# Octaves, Zouks, Citterns, Tenors and Electrics > Four, Five and Eight-String Electrics >  anyone ever seen a Van Halen mando?

## martinedwards

Hi troops, I have a bundle of bass guitar pickups on theb way from ebay land, and included are 7 or 8 split pups.

I've HEARD that these can work well on a solid mando......

so last night I had a guitar buddy over and we got talking (no alcohol involved, honest!!) and I told him about the idea to build a 4 string electric.....

I showed him pics of a mandocaster and a mandobird and he suugested a mando tribute to Eddie Van Halen's frankenstrat (all be it with a hard tail bridge......)



after a search I was amazed that I couldn't find a strat mando ANYWHERE, let alone a EVH copy......

the paint job would be easy, but does anyone know any reason (other than good taste) why there aren't any strat shaped mandos out there?

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## Eddie Sheehy

There's a guy in Germany selling Strat Mandolas.  I bought one last year but I didn't like it.  It was a full-width guitar neck.  Just too much space between the strings.  There aren't on Ebay right now but they do show up from time to time...
I used it the previous year's Halloween when I dressed as Eddie Van Helsing.

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## Eddie Sheehy

Here'sa couple of pics of the Strat Mandola...

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## martinedwards

yup, I can see the neck's very wide.....

but still no reason not to go for it.....

all I need now is a name......

Mandocaster is gone........

Frankinmando?

stratolin?

mandohalen?

Vanhalendolin?

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## delsbrother

Well, there was the Pentasystem... (not to get in a pissing match)

And Bahian Guitars... (look up "Armandinho" on emando.com)

You gotta have the whammy bar! If you're going to do it, do it right!

There are all kinds of other "mini-guitars" just waiting for 6-5 or 6-8 conversion... IIRC EVH has a "mini" Frankenkramer himself.

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## AlanN

How about Eddie Vandolin, kinda rolls off the tongue (and on to the floor!)

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## Paul Busman

Wideass string gap on that mando!

At a glance the closeup looked like it was triple strung  :Grin:

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## Scott Tichenor

You might check some of the sites from builders on this page.

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## Daniel Nestlerode

An EVH-dolin would be pretty cool.
Make mine a 5 string short scale octave (17 or 18") with a B above middle C as the first string (GDAEB).  :Smile: 

Daniel

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## Eddie Sheehy

Mandohendrix: reversed-strung and played upside-down - preferably with the teeth.

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## Eddie Sheehy

BTW, the German guy who sold the Stradoline (sic) is knownknight (ebay id).  He's got some fretwire on there right now.

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## martinedwards

> Make mine a 5 string short scale octave (17 or 18") with a B above middle C as the first string (GDAEB).


I'll get one built before I start taking commissions!! :Laughing:

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## mrmando

There are a few Strat-style emandos out there. Both Joe Glaser and Schwab have made a few, and I've seen a really nice one from George Weisel in Montana.

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## delsbrother



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## mrmando

Interesting, Darrell. The little guy in front looks like it could be mando-fied. And what's a collection of electric guitars without a matching cordless drill?

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## martinedwards

Well, it's started.

I projected a pic of a strat onto a wall with a projector and then scaled the image so it had a 13 7/8" scale.  

the nut was a hair too narrow for me so I widened the pic to make the nut spot on the inch, then traced the body onto a piece of paper which became a template to cut it out of a big old plank of Ash I had in the pile....

pics to follow......

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## Eddie Sheehy

If it doesn't work out you can always make a hurley out of it....

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## delsbrother

> Interesting, Darrell. The little guy in front looks like it could be mando-fied.


There are lots of those floating around (there's another one on the left of the photo above). Here's another pic of one, from the set for "Hot For Teacher":



I seem to remember a pic of EVH playing one, but can't seem to find it at the moment...




> And what's a collection of electric guitars without a matching cordless drill?


EVH actually uses drill motors to energize the strings on some tunes, hence the paintjob.:

Van Halen Poundcake video (probably not suitable for mixed company, unless you want her to lose all respect for you)

Sf course the drills are repro'ed by enthusiasts. Here's a better shot of the whole collection (note the stool):

Mini-Kramers, guitars, necks, furniture...

*Edit*: found the pic with EVH, but it's a mini-LP, not a mini-kramer:

EVH w/ mini-Les Paul on the Diver Down tour

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## jefflester

There was a super mini EVH guitar in the movie "Better Off Dead" :-)

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## delsbrother



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## man dough nollij

Wouldn't that be a Van Halin?

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## martinedwards

Under way!!

bridge scavenged from a squier strat.......



Body is a lump of ash from a dumpster, neck is lumberyard maple, fretboard is a stewmac 13 7/8" scale.......

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## delsbrother

As long as I'm being OCD about this, it really should have at least a maple fingerboard...

I mean if you're just going after a strat shape + an EVH paint job, I'm sure yours will look cool. But in that case wouldn't reworking the Cassandra Elk emandola have been a lot easier? That would've been closer to what Eddie actually did. YMMEVH.

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## Keith Erickson

Got to love that Hot for Teacher Video

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## martinedwards

I HATE maple fretboards!!

I have one in the workshop as a template and that's IT!!

it's not a TOTAL EVH tribute, just a mandostrat with the paint, That'll be shocking enough for most folks  :Smile:

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## delsbrother

> I HATE maple fretboards!!
> 
> I have one in the workshop as a template and that's IT!!
> 
> it's not a TOTAL EVH tribute, just a mandostrat with the paint, That'll be shocking enough for most folks




*"No maple fretboard?"*

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## martinedwards

OK troops, this morning before work I made a neck plate and screwed the neck on. 

