Mandolin sustainer

[drasward]

Hi all, new here and I wanted to see if anyone had any advice for adapting the Fetzer DIY sustainer for use on a mandolin. Any comments appreciated, including sarcastic humour :-) Cheers

[Mark Hammer]

Um, I'm not so sure that physics is on your side.  One of the properties of stringed instruments that have a floating wooden bridge sitting atop a hollow body is that they exhibit a very quick decay.  The string vibration will certainly linger for a while, but at a MUCH lower amplitude than the initial attack, when compared against a solid body instrument.

[deadastronaut]

i would also add that a lot depends on your string gauge.....for example getting a B+E string going on a guitar is a challenge (9's) ....

also distance from neck, circuit, output caps, magnet wire gauge+windings (ohms)...there are a LOT of variables....

[Nasse]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRQO-sCgFUU electric mandolin perhaps? I thought fetzer was booster

[artifus]

do you have a pickup installed already? if so, what sort? piezo discs are very cheap and can give good results but you'll have to play around with placement to find a good spot and would be best to run into a high impedance buffer: http://www.muzique.com/news/piezo-pickups/

once amplified you'll have to get that energy back into the strings somehow. electromagnetic driver (think ebow) may cause problems if using an electromagnetic (electric guitar) pick up with feedback between pickup and driver due to proximity.

i've had fun using a piezo driver attached to the headstock (also a surprisingly good spot for piezo pickups on some instruments - though not both driver and pickup, try pickup near bridge if trying this. eq helps.) with a sprung capo - the amount of pressure will affect response and an adjustable g clamp of some sort may be better or just rubber bands. only really suitable for recording as they make an ungodly noise but can produce interesting effects via your pickup. flip polarity of piezo driver when experimenting. you'll need a small audio transformer to drive the piezo. wouldn't try it live or with an amp in the room unless i wanted to create an ungodly noise. but that can be fun too.

depends what you want out of it really. piezos are fun anyway. play away.

see here: http://www.nicolascollins.com/hackingtutorial05.htm and http://www.nicolascollins.com/hackingtutorial06.htm

if you cannot view vids from links find them here:http://www.nicolascollins.com/video/

let us know how you get on.

*youtube links may be easier:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8iAshJ1Pk0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fXl67zGZlo*

*also* marks comment above about the floating bridge made me think it may be possible to slip a disc or two under there for a more direct connection to the strings for pickup or driving duties. might be worth a shot.