent acoustic/electric mandolins currently on the market with a new retail price of less than $500. 

You may be able to get a used Godin A8 for around $500. 

The Ovation MCS148 stinks in my opinion; the USA-made MM68 is a good instrument but costs more than $500. The new MM68AX is made overseas and reportedly is no better than the MCS148. 

You might find a used Fender FM62SCE for less than $500. 

I haven't tried the Rigel-licensed Gold Tones but they look nice. More than $500 new, but you might score on a used one.

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## easypicker

_<spam removed by Moderator>_

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lottarope

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## mrmando

That Kentucky isn't an acoustic/electric.

I did get hold of a Gold Tone Rigel knockoff after writing the above post ... it was no Rigel but it was OK for the money.

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## mandroid

magnetic pickup electric senses the string motion, in a magnetic field,  

so on a less resonant  mandolin  it may be adequate.   a downplay on the acoustic part. 


Even those gets  better if you replace all the  electric parts  once you get it.

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## Mike Bunting

> NOTE: Some exaggeration used in the above snide reply.  But the point is, an A/E was designed to do both from the beginning. Attempting to make an acoustic instrument play plugged in always features compromises and difficulties. Otherwise, why do purists insist on a microphone in preference to a pickup? Why do people fight for good sound from a pickup and endlessly discuss placement and type and feedback control and whether it goes outside or inside and whether you're compromising the integrity of a classic instrument with foreign electronic parts?


 No they are not. Outside of the Mix CF mandos, all the E/A's I've seen are just inexpensive mandos with a low-grade pickup stuck on it. People fight for good sound from an add on piezos because all piezos sound crappy and only intensive massaging of the signal produces anything near an acceptable sound. The goal of an A/E or a mando with a piezo  is to achieve a louder acoustic tone and even at best it is merely a compromise.

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## mandroid

And in an acoustic instrument , the  pickup,  piezo-electric slice,  hears what it's attached to ..

thick and less resonant tops are different than thin resonant ones ,
 but the thick ones are cheap to mass produce.

and so the low end plays it safe, and saves cost  to be turned into   margin up the sales chain.

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## Eddie Sheehy

+1 for the MCS148 - +2 if you can get an MM68 at a good price...

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## billder99

The little Ovation electric mandolins are hideously ugly, but man do they sound good plugged in... not bad acoustically either. If you compare the MCS148 and the MM68 plugged into an amp, you will not be able to tell the difference (the MM68 is definitely better acoustically)... used 148's are available and inexpensive.

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## Jim Ferguson

I've played the Ovation mm68.........very nice sound & playability plugged & unplugged.
Peace,

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## kkmm

biller99,
I complete agreed with your remark.



> The little Ovation electric mandolins are hideously ugly, but man do they sound good plugged in..


The plug in part is the reason why I bought the MCS-148 (I paid 240$ from a pawn shop on Ebay, almost new), paid 60$ for setup and 40$ for a hard case, total 340$.
However,all friends of mine found the Ovation very nice looking because they never look at the back of the instrument, only at the face, that makes me feel good as I own one. They don't know much about mandolins except the A-style shape.
Showing an A-style: of course, it's a beuatiful mandolin
Showing an  F-style: look nice, but not normal !!! whatever that means (I guess they have never seen it before).
Showing the Ovation: very cute, like a tiny guitar !!!

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## chadoogie

> biller99,
> I complete agreed with your remark.
> 
> The plug in part is the reason why I bought the MCS-148 (I paid 240$ from a pawn shop on Ebay, almost new), paid 60$ for setup and 40$ for a hard case, total 340$.
> However,all friends of mine found the Ovation very nice looking because they never look at the back of the instrument, only at the face, that makes me feel good as I own one. They don't know much about mandolins except the A-style shape.
> Showing an A-style: of course, it's a beuatiful mandolin
> Showing an  F-style: look nice, but not normal !!! whatever that means (I guess they have never seen it before).
> Showing the Ovation: very cute, like a tiny guitar !!!


