Gold Tone mandocello

[NotMelloCello]

And another thing.... The foot on the 3 piece ebony bridge is the same width as the bridge. This makes it very tippy. A wide foot would make it more stable. Also, the adjustment screws inside the bridge are a millimeter too tall, and creates a gap between the top and middle pieces of the bridge. This may affect the sustain, and might explain why the C strings are so dead sounding down low.

Show Wayne this thread - I'll be glad if they respond to my critique.

[jtv]

Bummer to hear it's not quite up to what you'd like.

Any chance of either of you who've gotten them putting up some examples of how it sounds?

[NotMelloCello]

Any chance of either of you who've gotten them putting up some examples of how it sounds?

I need to finish de-bugging mine, or there will be nothing worth hearing.

[NotMelloCello]

Maybe I'm stupid, but had anyone mentioned that this thing has a PIEZO PICKUP in the bridge? Did anyone know?

I tried to take apart the bridge so I could grind a millimeter off the height adjustment screws and the bridge would NOT move. Surprise! There's a wire coming out the bottom, going straight down into a hole in the top. The foot of the bridge hides it.

Problem: Not only does that limit adjustment for luthiers and players - if the action is dropped all the way down, the top of the 3 piece bridge LIFTS UP off the piezo pickup, and then.... you'll have no sound. BAD GOLD TONE!!!!! Run the wire out the side of the bridge, and then down a hole WE CAN SEE!

Sorry for the caps, but it's just one frustration after another with this thing. I do not like being the alpha tester for new products, OK? Gold Tone just got it "close enough", and expects the user to finesse this thing? NOT COOL.

Are you guys at NAMM paying attention?

[Rodney Riley]

On Gold Tone's site. The spec list has both pick ups listed. Solid Spruce top, doesn't say "carved". So must be pressed.

[NotMelloCello]

RIGHT. Now we know. Yesterday, did any of us know? It's bad form to hide wires when they interfere with the setup and playing of an instrument. Function BEFORE form is the rule.

[Freddyfingers]

I was curious if you can get a separate signal from each pickup. I am doubting the way it's set up, that its not possible. Unless you cut the wires and run them to seperate knobs and maybe jacks. One of the reasons the Eastman turned me off was no pickup. Add a few hundred to have one installed in the bridge. Or spend more and get a Schertler type pickup on the body. That's why this one had high hopes, built in pickup.

[foldedpath]

I was curious if you can get a separate signal from each pickup. I am doubting the way it's set up, that its not possible. Unless you cut the wires and run them to seperate knobs and maybe jacks. One of the reasons the Eastman turned me off was no pickup. Add a few hundred to have one installed in the bridge. Or spend more and get a Schertler type pickup on the body. That's why this one had high hopes, built in pickup.

With respect, I can't understand this thinking. If a mandocello sounds great acoustically, there are many ways to amplify it for any conceivable purpose. I have a great-sounding Weber OM. I amplify it with a clip-on DPA microphone. If I needed more gain before feedback, there are a half-dozen good pickup choices I could use that would do the job.

Putting "it''s amplified at the factory" before great acoustic tone is putting the cart before the horse, in my opinion.

And yes, there are situations where an acoustically "damped" body design with a humbucker is a good match for some styles of music. I'm familiar with that from the world of guitars. But is anyone really looking for that with a new, affordable-class mandocello on the market? How narrow a niche is that, compared to the people who would like a sub-$1,000 mandocello where acoustic response is the first priority?

I hope those who bought the first runs of this Gold Tone are happy with their purchase, with or without further tweaks. But it looked weird to me from the start, with that humbucker and tone knob design.

[NotMelloCello]

I was curious if you can get a separate signal from each pickup.

Not yet, but it would be a good idea with the piezo pickup. Running it separately through a good buffer or preamp would eliminate the scratchy, trebly sound. You never know if it might be the strings.... but I won't change them until I get the damn thing to play right, and in tune.

