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This particular page was created 07/04/2004 and last updated 23/04/2005
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| | Cheap Asian-made laminate-top A style mandolins are sold under countless brand names, but there are really only a few factories in Korea and in China that actually make them all. THe two I bought at Ebay carry the "Old Hickory" brand name. I don't know if these are Chinese or Korean (the manufacturer will actually have you think they're US-made!!!) but Chinese seems to be the best bet.
Pickup alternativesI haven't had time to play around much with pickups on the Hickeys. Since I'm not going to use them onstage, it's not on top of my priority list.
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Considering the good results I had with the Sound Checker on other mandos, I really had high expectations here. Unfortunately there was a physical mismatch. A Soud Checker transducer require quite a lot more surface than most transducers and with the mandolin's arctop curving off in all direction it was impossible to get proper contact between the two. I did manage to get a lovely sound, but the level was very low. Don't rule the combination out, but be prepared to get you a really good preamp!