ISO Solid Body Electric Mandolins - Good Makers? Components? Etc?

**Spiralup** · May-16-2023, 10:57pm

Hi All, I play acoustic bluegrass fiddle & mandolin in jams & bands, but I also like plugging into a pedalboard for effects, for busking and just for fun in the studio. Both my instruments are decent quality (fiddle in the $2-3K range, & Eastman 515 mando). Both have good quality piezo pickups (fiddle Ithaca Strings Pickup; mando Fishman M300). They sound good run through delay, reverb, & similar effects, but they don't really soak up distortion, compression, fuzz, etc. I'd like to find a solid-body instrument with mando/fiddle layout in 5ths. I've seen a bunch of electric mandolins at low price points. Any tips on decent basic quality brands, with playable necks and acceptable hardware & electronics? I'm a bit more interested in 8-string over 4, but not if it negatively impacts effects. For example, I have a Meris Enzo pedal that tracks better with 1 string than two. Current pedalboard attached, played out via a Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge, or direct to Ableton Live. I'd also be interested in a solid-body octave mando, but again definitely laid out in 5ths. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

**urobouros** · May-17-2023, 11:42am

I like 4 & 5 string solid bodies better with effects than their 8 string counterparts but that may just be the player

Check out emando.com for info on builders & a good selection for sale. My personal favorites are Jonathan Mann, http://www.manndolins.com/, and Andrew Jerman, http://www.crossroadswood.com. Both are members here as is the owner of emando, Martin Stillion. There are a number of other great builders with whom I don't have any direct experience but I'm sure others will chime in!

**morgan** · May-17-2023, 11:50am

First, for a solid-body , electric-sounding mando I would recommend a four string.

My impression is that easily available mass-produced asian emandos tend to have a lot of quality problems and often require modification and setup upon receipt, with many users changing out the pickups, at least on Mandobirds.

There are small-shop makers that get good reviews such as Andrew Jerman and JL Smith, but they are part-time makers and their instruments may not be available. I have a Ryder, made in Portland Maine, that I like a lot, but he no longer even mentions emandos on his web site.

Belmuse, based in the UK, appears to be able to deliver relatively quickly on emando orders. Ditto Sparrow, which I think is in the Carolinas. The limited reviews I have seen are favorable for both.

Fanner makes mostly solid body electric tenor and baritone ukes, but I think they will also do a mando. I have a 19-inch scale baritone from them that I like; have no idea if they do as well with shorter scale instruments. They will set up their longer scale instruments in fifths, so they may be an option if you opt for an octave mandolin

A Loudbox is probably not the best amp for an emando. I use the Loudbox for plugging in my Rigel but bought a small Bugera tube amp for use with the emando.

Good luck. I'm sure I'm leaving out some other good makers, but hopefully others will chime in. I think most of the instruments discussed above are in the $500 - $1000 range

**Seter** · May-17-2023, 2:43pm

My Bruno Royal Artist electric mandola has held up well, sounds good with distortion/chorus/delay/reverb. There are some other similar vintage ones you may come across, looks like there are some on emando.

**Pittsburgh Bill** · May-18-2023, 9:58am

I have been happy with my Big Muddy (Mid-Missouri) Em8. No quality issues. Not sure you can find one as no longer being made. With a demand, Big Muddy May be inclined to make more.
I need to add that I have had no experience with other solid bodies excepting a previous Chinese one I owned that had been thoroughly hot rodded by a prior owner. It, though reworked, was not as satisfying to play as my Big Muddy.
Lastly, Big-Muddy has a reputation for building all quality instruments that play above their pay grade.

**Spiralup** · May-22-2023, 3:49pm

Sorry for the delay responding. The cloud crashed my computer :-(. Thx for your tips! I'm going to try to find some to play with effects. I really appreciate the 4&5 string preference. I'll check out the vendors you mentioned.

- - - Updated - - -

Thx!!!

**Spiralup** · May-22-2023, 3:51pm

Thx Bill! At least it gets me in the ballpark as I'm thinking about this kind of instrument. Glad you got a good one!

**Spiralup** · May-22-2023, 3:53pm

Thanks Morgan! I really appreciate the context -- on 4 v 8 string, on price range, and on amp choice, which makes alot of sense :-). I'll definitely check out the vendors you've mentioned.

**Magnus Geijer** · May-22-2023, 7:47pm

I tried a couple of 8-stringers and built one myself, and wasn't thrilled with any of them. Then went to a 4-string solidbody which I liked better, but it does tend to get shrill. Finally (so far, anyway) built a 5-string semi-hollow octave (GDAEB) and that's been my favorite mandolin since.

**Spiralup** · May-22-2023, 9:13pm

[QUOTE=Magnus Geijer;1905020]I tried a couple of 8-stringers and built one myself, and wasn't thrilled with any of them. Then went to a 4-string solidbody which I liked better, but it does tend to get shrill. Finally (so far, anyway) built a 5-string semi-hollow octave (GDAEB) and that's been my favorite mandolin since.

I really enjoyed that! I can see how a standard mandolin could end up too shrill. I'm interested in octaves anyway, so I'll keep that in mind. Again, thanks for posting the audio

**CES** · May-22-2023, 10:40pm

I own a Mandobird 4 and a Fanner Tele style mandolin. Got the Mandobird for $125 bucks before they went out of production, lol. I mostly play around at home but have used it in church before with our youth band, and it’s fine for that. If I were a touring pro I’d change the pickup, probably replace the nut, and would do some work on the bridge (the screws can rub a little). The Fanner is a definite step up in quality, but it was essentially unplayable until I added a string tree. The E string just wouldn’t stay in the nut slot without it. That’s a very easy fix and well worth it. Given the single coil and tele style, it can get a little shrill clean, but it takes overdrive and distortion pretty well. It’s still new to me, and I’m still playing around with setup, but it doesn’t seem to have the weak E string with which Mandobirds can be plagued (my Bird is pretty decent in that regard).

I agree with going with a 4 or 5 string rather than 8 if you want distortion. Trying to bend those double courses with a lot of distortion can get pretty gnarly, lol.

If you decide you really don’t want to deal with the cheaper stuff, check out Jonathan Mann’s Manndolins. They’re a definite step up, and he builds OM’s as well. But they’re a definite step up in price, too, though not bad considering the quality. Good luck!

**Perry** · May-23-2023, 7:07am

I agree that for electric single course are the way to go. But then you don’t really have a mandolin anymore.

My only electric currently is a Ryder 4 string purchased from Martin (Emando.com). Mine is shaped like a mini Tele. Great set of pick-ups and looks and plays great. Ryder was based in Maine; do not know if he is still active.

I have also owned a Gibson Florentine (great P90 P/U) and a Schwab 4 string.