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Thread: Gear for Electric Mandolin

  1. #1

    Default Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I'm curious what gear you use with your electric mandolin?

    I have an Eastman El Rey coming soon and will be playing primarily jazz/blues with it. Am looking for a pure tone quality. No fuzz, etc. Reverb and delay OK.

    What amp, pedals do you find work well with your electric mandolin?

    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Registered User lowtone2's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I use an Acoustic Image Contra combo for electric guitar, electric mandolin, and double bass. It's very clean and flat, works great for all three.

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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I use the Acoustic Image “Coda” in the same way. It’s a bit clean for electric instruments so I’ve recently added a Strymon “Iridium” pedal which simulates a whole range of classic amps and cabinets.

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    Registered User BoxCarJoe's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    Right now just a Tube Screamer clone set lightly enough to thicken the tone.

    I've watched a million YouTube videos but every demo is about shredding so it's hard to judge.

    I have this on order:
    https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...-modeler-pedal

    Can't beat the price and it sounds really great.
    So many choices.

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  8. #5
    working musician Jim Bevan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    Depends on your budget. Any small "boutique" tube amp will (a) sound wonderful and (b) cost a lot, with a pretty consistent you-get-what-you-pay-for ratio. That said, I've found that the single best upgrade-per-$ is a Celestion Blue.
    Don't buy more watts than you'll need (and electric mandos don't need much — 15-20 is plenty, especially with the Celestion).

    I don't use reverb for live playing — most if not all performance venues (from tiny hole-in-the-walls to concert hall stages) have enough natural reverb going on.

    The only pedals that I have used consistently are a Fulltone Fat Boost (used as an auto-setting for soloing, it has eq, you can push your amp a little harder and cut some high end at the push of footswitch) and an MXR (or sometimes a Keeley) compressor, set minimally.
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  10. #6

    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I don’t have an electric but I use that little Behringer pedal BoxCarJoe mentioned with my harmonica mike into a PA and it sounds great. I also plugged in my acoustic-electric (Eastman MD605) and really liked it...at the sale price I’m thinking I might grab a second one.

    Edit to add... if only they actually had any in stock. They appear to be out of just about all their Behringer pedals.
    Last edited by NDO; Mar-02-2021 at 9:28am.

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  12. #7
    Registered User BoxCarJoe's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by NDO View Post
    I don’t have an electric but I use that little Behringer pedal BoxCarJoe mentioned with my harmonica mike into a PA and it sounds great. I also plugged in my acoustic-electric (Eastman MD605) and really liked it...at the sale price I’m thinking I might grab a second one.

    Edit to add... if only they actually had any in stock. They appear to be out of just about all their Behringer pedals.
    Yes. Ebay has a few deals, but not that good.
    Sweetwater guy told me about a month to wait.

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    Registered User mandolinstew's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I use a Boss acoustic simulator and TC electronics spark booster with my Dillion eight string semi hollow electric.

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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I just bought an Eastman El Rey. Great little mandolin by the way. And I'm playing with a classic rock band and we do some acoustic covers on which I use the mandolin. I have my guitar setup going through a small pedal board into a Fender Deluxe Reverb. I just unplug the guitar and plug in the mando. I do need to turn down the reverb on the amp, otherwise it sounds great on the same clean settings I use for the guitar (with just a touch of overdrive). This way it's easy for me to switch quickly between mandolin and guitar with minimal fuss. Great little mandolin by the way.

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    Registered User Tom Wright's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    Lots of love here for Quilter amps like the (admittedly pricey) MicroPro. I played through one at a jam with my electric and was impressed. I used the overdrive channel for a smidge of clipping, which is the warm sound everyone credits to tubes.

    Any pedal that will yield almost-unnoticeable distortion will sweeten the tone, soften the attacks, and just be expressive in the right way. To control midrange I need an EQ pedal, and I use the Boss 7-band with a large cut at 800 Hz. It has substantial gain and I run in hot for better results from my overdrive pedal, an AnalogMan "King of Tone".

    I played Fender tube amps in the 70s, a Mesa Boogie in the 90s, and don't miss tubes at all now.
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  19. #11
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Question Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I have a Roland AC 60 to haul out of the house & a smaller Mobile AC made by them .. to use @ home ..

    My Magnetic pickup mandolin of note is an EM 150 like luthier modified A50
    as a CGDA 4 string .. 4 pole pickup mid way rather than near the bridge..



    But You may like a Tube Guitar Amp instead..

    bring the e-Mando to a guitar store & try some??
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  20. #12

    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I use the clean channel on a Quilter MP200 with a touch of reverb.

