Electric mandolin jazz -- video performance

[Tom Wright]

Here I revisit tunes I recorded with a quintet including either Rhodes piano or B3, sax or guitar, along with bass and drums. I just used a trio setup, my 10-string and upright bass and drums. This is a 4K video with multiple cameras. All original tunes except a Beck cover. I needed to prove to myself I could carry the tunes pretty much on my own.

[Doctor Jeff]

Nice playing and great recording.

You’re making me feel bad about my own playing!

I don’t even know how the heck a 10-string mandolin is tuned…

[alltunes]

Nice playing and great to see and hear some electric jazz mandolin. Dig the “SG” vibe. I believe Tom’s 10 string is a five string mandolin with the courses doubled as they are on acoustic mandolins. So 5 notes probably tuned in 5ths.

By contrast below is my 4 string electric mandolin which is just like a regular mandolin but without the doubled strings.

Many people feel single courses sound better on electric mandolin but Tom makes his sound great. Almost a little like built in chorus. Also single courses on electric mandolin take away a lot of what makes a mandolin a mandolin IMO.

[Tom Wright]

Thanks for watching.
My first electric was a Ryder EM45. I swapped out the little humbuckers the maker used on my 10-string for Steve's stacked-single-coil pickups. After spending time with the 10-string I converted my 5-string Ryder to 10 strings. I find the richer tone and more interesting attack make for a bigger sound.

The SG was made by Pete Mallinson of Almuse, UK. He specialized in emulating existing guitar styles. Mine is a one-off. I asked him to use a 14.25" scale to match my acoustic 10s. Wood is sapele. My acoustic 10-string mandolins are by Thomas Buchanan.

My Bandcamp page:
Music | Tom Wright

[sgosnell]

Normally a 10-string would be tuned the same as a 5-string, just with doubled courses. Same as a regular mandolin with an added low C, CGDAE, standard fifths tuning. Of course, some players use different tunings, but that's the standard.

[Tom Wright]

Normally a 10-string would be tuned the same as a 5-string, just with doubled courses. Same as a regular mandolin with an added low C, CGDAE, standard fifths tuning. Of course, some players use different tunings, but that's the standard.

Yes. I spent most of my life playing violin and viola and am happy with fifths. The C course gets down into guitar range, and pretty much any guitar solo is in my range. Chording is more of a challenge, and sticking with the mandolin scale allows closer voicing than on a tenor guitar.

[sgosnell]

I used to play in a group with an old guy (well, he seemed old to me at the time, but now I'm older than he was then, I think) who played 5-string guitars, tuned in fifths. I tried it, just to see, and while it's okay for rhythm, it's really difficult for soloing, because it requires really big stretches, at least the way I was trying to play it. I have some mandolins and a make-do mandola, and the latter is hard enough for me.