I was looking for a mandolin I could take traveling: small, light,tough,and not loud enough to disturb others. The closest was a Martin Backpacker but I couldn’t justify the cost for as often as I’d use it, so I decided to make my own. I’m having an electric mandolin made for me by Andrew Jerman (www.crossroadswood.com)and he agreed to supply me with a factory seconds bolt-on neck since I didn’t want to get involved in neck making, fretting, etc. Here’s what I came up with, shown with my Fullerton Gloucester F-style for comparison:
The body was bandsawn out of a 3/4" piece of maple with the center cut out with a sabre saw, leaving 1/4" walls. The top and back are 1/8" Purpleheart, with handmade Cocobolo nut and bridge.
This is no great example of lutherie, but it does what I want it to do and really does not play badly: a bit twangy and pretty quiet.
Paul, that’s very clever and, well…really neat! Congrats!
How is it to hold? Such a skinny body would give me fits trying to tremolo. Do you find that the four-string configuration picks significantly differently from a standard eight? Some of the four and five string electric players on M.Cafe note very different playing techniques. How is it for you? It looks like it would drive like a ukulele.
Tremolo is not easy, but I think that’s due more to the 4 strings vs 8. With 4 strings I seem to play this more like a guitar than a mandolin (although I’m not really sure what I mean by that-- it’s just sort of a different feeling). I don’t play a Uke, but I usually think of that instrument mainly plunking away at chords, but I’ve been mostly playing trad tunes on this travel mando.
The Busmandolin made the trip to Mexico and back in perfect condition. I never would have hauled one of my good instruments down there, but it was really great to have a mando to play on vacation. I didn’t even use a case for it: just nestled it in amongst our clothing.
Isn’t that what many owners of violins have resorted to for flying in and out of England, their violins nestled amongst clothing in a checked hard shell pullman suitcase?
I bought a “Sweet Pea” mandolin for keeping tunes in my fingers while I travel. It only came with a flimsy gig bag. A pillow case would afford it just as much protection.
I imagine there might be new hard shell luggage in my future.
I made a similar tear down travel 4 string mando. It was a “solid” shaft of a body that would connect to a stainless steel cooking bowl to use as a resonator. Not as portable (because of the bowl) so I wound up making triangular shaped body for it (like a mini balalika). Never got a great tone from the triangle body. Glad yours is workign out!!
Mine doesn’t have a great tone either, but for occasional travelling, it’ll do. It sounds a bit tinny, maybe like a Japanese Koto, for some odd reason.
Not bad, as long as you don’t expect it to actually sound like a mandolin.