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    Gummy Bears and Scotch BrianWilliam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    Clean: AER alpha
    Not: Epiphone valve jr

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  24. #14
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I have an Eastman MD505 with a K&K and use a Vox MV50AC (micro amp) into a 12" Bugera cab. I've also tried my ZT Lunchbox with the same cab (and also it's 6" speaker) and a Bugera acoustic amp, but the Vox wins . It really does have a nice clean mostly sound when I add a little gain to it. Many will shy away from micro amps, but this one does the job nicely, guitar or mandolin (or my MDO305 octave mandolin). For the price, it's worth a try. I'd also try the Vox MV Boutique if you get the chance. It's modeled (somewhat) after a Dumble, which may work well for jazz and blues.
    Eastman MD505w/K&K, MDO315 w/K&K, MD415GD, Emando (JBbouvier) 5-string

  25. #15
    Mandol'Aisne Daniel Nestlerode's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by randybrown View Post
    I'm curious what gear you use with your electric mandolin?

    I have an Eastman El Rey coming soon and will be playing primarily jazz/blues with it. Am looking for a pure tone quality. No fuzz, etc. Reverb and delay OK.

    What amp, pedals do you find work well with your electric mandolin?

    Thanks.
    I have used a lot of cheap amplification, a couple of small Marshall amps (both solid state) and more recently a 20 year old Line 6 POD 2.0. I really like the POD 2.0. I can get a lot of different usable tones out of it, both overdriven and clean. I usually avoid the on board effects when I have a better pedal, but I do like to run a taste of chorus when I have a stereo output.

    I have a lot of pedals that I don't use, and a few I do use regularly. I keep them all because --Well I keep USB cables too.

    I regularly use a Boss SuperOverdrive 2, a Boss EQ-7, an Origin Effects SlideRig (pre-amp/limiter/compressor), and a DOD FX-10 pre-amp (very clean boost). Betyween these several boxes I can overdrive (I do like a little dirt), shape, and boost signal as needed to go between three very different emandos.

    My usual instruments are an Arrow G5-5 string, a JBovier EMC-5, and a Fender FM-988 eight string. The Arrow and the J.Bovier have close to equal output with rather different tone shapes and the Fender is both weaker and more trebly than the other two. But a couple of toe taps and I've got it sorted.

    Daniel

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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I don't have a very fine ear but I like this:
    Behringer VD400 delay into TC electronics HOF into mixer into ZT Lunchbox. The HOF is a great inexpensive toy to play with a wide range of programmable effects. Definitely a touch of reverb. Is also a hoot with an electrified washboard with a springbox attachment.

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  28. #17
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Smile Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    Though I do have 1 set up with both divided 4 pickups in bridge & a Magnetic Pickup , > 8 conductor patch cord >..(3 unused)

    that are combined in a black box with a preamp for the bridge pickup output and a pass thru jack for the magnetic one ..

    added: with the 4 _ 1 string per pickup separate outputs, is the 13 pin hook up option to use a Guitar synth .. like Roland makes..


    it's a novel kit.. could have 4 signals , before adding more MIDi outputs ..
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  29. #18
    Registered User BoxCarJoe's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by ajh View Post
    I don't have a very fine ear but I like this:
    Behringer VD400 delay into TC electronics HOF into mixer into ZT Lunchbox. The HOF is a great inexpensive toy to play with a wide range of programmable effects. Definitely a touch of reverb. Is also a hoot with an electrified washboard with a springbox attachment.
    Do you like the Behringer VD400 delay? I'm thinking of getting one.

    I just got my Behringer TM300 today and I'm in awe.
    My edola has a very "Wes Montgomery" sound now.

  30. #19

    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    I run my TM300 into a VD400 delay on my harps and it’s excellent. I totally recommend the Behringer pedals for an inexpensive and surprisingly good sound.

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  32. #20
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    Default Re: Gear for Electric Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by BoxCarJoe View Post
    Do you like the Behringer VD400 delay? I'm thinking of getting one.

    I just got my Behringer TM300 today and I'm in awe.
    My edola has a very "Wes Montgomery" sound now.
    The Behringer VD400 seems fine and you can get a decent range of interesting effects out of it. Is dirt cheap.

    Then again, I haven't played around with many pedals. A buddy brought over his new Strymon precovid.....the thing was a beast but you have to know what you are doing with it. We didn't. A lot of fun though! Pedals are a huge rabbit hole.

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