Pickup in the Mando

Part 2 of my post about getting my babies back from the shop involves the mandolin. I got an L.R. Baggs Radius pickup installed. It was recommended to me both by a friend and by the guy at the shop. It's externally (i.e., non-permanently) mounted, so I could remove it if I wanted to. The pickup is stuck to the surface with a putty, and the cord goes into a small unit that's attached with a bracket.

Darling Wife's initial reaction was, "I don't like the look of it." I don't mind it at all.

The permanent installation option would have been to drill a hole through the end-pin and mount sensors inside the body. Then you would plug in the cord through a socket in the end-pin. But that's (obviously) a much more involved installation process. This was quick and simple.

I plugged it in at the shop to test it, and then again at home. It sounds great - like an amplified mandolin, with nothing else added or subtracted. I can't wait to hear it through the PA.

Most of all, it's good to have the mandolin back in the house. I'd missed playing it.