McAdams 5-String Electric Octave Mandolin

This McAdams five string octave mandolin is the unique creation of Christian McAdams, a Senior Luthier here at Circle Strings. It has an 18 ½” scale length, a 1 ⅜” nut width, and is tuned GDAEB. It is a thoughtfully engineered and finely crafted instrument, distilling years of Christian’s build experience into a surprisingly comfortable instrument to hold and play. 

The top is maple with a deep tobacco burst, bound in tortoise celluloid with a single line of white purfling around the top and another under the celluloid on the sides. Mahogany resides under the maple cap to form the back of the body. The neck is a fixed mounting with the route running most of the way towards the bridge and it is seamlessly flush mounted to the body at the heel. It is a five-ply neck construction: flame maple, wenge, paduk, wenge and flame maple. The headstock is veneered, both top and back, with ebony, a stinger extending towards the neck on the back. The nut is made of brass and the headstock is mounted with Hipshot Grip Lock tuners in a black finish. 

The fingerboard is ebony, bound in tortoise celluloid and a single strip of white, with a subtle point at the end. The point is emulated by the truss rod cover, in brass, residing between the end of the fingerboard and the neck pickup. There are twenty one frets with bowtie fretmarkers at the fifth, seventh, tenth, twelfth and fifteenth frets.  

The brass tailpiece emulates the point of the truss rod cover and is formed from solid brass in a shape slightly resembling a bird. The bridge is also a stout brass construction with five adjustable saddles. A pair of mini humbuckers in chrome have five small adjustable pole pieces. There is a three way switch, a master volume and a master tone with solid brass knobs mounted. Two brass strap buttons complete the picture. 

The neck is just about perfectly engineered for a mandolin player wishing to switch to an electric instrument, not too wide or too narrow, it is easy to play. The pickups sound fantastic. The fit, finish and ergonomics are superb.