electric mandos

[redrector]

I play in a rock format band drums, bass, guitar sometimes sax i currently have a mando strat through a fender tweed deluxe ive had for years ,it sounds ok but i would like something a little better and the most guitar sounding of the electrics. I want to stick with four strings a little wider neck and maybe a longer scale although i noticed they only seem to be on five strings. Anyone have any experience in that area i would love to hear from them. thanks red rector

[Pete Martin]

There are the other mandolin family instruments in electric versions, Mandola, octave Mando, me do cello, etc.

I've owned MANY electric mangos over the years and sold them all except for the 2 Jonnathan Manns I own currently.

[Pete Martin]

I really hate autocorrect!!!!

[Paul Busman]

I really hate autocorrect!!!!

On the other hand, I find the idea of an electric mango rather intriguing. There used to be a band called The Electric Prunes, so why not?

[mrmando]

Sure. Strawberry Alarm Clock, Blind Melon, Smashing Pumpkins, The Cranberries, Tangerine Dream, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Peaches and Herb...

[mandroid]

And I'm caused to recall the Bill Bussman Water-Melon-dolin.. [but it's acoustic].. & pineapple Ukes..

[mandroid]

thing is the Double course Pairs will be less guitar like , since the unisons are never quite the same pitch.

single strings will be a higher pitched electric guitar, But.. the 5ths tuning offers a different
set of harmonies and inversions because of the relationship of the intervals ..

I want to stick with four strings a little wider neck and maybe a longer scale
although i noticed they only seem to be on five strings.

so you are mostly asking about existing instruments ..
Given hiring something made , neck width is a specification you can request.

get long enough scale and the 5th tuning of Tenor guitars

becomes a naming issue.. what you call it. mandozouk, octave-mando long scale
or tenor guitar derived from the tenor banjo..

GDAE or CGDA

the use of one of those 3/4 electric guitars will be a pretty cheap test.. take off the 1st and 6th
and see if the other 4 can be spread out, some.. nut and bridge modifications.

just thinking .. [no family/kids/tree, Prezzie opening, etc. today, just Me, here. ]

[Verne Andru]

While not a mandolin, Eastwood makes The Warren Ellis Tenor Guitar which is longer scale, single course and tuned in 5th's like a mando.

5 string mando's are another option that you must be aware of since you've ruled them out. They get you down into guitar range, voicing-wise, and with descent electronics can rock pretty hard.

[vwfye]

I play a Tomo electric ukulele tuned do standard mandolin GDAE and love it! It has great sustain, awesome pick ups, good action and well, I love it/them. The scale is longer than a mando and the neck is wider like you are looking for.

[Rob Norton]

Two possibilities that I know of might fit your criteria:

Earnest Instruments' Swamp Cat

and Paul Schwab's

These both feature 14.5-inch scales on the four strings as well as the fives. And though I don't know for sure, I'd guess you could order a four-string with a wider five-string neck.

I have a Swamp Cat, and it's an excellent instrument. I've played a couple of Schwabs, and found them outstanding.

[redrector]

Two possibilities that I know of might fit your criteria:

Earnest Instruments' Swamp Cat

and Paul Schwab's

These both feature 14.5-inch scales on the four strings as well as the fives. And though I don't know for sure, I'd guess you could order a four-string with a wider five-string neck.

I have a Swamp Cat, and it's an excellent instrument. I've played a couple of Schwabs, and found them outstanding.

Rob thanks for the info ,I wonder ir 14 1-2 scale in a 4 string gives it a little more guitar sound ? Is your swampcat a four string and is it more guitar sound than the schwabs? I am also looking at the moongazer baritone 5 string with a b on the high side ,not sure i would no what to do with it i am pretty use to 4 string. It has a 18 inch scale which would go into the guitar area abit i guess jon mann has some also. thanks red rector

[mrmando]

You could get a vintage Kent 744 (16" scale) and leave off half the strings.

[Rob Norton]

Rob thanks for the info ,I wonder ir 14 1-2 scale in a 4 string gives it a little more guitar sound ? Is your swampcat a four string and is it more guitar sound than the schwabs? I am also looking at the moongazer baritone 5 string with a b on the high side ,not sure i would no what to do with it i am pretty use to 4 string. It has a 18 inch scale which would go into the guitar area abit i guess jon mann has some also. thanks red rector

Red,

I'm not sure just what you mean when you say "guitar sound."

I think any single-course electric mando is going to sound somewhat like an electric guitar -- especially an electric guitar played up the neck, around the 12th fret.

If you're aiming to play the same notes you'd play on the guitar, you'd probably be better off by going for something with a mandola scale (around 16", like the one Martin mentions above) or a tenor guitar (usually around 23").

The extra half inch on the 14.5" emandos does give you a little more bite and sustain, IMO.

They all sound different. I feel like my Swap Cat (which is a four-string) has a very Fender-ish sound. The pickups are Lace Sensors, the same size as the ones on Statocasters (Fender used them on strats for a few years some time ago).

Another four-string emando I have is a 1959 Gibson EM-150, which has a smaller version of the P-90 near the bridge and is a totally different critter. It reminds me a lot, sound-wise of similar Gibson electric guitars from that era, like the ES-125.

