Many guitar players play more than one instrument, ok, maybe I should say tinker or mess around with instead of play; nonetheless guitar players are attracted to fretted instruments. Whether they learn to play it in "guitar" tuning or in the proper tuning (that is another topic for another day) they usually pick up another instrument.

A cool, new mandolin on the market is put out by Alvarez, the A1E mandolin. It has a typical A style shape with the main difference being it has no f-holes. It is still a hollow mandolin constructed in the same fashion as other mandolins but no f-holes on the solid spruce top. It is not a solid body instrument, and it actually has a fairly loud acoustic sound still. It is a little quieter, but still useable when playing acoustic.

The Alvarez A1E offers the normal materials of most mandolins: solid flame maple back and sides, solid spruce top, ebony fingerboard, nickel open tuning machines and a rosewood bridge. The bridge is adjustable with a built in piezo element. The one thing that makes the mandolin stand out cosmetically (besides the lack of f-holes) is the big volume knob on the lower bout.

Plugged in the mandolin offers a good, solid mandolin tone. All EQ options have to be done with the amplifier since the mandolin offer only a volume control. I would recommend an acoustic preamp to really get the tone nailed down to your liking, or a nice acoustic amp. Let me state that the volume of the mandolin is fine, it does not need the preamp for volume just tone shaping. After noodling around for a bit and finding a nice tone on the amp I went for broke and turned on the distortion. I have to admit I had a grin from ear to ear playing away with a fair amount of grit. The mandolin handled it well, no feedback at moderate volumes.

The mandolin offered a good chunky rhythm sound and nice overdriven lead lines. OK, the mandolin probably wasn't designed for this in mind, but I really dug it. I'm sure it is not unheard of for mandolin players, especially in the jam band arena, to distort mandolins, but for the rest of us it isn't so common. But, it is something I will definitely play with more, it was fun and offered some cool new sounds not usually heard. I really dug it. Only at extreme volumes did the mandolin start to feedback excessively, but that is true with guitars too. Overall it is an extremely flexible instrument for clean, traditional use and even some of the more unconventional uses (I need to get some effects on it next time with the distortion).

If you are looking for a mandolin that will handle stage volumes well and not feedback, the Alvarez A1E is a good choice, it is even good for quieter acoustic settings. The A1E deserves a good long look if you need a mandolin that will be amplified.

Cool:

Not so Cool:

Overall rating:

Want your gear reviewed? Contact us at email@melbay.com