Hello from France
Bought a MCS 148 brand new in 2010. Very glad of it. The bowl is robust enough not to be afraid of scratches etc... I take care of my music instruments but I don't want to awfully upset if something happens. I wanted to have a A/E mando so it.s ok with the MCS148. I am lee the mando beginner I was in 2009 so I can notice the quality of several instruments. I could test some excellent mandos at Gryphon Palo Alto during my vacation stay in California for the 2013 M Symposium. Thises mandos were incredible. But for the moment I stay with mine for the balance and convenience. Thi tiny guitar like mando made me feel a little weird in the 2012 and 2013 Santa Cruz symposium. But nobody saw something wrong with this. Jesse Cobb tested it.... Ican notice that acoustically speaking it seems to be softer than the others. But it has to do also with the strings, with your strength, with your pick, and with the very spot your strike the strings. On another Ovation guitar I noticed that as well: differences of sounds according to the very millimeter you pick... More than with a regular guitar or mando.
More to come?
Greetings from the Riviera...

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## chadoogie

sorry for the typos
  I don't want to awfully upset = I don't want to be awfully upset
I am lee the mando beginner I was =I am less the mando beginner I used to be
  Thises mandos were incredible =These mandos were incredible
--
I started in Apr-2009 with a €90 Stagg M50E. Soon I realized the poorness of acoustic sound. But the pick up was interesting. Sold it 2 years ago.
Then in Sept-2009 I bought in Montreal Archambault a Kentucky A-model KM-174 which I go one keeping in Montreal at my daughter's. Nice instrument. All solid and light. Glad to use it when in Quebec...
And today? Some people say that the Ovation MM 68 isn't worth the higher price than the MCS168??
Best from France...

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## Jim

+ one for the Ovation, 148 will do, 68 even better. Non mandolinists think they look cool , traditional mandolinists not so much. If plugging in is what you must do then the Ovations sound best. I still Mic mine, along with the plug in , to get a bit of acoustic tone. It may sound like "a little guitar" but it is still more resonant than just a piezo p/u even with a good pre-amp. That allows me to use mic proximity to raise volume for breaks.

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## Elliot Luber

I think a big factor is the type of music you'll be playing. If you want to play jazz or rock or blues, you may want a different choice (though you are price limited). If you want the sound of an amplified acoustic instrument for folk or BG or classical, you may want the Ovation or the amplified acoustic instrument. There are no hard and fast rules, you can play any music on any instrument, but it will impact your sound. Many people seem to like Ovations though.

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## kkmm

I have an Ovation MCS-148 and it sounds great amplified. I also had a few other traditional A-style mandos with built in pickup (acoustic/electric, all between 150 to 250$) and if the EQ is set right, they do sound very acoustic when plugged in. 
However, I sold all of these only keep the Ovation which sounds the best plugged in and also has a very solid feel (solid construction, tapered neck). One downside is the Ovation could be hard to setup by oneself as it has a fixed bridge (which comes in handy and make strings replacement extremely easy). I had to spend 60$ for its setup by a professional luthier.

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## Steve Ostrander

used Godin A8

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## dhbailey

I recently bought my first mandolin (have played guitar for a long time and been around band instruments my whole life) and I decided on the Epiphone MM50E because of the built-in pickup. It's got a sweet tone when played non-electrically, especially with the new strings I just put on it (Bill Monroe mandolin string set from Gibson).  And it sounds very nice when plugged into a tube amp (haven't tried it with a solid-state amp yet) -- it sounds more like an acoustic mandolin played into a mic rather than an electric mandolin (the same sort of difference between a mic'ed guitar and an electric guitar).  The price is $499.99.

I bought the Epiphone from Sweetwater and even though they claim they do a 55-point evaluation/setup on it, the bridge was way in the wrong place so the octaves weren't close to being in tune.  A little adjustment on my part with my ears and with an electronic tuner to be certain of the bridge placement, and the mandolin plays very nicely now.

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