I haven't played a Schwab enough to comment on them -- just fooled around with a couple in a store or backstage at a show.

Martin Stillion, who posted above, is the resident expert here. If you haven't already, check out his website -- www.emando.com. For example, he's got a great write-up on the Schwab:
http://www.emando.com/reviews/Schwab_review.htm

[Tom Wright]

Guitar sound is very much in the playing, but pickup placement is very important. My Ryder is short at 14" but I made sure to have Steve place the pickups at the same distance from the bridge as a real Strat's bridge and middle pups. It is not proportional but exact, e.g. 1.5" to the bridge pickup, like a Strat. Since it is a 5-string I am using the lower strings---CGDA. I use the E very little but it's nice to have, and I prefer a pretty short scale. Worth considering is a short-scale four string mandola.

Here is my Ryder with single-coil stacked bridge pickup, little crunch:



Here is the same but neck pickup, with overdrive:

[Bill Lemerise]

[QUOTE=Rob Norton;1238193]Red,

I'm not sure just what you mean when you say "guitar sound."

think any single-course electric mando is going to sound somewhat like an electric guitar -- especially an electric guitar played up the neck, around the 12th fret.[QUOTE]
[QUOTE]
Sorry I shred better than I interface.
I call my 4 string a mandotar because it sure plays like one.

[mandocrucian]

Just get yourself an off-the-rack 'mini-guitar' (17"-19" scale), and put in some Seymour Duncan pickups, if the stock pickups are junk. String it up with 5 strings to whatever tuning you want.

Once you've gone to solid-body and single strings, the only thing "mando" about it is the tuning. It's just an electric guitar in a different tuning, folks. Tune it like a five-string banjo if you want ...it's still just an electric guitar.

(And "electric guitar" is how I list that particular instrument on my business card)

NH

[redrector]

Guitar sound is very much in the playing, but pickup placement is very important. My Ryder is short at 14" but I made sure to have Steve place the pickups at the same distance from the bridge as a real Strat's bridge and middle pups. It is not proportional but exact, e.g. 1.5" to the bridge pickup, like a Strat. Since it is a 5-string I am using the lower strings---CGDA. I use the E very little but it's nice to have, and I prefer a pretty short scale. Worth considering is a short-scale four string mandola.

Here is my Ryder with single-coil stacked bridge pickup, little crunch:



Here is the same but neck pickup, with overdrive:

Tom what model pickups are in that ryder ? being stacked i assume they are humbucking.Thats the sound i am looking for wondering what amp and overdrive your using . thanks redrector

[thistle3585]

If you play guitar, and want a guitar like sound, then just get an electric guitar and play up the neck so you sound like an electric mandolin.

For what its worth, I'd recommend a 14.5" scale because it gives you more options for alternate tunings and the E string isn't as shrill as it is on a standard scale electric.

[Tom Wright]

Tom what model pickups are in that ryder ? being stacked i assume they are humbucking.Thats the sound i am looking for wondering what amp and overdrive your using . thanks redrector

Steve Ryder winds his own, and those are indeed humbucking but sound like single-coil because of being stacked. Those clips are through an AnalogMan "King of Tone" pedal for both, then into a Crate PowerBlock amp head, and a small cabinet with a 6.5" Eminence AlphaLite neodynium-magnet woofer. Miked with Shure Beta 58. Echo added later.

Side-by-side humbuckers can sound great, too, but as I emphasized, the pickup placement matters. I play mandolin because I am comfortable with the tuning in fifths, but I love guitars and the way they sound. Gibson and Fender found the best locations for their pickups and it is worth emulating their locations. Other placements sound strange to me.

[redrector]

I too am comfortable with fifths, and like the guitar sound as well versus the mandostrat sound. Once the drums and bass get going it gets mixed in and doesnt sound as bad. I play acoustic mando with pickups when it is just me and guitar player but i always fought trying to get a good sound with piezo pickups, I use a mike in front to offset sound. He uses a drum machine as well which adds to the chaos . When i got the electric mando i thought i was in heaven just turning up knob and being heard but had to play different being use to acoustic mando. I am going to try a different pickup with a new pickguard and locate position as you mentioned . If that doesnt work ill try a ryder or one of the others. my mando strat only has one pickup would you put it in the bridge or neck position ? What also came to mind is my mando is a four string versus 5 string which lends itself more to guitar. thanks again for your help. redrector

[Tom Wright]

I think the Fender pickup is well located, but some have found better tone from replacements by Almuse, which probably can be ordered through Moongazer.

Steve Ryder doesn't list it but I am sure he can match its size, and he makes the stacked design which Almuse does not. You might have to rout or chisel a little deeper for the taller pickup. There is no room for a neck pickup, I think, as the fingerboard is long. It it seems worth trying CGDA on the Fender, but you would have to loosen up the nut slots by filing. Don't jump into that without being sure you like the feel.

I do think more people should try short-scale mandolas (CGDA) for the ease of fingering. Most five-string fiddlers are not using viola scale, and most 5-string mandolins are regular-scale. Since the Fender has a rudimentary bridge compensation system there's nothing to lose there, and 4-piece replacement bridges are available.