Article: Eastwood Announces Crowdfunded Airline H35 Batwing Electric Mandolin

You can view the page at https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/c...ctric-Mandolin

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/a...79586834&stc=1

Oh my oh me!

Gonna feel a lot different from a Harmony original, since those have floating bridges. But you can't deny that this is a looker.

Looking good. Nice take on a classic.

well it is somewhat less expensive than a vintage harmony batwing, and I really don't like the bridge/tail piece setup on those (I have a non electric one) already satisfied with Eastwood quality (I have the octave) so I ordered a green one.

In case someone is looking for a left-handed model, also a similar program but they only need eight pre-orders. Those are found here.

I bit... Yes, green! They're already over the minimum subscription for right-hand. Still need 5 more left-hand (as of 3/25 @ 2pm).

Wasn’t the pickup one of the elements that made the Batwing cool?

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Originally Posted by stevemo

Wasn’t the pickup one of the elements that made the Batwing cool?

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The only things that made a Harmony Batwing cool were the way they looked and who played them. If you were looking for sound or playability you might want to go elsewhere. This looks to me like you could get the best of the old part and a chance at a decent instrument while you were at it.

Here's a related project being crowdfunded: the Eastwood Teleolin, mandolin and guitar. Someone on Instagram commented this should be mandolin and octave or mandocello to which we can only concur.

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Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton

The only things that made a Harmony Batwing cool were the way they looked and who played them. If you were looking for sound or playability you might want to go elsewhere. This looks to me like you could get the best of the old part and a chance at a decent instrument while you were at it.

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The main thing going for Batwings was they were an electric mandolin that was relatively available and affordable when there were few choices. Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones using one live certainly helped it's legacy.

The pickups were typical of the era and likely from Valco - under-wound single-coils without wax potting. They were electronically noisy with low output that squealed with any amount of gain.

These Eastwood's look to have a mini-humbucker, which is a definite step-up.

I inquired on the Eastwood Web site, they are talking delivery in October of 23, though I wouldn't call that a formal announcement

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Originally Posted by Mandolin Cafe

Here's a related project being crowdfunded: the Eastwood Teleolin, mandolin and guitar. Someone on Instagram commented this should be mandolin and octave or mandocello to which we can only concur.

Attachment 206843

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Is this the final headstock set up? I've seen numerous variations over the life of this project so it would be nice to know what is actually shipping.

A mando/octave would be nice to see as an another SKU but I think the broader appeal is as-is - i.e. guitar players who do the occasional mandolin part for songs like Maggie May but need the guitar most of the time. I've known several guitar players who buy a mandolin for just one song - usually Maggie May.

An HH option for the guitar side would broaden the appeal beyond tele players. I understand the design argument for basing this on a telecaster body, but there is a ton of music that pickup configuration doesn't do as well as a couple of humbuckers.