I gotta say this lump of ash looks too nice to cover up.....

and there isn't a floyd of course......

so there is a strong possibility that the EVH idea may be binned in favour of a natural finish strat.......

Then I looked at some pups actually in situ, and there's just not enough room for both the bass pups to fit in there.......

this simplifies things as I won't need to squeeze in a switch, just a tone & a volume.......

so then I got a sheet of black polystyrene sheet and rough cut a scratchplate..........

sorry Eddie, your tribute will have to wait!!

this just looks too nice to cover up!!

I'll post a pic or two when I get home.

M

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## martinedwards

tuner holes cut.....fretted....... some sanding done......pup cut out in scratchplate......



still a LOAD of sanding to do all over, but I'd love to think I could get a first coat of clear on before the weekend.........

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## delsbrother

Dude! Stop hijacking your own thread!  :Smile: 

Looks to be coming together nicely... Looks like a little P-bass now.

Anyway, all this strat-mando talk reminded me I owned this thing (is losing track of how many emandos you own a bad sign?):



It started off its life as an electric cavaqinho (which I suppose it still is) but I keep it tuned in fifths. I don't think they make them anymore - at least the website for the manufacturer (Malagoli) only shows pickups now. I got the pic from the Internet Wayback Machine. Check out the other groovy colors!

Anyway, back in the day, I got this from a Cafe member (Mad Dawg) who was considering importing them. They were real inexpensive, like $300. It sounds good and plays fine; but I've since gotten other instruments that I play more.

I forgot how Strat-ish it looked. If the finish wasn't so nice (or if you could somehow find another one in Brazil) this would look really cool in EVH livery...

Now I have to see if I can play "Mean Street" on this thing... (without a Floyd Rose)

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## martinedwards

Now THAT is VERY nice!!

if only the head was more strat and less tele......

I've never liked tele heads......

Ah well summing up my build?

I raided the scrap box for a lump of Ash & a strip of Maple.....

added a Stewmac EIR fretboard.....

4 tuners, 2 knobs and a broken bridge off a squier strat....

and half a precision style split bass pup......

and in 5 days during lunchbreaks and after work.....

Tadah!!!





beside a big sister to give an idea of size.......

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## martinedwards

there's a bunch to tidy up....

the back plate needs to go on, the knobs need changed and the frets need levelled a little, but this is SO much fun to play!!!



even my 5 yearold daughter got in on the act.....

though I have to admit, it looks more like her size!!

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## Bret Roberts

Thank you for that, I really enjoyed coming along on your journey.

Always wanted to do a "Ted Nugent" style zebra stripe e-mando,
oh well, maybe some day.

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## delsbrother

Wow, that thing is TINY! Either that or you're HUGE!  :Smile:

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## Eddie Sheehy

Too small for a hurley...

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## delsbrother

Just got a return email from Erico at Malagoli, and alas, the mini-strat cavacos are no more. However he did point me to this site on Guitarra Baiana that has more than you ever wanted to know...

Armandinho obviously raiding EVH's pants closet

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## F5GRun

Wow that thing is small, or are you 9 ft tall?  Any sound clips?

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## Cliff D

Hi Martin
Your creation looks goods so far! can you post a pikky before you do the Van Halen paint job! :Smile: :
Oops, now found I didn't make of to the end of the thread: disregard!

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## musicofanatic

That does look miniature! Did you use a standard scale length?  Your two knobs are jammed in there pretty tight, eh? 
I always design my emandos on the large side to avoid the comical appearance (no offense intended). The bigger I can make 'em the less I hear, "Izzat an electric ukulele?".

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## martinedwards

scale is standard Stewmac 13 7/8"

I wanted it to be in proportion and look like a strat and not a big body with a tiny neck.

the knobs are too big (and definitely too cream!!)  something WILL be done about that.

I have been having SO MUCH fun playing this.....

even with the frets still needing levelled (the 9th fret is high so the 8th might as well not be there) and the nut is still a hair highit is just a real laugh to play.

I love it to bits!!

and as for being confused for a Uke, most of the folks I know don't know a uke from a mando from a hole in the ground so that doesn't really apply!!

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## martinedwards

oh all right then!!

soundclip.

dry through the Squier SP10, then the SP10 really fizzy distortion.

only other processing is a little delay on a last note of a phrase.

REALLY weird having to think about where to put my fingers on blues runs because of the different tuning from a guitar!!

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## Cliff D

Good work! I attach a pikky of an electric uke, just to demonstrate that there are similar(ish) looking instruments out there. I have yet to see a uke styled as a strat, but I have a feeling I will!

So, how about turning out another but with a 17" scale length? Arguably that would be more of a mandola!

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## crazymandolinist

Nice job. Sounds really nice and looks so cute I wanna just stick it in my pocket! I probably could too! 

Not to steal your thunder, but I'm currently building an emando too, it's going to be a neck thru explorer style mando. Made the "wings" out of black walnut, and the neck is a spalted sycamore/black walnut composite! I'll post some pics when it's done!

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## Eddie Sheehy

He's got them back on Ebay:

Strat Mandola

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## delsbrother

If you're willing to install your own tuners/nut/bridge (or go with 5 strings instead of 8) there are tons of cheaper alternatives.

For example, THIS.

I'm going to guess it's made of plywood or nato or something cheap like that, but heck, I think Eddie's first was made of poplar...

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