Also, foldedpath is correct - it should sound good from the factory before adding a pickup of any kind. This one really needs help, and I'm on a mission to make it great.

[mrmando]

Glad to see they got the 10th fret marker right.

So what's the nut width? Throw it on the Classifieds if you decide not to keep it ...

[Scott Tichenor]

I'll be at NAMM late this morning. I'll eventually get to Gold Tone and if I can locate Wayne I'll show him this thread in case he hasn't seen it. We had talked about possibly doing a giveaway this Spring and if I can make that happen I will, but no promises.

[Tom C]

Here it is:


I played it for about 10 minutes at the store. I am NOT crazy about it. I do NOT like the narrow neck. The strings are brand new, but they already sound dead. It's supposed to be a carved top, but the acoustic sound is very quiet, very thin. Perhaps the bracing is overdone? The electric sound.... better, but I reserve judgment until I work with it awhile. Right off the bat - the setup is poorly done. Nut height is not consistent from course to course. The frets buzz in 3 places - no surprise, I guess - as my first experiences with Gold Tone products was doing fret levels on dulciborns, banjos, and guitars from them. Finish - good, but some small scratches in the sunburst before topcoating with clear. The hardshell case - absolutely top notch! It's not made by Gold Tone, I bet.

This is my quick thumbnail sketch. More later.

With this opinion, why did it go home with you? The following comment alone would have made me not want it..."It's supposed to be a carved top, but the acoustic sound is very quiet, very thin"

[NotMelloCello]

With this opinion, why did it go home with you?

Because I waited over a frickin year for it...

[Rodney Riley]

My expectations must not have been as high as NotMelloCello's. Have seen Gold Tone instruments and know they are over built and heavy like a lot of the lower priced instruments. And this one is HEAVY. (1940 D-15 @3.25 lbs. 1969 Gibson Hummingbird @4.82 lbs. Mine tops the scale @6.40 lbs.) But I was pleased with my first laminated top Fender A/E mandolin as a learning mandolin. So this fills the same usefulness for me. A learning tool. And since I've never heard or played one before, it's pretty cool.

( I didn't have to wait as long for mine. As post #58 says on 12/17/2016, I ordered mine. Took delivery as written on post #83 on 1/16/2017. Was in the right place at the right time.)

[mrmando]

So you can't separate the piezo and bridge signals? At what point are they blended?

Can you tell if it has a stereo jack, with one signal going to the tip and the other to the ring? Or are the signals blended in some other way?

I have great acoustic tone in my Andersen cello, but it would be fun to have something with a good humbucker tone. If I got one of these I guess I'd want to put a proper bridge on it, use a soundboard pickup instead of a bridge piezo, run the humbucker and piezo signals to a stereo jack and be able to separate them.

Or is a soundboard pickup a bad idea if you don't have a carved top? (Not that I would want to use the piezo that often.)

[NotMelloCello]

My guess is they could have built a flattop ala Santa Cruz, etc., for much less trouble and money than an archtop.

Maybe they intended it to be electric from the get-go.

I didn't discuss all the details with Wayne on the phone and in emails over the last 18 months or so. I just hoped it would be better.

Maybe I am just a picky old grouch, but after 39 years of repairing and building guitars - I am the guy you come to in this town when you want slick, smooth, and righteous. So I set the bar pretty high.

[NotMelloCello]

So you can't separate the piezo and bridge signals? At what point are they blended?

Can you tell if it has a stereo jack, with one signal going to the tip and the other to the ring? Or are the signals blended in some other way?

I have great acoustic tone in my Andersen cello, but it would be fun to have something with a good humbucker tone. If I got one of these I guess I'd want to put a proper bridge on it, use a soundboard pickup instead of a bridge piezo, run the humbucker and piezo signals to a stereo jack and be able to separate them.

Or is a soundboard pickup a bad idea if you don't have a carved top? (Not that I would want to use the piezo that often.)

