New Mandolin Day em8!

**Pittsburgh Bill** · Oct-28-2021, 11:41am

Always excited when I receive a new mandolin. This is a solid body from Mike at Mid-Missouri Mandolins well known here on the Cafe as a builder of often recommended acoustics. This one is numbered 0015 and in Mike's words, "The last electric he will ever build". Playability is very comfortable up and down and across the neck. Mike had built this last one for himself but hadn't played it and had even harvested parts off of it for other acoustic builds. When I reached out to him for an em8 he told me about this one. It had a flat fret board and he offered to make a radius board for it. I am very pleased with the mandolin and my experience of working with Mike.
My em8 experience started with me wanting something to play unplugged so as not to drive my wife crazy when playing a new to me tune repeatedly. Then I bought an inexpensive used Cozart from a Cafe Member that in his words "hot rodded" it with stratocaster pick-ups for an upgrade. This, as I was told made a huge improvement. While intonation and string height were OK the nut and frets were typical of an inexpensive Asian electric needing work. A trip to my luthier and more $$.$$ made an 80 or 90% improvement but it still had that flat fret board I'm not keen on.
So here I am today with what I was hoping for but facing a huge learning curve as to how I process the signal from the instrument to the speakers to get the sound I want.
HATS OFF TO MIKE DULAK

**Dan in NH** · Oct-28-2021, 12:47pm

Gratz, Bill. My first mandolin, a Kentucky KM-250, is suppose to arrive from Elderly Instruments today.

**urobouros** · Oct-28-2021, 2:59pm

That's gorgeous! What's the top wood? I find the 4 & 5 string electrics sound better with pedals than the 8 strings. I haven't monkeyed with the settings between guitar & mandolin though so it's prolly just me

**lenf12** · Oct-28-2021, 6:26pm

I must also admit to being more inclined to the 8 string mandolin, even plugged in, as more of a "mandolin" sound. That doesn't mean that I'm not lusting after a nicer 5 string emando. It's just not as "mandolin" as an 8.

Len B.
Clearwater, fl

**Pittsburgh Bill** · Oct-28-2021, 7:22pm

Not really sure what the top wood is. I assume maple. Being a solid body I didn’t have the same level of interest in the type of wood I have when I’m considering an acoustic.