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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Actually Elifas Santana makes really affordable Electric MandolinsAttachment 201037 that really rock. This one has 5 Strings tuned like a 5 String Violin (C, G, D, A, E) which are lighter gauge & easier to press down along w/ the skinnier neck, plus it has more notes you can play. The scale length on this Electric Mandolin is actually a tad bit longer than a Standard Acoustic Mandolin (some Acoustic Mandolins have a Scale Length this long too such as the Resonator Mandolins) so that the Low C String intonates better. The Longer Scale length is also great for people w/ bigger hands.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Because there's less maintenance to do on an Electric Mandolin than there is on an Acoustic I would've had to swap the price tags around:https://www.happynewguitarday.com/ar...ustic-guitars/ & you'd have to make them w/ a built in amplifier. I found a Attachment 201041 Cozart Mandostrat Copy which is only $200 that's a fraction of the price of a Gibson. Traditions are supposed to change these days, because the Mandolin isn't limited to one type of music anymore. Also you can actually play Electric Mandolin stuff on an Acoustic Mandolin in an Unplugged Setting. An Acoustic Mandolin that plays like an Electric w/ 4 Strings would essentially be a Modernized Cremonese/Bresciano Mandolin w/ Steel Strings & Geared Pegs.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
19 consecutive posts to a thread has to be some kind of record.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Mr. s111… seems like he needs to state his position to every post on these forums including some threads that are very old. Mores likely he is talking to himself since many of these posters are long gone from these parts. Oh well…
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
How does he post without increasing his post count?
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jim Garber
Mr. s111… seems like he needs to state his position to every post on these forums including some threads that are very old. Mores likely he is talking to himself since many of these posters are long gone from these parts. Oh well…
No crime. Some people just like doing that. Sometimes I feel like my entire social life is in web forums.
I also suspect there are AI coders who bring their programs into assorted forums just to see how well they do.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Mobi (OP) has been gone a good while but his posts keep getting resurrected. I suppose a lot of folk are interested in his topics … or just feel the need to advise him, regardless:-)
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
In my working life I was an engineer and early in the home computer age every non-tech acquaintance asked me what computer they should buy. My response was always, “What do you plan to use it for?” because the tools you buy should suit the job you’ll be doing. e.g. Stocking up on micrometers, screwdrivers and wood rasps would be unsuitable if your work was going to be stone masonry or pipe fitting. Similarly, if you were going to do industrial controls work then the IBM PC & its clones were the better choice while music, animation and other arts called for Macintosh or scientific calculations like finite element analysis demanded a Sun workstation. This isn’t to say that a novice shouldn’t get an electric mandolin but I believe that they’ll probably be happier if the instrument they use aligns with the music they’re learning and playing. JMHO
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kenny
. . . I believe that they’ll probably be happier if the instrument they use aligns with the music they’re learning and playing. JMHO
Good thoughts, Kenny.
Just want to make sure you saw some of the post above yours, like 134 or 129.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mobi
I am a novice and playing with mandolin only for few months.
Should I buy an electric mandolin now or wait till I reach intermediate level first?
Also, can an eletric mandolin be played without electricity? e.g. when I am outdoor without electricity.
Do I still need to tune it just like non electric ones? Or it will hold tuning like a piano?
Hey, I've got two electric mandos. Like some others have mentioned, I would strongly suggest that, unless you only ever will be playing in a rock and roll band, you shouldn't buy an electric mandolin right off the bat. My e-mandos are fun to play as a toy, but I haven't used them in many other circumstances than messing around with a pedalboard and amp.
I'm guessing the playability without electricity depends on the model, but for Gold Tones, neither the 4- nor 5-string require electricity as long as the amp doesn't either.
Yeah, you will still need to tune it.
Hope this helped, and don't hesitate to reach out with any questions at all!
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mandolinian
Hey, I've got two electric mandos. Like some others have mentioned, I would strongly suggest that, unless you only ever will be playing in a rock and roll band, you shouldn't buy an electric mandolin right off the bat. My e-mandos are fun to play as a toy, but I haven't used them in many other circumstances than messing around with a pedalboard and amp.
I'm guessing the playability without electricity depends on the model, but for Gold Tones, neither the 4- nor 5-string require electricity as long as the amp doesn't either.