Both pickups come out one jack. Volume for each, it seems. I will probably end up separating them into 2 circuits before I'm done. Hard to tell what brand of piezo is in it, but it's probably something Chinese like Artec..... The humbucker is sounding better, but the C strings are still about half volume compared to the others. I moved some stuff around, and put more foam under it, and it's right up next to the strings for max sensitivity.

[Rodney Riley]

When Jordan was setting mine up he broke the outside A string and replaced it. The new string is noticeably heavier. And when picking them separate you can tell the heavier one sounds better. Will ask him if I can get another one of the heavier strings and replace the original. Will look at the website and see the size strings they used. When needing replaced will probably go with a heavier set.

[foldedpath]

My guess is they could have built a flattop ala Santa Cruz, etc., for much less trouble and money than an archtop.

Maybe they intended it to be electric from the get-go.

That's what it looks like. I just can't understand why Gold Tone thinks there is an untapped market niche for a mandocello built like an electric archtop guitar. Are there enough singer/songwriters and alt rock bands out there who want to be fingering notes and chords on this kind of scale length? Maybe Gold Tone knows something we don't know. But I doubt it...

[NotMelloCello]

I do think interest in mandocello will be growing in the near future. We've had so many people - young and old - introduced to playing via the current popularity of the ukulele, and they'll want to step up to something else that is NOT a guitar. A mandocello has such a beautiful sound, and is easier than guitar. It just seems to me to be the instrument of the future right now.

[Rodney Riley]

Wow! Got some blisters on my left fingertips for the first time in years. Have a rattle/buzz from the C string I have to locate. Gonna put a leather shoe lace behind the bridge to see if that will help. Might have to get a mirror inside to see if a wire is close to something and causing it. And yes, the metal strip the ball ends of the strings go thru needs some minor work to get it to fit the tailpiece better. Will wait till doing a complete string change for that. Mine sounds fantastic if you play easy. Tends to rattle/distort if you try to hammer down on it.

[Rodney Riley]

plate fit up to the tailpiece

[Rodney Riley]

the fingerboard between the 1st and 2nd fret. Is clear across under the strings. So was done before strung up the first time. Fit n finish everywhere else is great. Love it really.

[NotMelloCello]

That's EXACTLY what my tailpiece looks like Rodney - so it's obviously a mistake they've repeated.

As to the mark on the fingerboard - that could happen any number of ways. Doesn't look great, but doesn't affect playing. If this was a Gibson, it would be marked a 2nd, and sold at reduced price.

[NotMelloCello]

Further update for today.... Since I cannot remove the bridge, I had to gently file down the tops of those 2 height adjustment screws inside the bridge. That allowed the top piece to sit firmly on the pickup. Truthfully, I hear very little difference of the piezo pickup when plugged in. Got the action at the nut down and correct. The string height at the last fret is down where it plays nice - I can finally do my hammer-ons and pull-offs without trouble.

The acoustic sound is still pretty quiet - you cannot use this in a group situation with amplification. Period. Not enough volume, sorry. Also, I mentioned the control knobs are too tall - they are just in the way when you strum. I will eventually drill holes in the top and mount them out of my way. The C strings just don't sound right, especially below the 5th fret. I think I have my intonation problems worked out, but there is still much to be done in the future. None of it critical at this point, because I won't be gigging with it anytime soon.

The pickups sound better, adding the piezo sound to the humbucker output adds a little crispness - but by itself, the piezo pickup is just nasty, harsh, and brittle. Still having problems with the narrowness of the neck, too. I keep missing notes and making mistakes.

No complaint, but I should point out - for you folks that like to play standing up, this doesn't come with a strap button near the neck. There's a small one at the tailpiece. If you want one, buy and install it .

Is there anyone out who would like some detail shots of the instrument? Sing out if you do.

If anyone at the NAMM show is still reading, can you find out who made the humbucker and the piezo pickup? I can see it has those tiny little Asian pots. The jack is probably the same crummy Asian jack put in all Asian instruments, and it will fail soon. Switchcraft, baby!