Non Warmoth Build. Mandolin Project

[SeanM]

Hey guy,

Just thought I'd post up my current project. I was tooling around the internet one night, and decided it would be a good idea to pick up a campfire mandolin kit from Stewmac. (I know some of you guys aren't fond of SM, but the price was right and the quality is there). If this goes well, I may consider starting a custom built Acoustic.

Here are some photos of the progress so far.

 

[Nando Vallart]

Interesting!

 

[back2thefutre]

SS6100 Frets?

 

[Schidakov]

Locking tuners?

 

[jimh]

Where's Doug????


FLOYD!!!!!!

 

[Schidakov]

with KGC's brass block!

 

[mayfly]

That's very very cool!  Please let me know how it all turns out.  I've been looking at those SM kits as well - especially the guitars, as I will need a 'real' acoustic with a fat neck in the medium future.

 

[SeanM]

Where's Doug????


FLOYD!!!!!!

SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!?!

A classy piece like this requires a bigsby!  :icon_thumright:

 

[jimh]

Where's Doug????


FLOYD!!!!!!

SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!?!

A classy piece like this requires a bigsby!  :icon_thumright:

Touché  :icon_tongue:

 

[stubhead]

I just can't not:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rstnOz1EmQ

 

[hannaugh]

StewMac's prices can be ridiculous sometimes, but I've never heard a bad word about their acoustic instrument kits.  I've been wanting to do the mando and the violin for a long time.  Keep posting updates, this should be good!  :rock-on:

 

[stubhead]

http://www.moongazermusic.com/

Click for pix....

 

[OzziePete]

You have to put a pickup on it and play it through an amp like this..... watch the last 20 seconds or so :headbang:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_XXiwssVM4[/youtube]

 

[stubhead]

The vintage Fenders are well-known for sounding awful due to some electronic mis-matching - basically, no one ever listened to the pickups, they just started pumping them out. There are a whole slew of solidbody and other semi-hollow, koa $ Laminated $ on and on.... each one of these pix is a link:
http://www.mandolincafe.com/archives/builders/electric.html

There's also jazzmando.com and emando.com; the latter guy always has some used ones, the recent Korean Fenders can be brought up to playable standards by, ummm, probably anyone who can assemble a Warmoth. Then there's this guy:

http://www.emando.com/reviews/Gregory_12Jokes.htm

I picked up this little honey from Carolina builder J.L. Smith last year, I can make silly shreddy noises on it but I just haven't had the extended time & or musical need (read: Paying need) to really translate all my tunefulness to a fifths-based tuning.

Solidbody electric mandolins really have a lot more in common with electric guitars than they do with acoustic mandolins, why some people will plug a solidbody mando with notes two octaves higher than a guitar into an "acoustic" amp with piezo tweeters and then say "ouch!" is a mystery... BTW the Moongazer kits get high marks on quality and all, it's basically like a one-man "Warmoth for little people" kind of show. $350 smackers or so, and soon you could be making silly shreddy noises. Though, there is a long and disreputable history of the things in Western swing, due to it being a sideways fiddle with frets.

 

[SeanM]

Hey guys,

Finally got a decent amount of time to make a push on the project. So far the Fret board has been cut to size and tapered. Bracing is on the front and back, I just glued the top onto the sides. Pics will follow.

 

[Eric Banjitar]

I have looked at stewmac but also at kits from grizzly ( http://www.grizzly.com/products/featured/luthier_store.aspx ). I am interested in the quality of the woods and the preparation of the kit. Couriosity uncontained around here.
I may just have to make a go of it.

 

[SeanM]

Hey guys,

It's been a little while since I've had time for an update. So here it is, The mandolin is just about done. It needs to be setup, have the bridge height worked out, but more or less done.

Overall Quality of the materials and hardware was decent, the components were all made in china, but it worked out with some finessing.