Octave Mandolin - Mandola - Bouzouki Pick-Up System Questions

Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 17:02:32 -0500
Subject: Pickup for Gibson H-1 Mandola

Greetings Rob,

A pick-up that will have no connection to your bridge: I believe that the new McIntyre Feather Pick-Up System is about the best we've heard and installed to date...I'd go with the mandolin version for a mandola...additionally, you'll want the Fishman pre-amp with tone controls so that you're not tethered to your sound reinforcement.

Now, you'll want to be extra careful with installation on your H-1...when installing make sure that you do not do any extra routing whatsoever on a vintage instrument of this class...be careful to save your end pin as an original part...the feather pick-up can be experimented with before installing by placing it on your top at different points...when you've found the response you're looking for, you'll want to install directly under this point on the inside of the mandola.

Mickey

Mickey - Hey there. I was checking out the Folk of the Wood's most asked questions and thought I would you for some professional input. I have a 1918 Gibson H-1 Mandola, and would like to put a pickup on it. I play in loud Irish Pubs and really need to get something to help overcome some of the crowd noise.

I have a F5 mandolin and was able to put a Fishman pickup on. This is the one that replaces your bridge and the little wire runs down to the external end pin jack. I noticed that the H-1 has a thinner, taller bridge which is mounted onto the top, actually glued on. So I would gather that this pickup system is not the best solution. Is there something else that might work better?

To complicate matters, my H-1 still has the pick guard and its in great shape. The pick guard attached to a small hole drilled into the bridge.

If you would be so kind and let me know what the best pickup for the H-1 Mandola is, with all these variables considered, I would surely appreciate it.

Thanks

Sincerely,

Rob Kilgore

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 07:36:59 -0500

Good morning!

I bought a Rigel A+ Deluxe a few months back, and am now considering something a longer scale instrument from Morgan Monroe. Haven't decided between the Octave Mandolin or the Bouzouki yet. But, I wanted to know if there is a pickup option? I read in one of the letters to you where someone mentioned a "shadow" pickup? Can you tell me about the possibility of a pickup and the cost, etc?

Thanks

Don Williams

Greetings Don,

Great name!

Yes, we can install a pick-up system on either of your instruments of choice: Octave or Zook...

McIntyre Feather Pick-Up Installed 150.00

We've found the McIntyre to be the best to date...

Some other things to consider would be a preamp...yes, you'll be able to plug your Octave directly in for sound reinforcement, however, it's nice to have the portability of a belt clip preamp with tone/volume controls.

You're welcome to call Nathan, our pick-up specialist, who will be glad to personally assist you with making a decision.

Sincerely, Mickey

Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 11:57:20 -0700
Subject: Pick-Up Questions

Thanaks for the feedback. I did something kind of different. I rented a small pedal called a "Sans Amp" which is a tube amp mimic....the O/M sounds awesome with it. Actually, so does my mandolin. It mimics a Marshall, Mesa, and Tweed. I put it on the "clean" channel and use the Tweed amp setting and I got pretty much the sound i want. I have to be careful with the amp setting because it can like you say, sound electric, which i don't want. The wonderful world of sound. The never-ending quest for "clean and natural" in an amplified setting. We had a new T.V. station open in Victoria last night and the street party ended up at the bar i play on Thurs. What a gas! The station plans to focus on "local" talent as opposed to big names so it was bonus that the station heads got to see us in action. The bar mgr. keept bringing them over to introduce us to the folks. We are their most popular band so we'll see what comes about. I'm ever the cynic when it comes to this stuff. Thanks again for the feedback...oooo...bad word when it comes to acoustic music. Russ

Thanks for the info! I never thought about the out of phase issue. Our local technician is pretty good so i'll ask him to take that into consideration. I wish I knew what else to do. The mini-mic. thing might work...i'm so worried about the feedback potential. If you were going to put a pick-up into yours, what would you do? And what is the real difference between a McIntyre and a Fishman pick-up? All i can see is that the McIntyre is "insulated" by a wad of...rubber, plastic, or gum.

Well, ultimately, as an acoustic purist, having a high-end Sennheiser would be my preference. Unfortunately, when playing with other instruments plugged in, it's difficult to compete for volume, and there's even more liklihood of feedback.

Therefore, I would most definitely go with a permanently installed piezo with an inline pre-amp along with built-in graphics. Additionally, I would buy a California Blonde amplifier designed for acoustic instruments...this would also minimize the reverberation problem normally encountered with amplifying acoustic instruments.

I haven't seen too much difference between any of the piezo pick-ups...

One other consideration you might make, which would eliminate any feedback problems, would be a magnetic pick-up installed in the soundhole, such as the Dean Markley...unfortunately, the sacrifice would be that the instrument begins to sound more electric than acoustic...although, in combination with the California Blonde Amp, you might still achieve an acoustic sound with a magnetic pick-up.

Keep on pickin'...Mickey