Yeah, you will still need to tune it.
Hope this helped, and don't hesitate to reach out with any questions at all!
Besides these instruments are less delicate cause they're built stronger & sturdier. The other thing is that single strung mandolins aren't a new idea at all. The 4 String Electric Mandolin is really an Electrified Genovese Mandolin w/ Steel strings. Alot of Electric Mandolin builders never realized that this idea is an older idea & not a new one.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Actually Dan Electro uses Lipstick Pickups to emulate an Acoustic Guitar. I think a Lipstick Pickup might work.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
The other thing is that Electric Mandolins have a permanently attached bridge so that you don't have to worry about loosing it when you remove all the strings. It's also adjustable so you can fine tune each string. The Electric Mandolin is really the Electrified Equivalent of a 7/8 Size Acoustic Mandolin due to its slightly smaller body. The other thing is that Electric Mandolins have thinner strings & lower action due to how high they're tuned.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
David Lewis
Style. That's the answer. What do you want to play? I have one of each. I love my electric. But it doesn't fly at the folk festival.
The instrument that is easiest to learn on is the instrument you want to play. That simple.
Don't listen to the purists who tell you 'only a Gibson or Gilchrist' or anything like that. Not yet anyway.
Actually to make it fly at a Folk festival you'd need a super mini amp.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
s11141827
Besides these instruments are less delicate cause they're built stronger & sturdier. The other thing is that single strung mandolins aren't a new idea at all. The 4 String Electric Mandolin is really an Electrified Cremonese Mandolin w/ Steel strings. Alot of Electric Mandolin builders never realized that this idea is an older idea & not a new one.
The Cremonese Mandolin is a 4 String Mandolin & Electric 4 String Mandolins are Electrified Cremonese Mandolins
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
The other thing is that changing String gauge doesn't change sound on Electric Mandolin or Electric Guitars cause the pickups homogenize the sound:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1voGSrwut3U & it has many more tone colors achieved w/ FX Pedals.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Oh & I should clarify. Magnetic Pickups were originally designed to respond to every gauge of strings in the same way.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
luthier88
Lots of weird "spam" stuff here...
I'll say what I tell beginners in the violin world: You can't learn tone production on an electric violin/fiddle, and it is the same with an electric mando vs acoustic.
That statement is 15.5 years out of date, that recently changed when some company that makes super inexpensive beginner versions was doing everybody by the backstreet boys in German.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Actually the 4 string Electric Mandolin is really an Electrified version of the Cremonese Mandolin. The guys who made Electric Mandolins didn't realize that the 4 string Mandolin is a very old idea dating back to Italy.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Zeta actually makes the JM25 it's a 5 String Acoustic-Electric Mandolin which might work. I think the price tags need to be swapped cause Electric Mandolins are easier to mass produce than their Acoustic Counterparts, and are less delicate
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
https://www.fuelrocks.com/why-acoust...%20cost%20down. it says that Electric Guitars cost less than Acoustic Guitars cause the Electric Versions require less work to construct so this is true for Electric Mandolins too.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
I converted my Acoustic Mandolin to play like an 8 String Electric Mandolin by switching over to the lightest gauge of strings (Saverez Ultra-Lights which are 7.5 gauge) & to get good volume, I shaved down the top to make it extra thin.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
I modified my Acoustic Mandolin to play like my Electric (the 8 string version both have 8 strings) by shaving off the braces so it would only work w/ really light gauge strings & low action. I also shaved the frets down almost flush w/ the fretboard.
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Some people are electric players -- that's what appeals to them. So, yes, IMHO. Fun with volume, extreme volume, and effects pedals...
And don't forget the choice of amp -- that is half of the picture!
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Re: Should a beginner buy electric mandolin?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jeff Mando
Some people are electric players -- that's what appeals to them. So, yes, IMHO. Fun with volume, extreme volume, and effects pedals...
And don't forget the choice of amp -- that is half of the picture!
A Built in Amp would be great so you could play in sessions. The Electric Mandolin sound is mellower than the Acoustic Mandolin which is good. I modified my Acoustic Mandolin to work w/ really light gauge strings (Electric Mandolin Strings) by severely shaving the braces down.