I Bought the Cheapest Electric Mandolin on EBay! Cozart Electric Mandolin Unboxing and Review 

What a pleasant surprise! Amazing how Cozart manages to put something like that out at that price point.

I got a 4 string mandolin a couple weeks ago and I’m hooked! A lot of people seem to impressed by the tone cozart packs into these, and as someone who owns one-I love it. I use a compressor on mine rather than a suppressor, and it goes through a peavey bandit 112. These things are surprisingly versatile out of the box!

For about £150 GBP, I bought a Harley Benson "Mandocaster" it is similar in that it is Telecaster shaped but different in that it has 2 switchable pickups. I, too, got a hum when using old Boss 10W mains powered amp. However, no hum on my battery-powered 10W Lekato "Unique Mini Amp," a compact little Chinese made amp, which was just £56 including postage. Out of the box, the Mandocaster was very platable, though it was much better after a little work on the bridge and setting the strings into the nut. I've had great fun playing it with an FX pedal and the built-in FX in the amp. I mainly play Irish/Celtic music on a 30 year old Washburn A style from the last batch made in the USA. Washburn mandolins are now all Asian made for around half the price. I also have an octave mandolin and a tenor banjo tuned to GDAE.

Sounds like it could be improperly shielded... maybe a little copper shielding tape inside the electronic cavities would help... but this is the one to play some Jerry Reed licks on! Among other things... I've been contemplating one of these, but now I really want one! I got a Marshall mini stack to blast it through! Lol!🖖🏿😎👍🏿

Happy New Year Neal! Looks like Santa took his sweet time dropping off a belated Christmas gift. I’ve been wanting to see you start messing around with an electric mando. Great choice, sounds great with the noise suppression. I knew you’d go right to the distortion! I’ll tune up my electric Kentucky while I wait for you to release a tutorial on your new electric. Have Fun!

Great video! I'd love to see a follow-up video after you get some shielding around the wires there. I'd also like to hear more clean tones after the adjustments. I'd like to hear it clean through a tube amp.

130 bucks. I cant wait to see this.i got stick on acoustic. Sounded good. Im in for that nasty sound but you made it sound sweet. Amp tone is spot on.. dig it.

I bought a Cozart with two single coils and get the same buz/hum out of it on top and bottom position on the pickup selector. The center position with both pick-ups there's no buz/hum.

I'd bet there isnt much shielding around the pickup or control cavity, that's a possible remedy to some of the hum. Being a regular single coil pickup, it will always have SOME hum.

Not a bad little guy... I love the sound through the distort. If not for the hum it would be Sweet!

I have one of these, and felt the same. Great little instrument for the money! Mine is the same color, but is Strat-shaped and has two pickups and a 3-way switch. I found the same weirdness with the tone knobs, and it is indeed noisy. I want to get inside and see if there is a lack of grounding or what. But, I'd totally recommend it as well!

Thank you! 🙏

Hey, enjoyed your video. I bought an Epiphone Mandobird which I love. It was £500 which seems to be about standard. I bought it to save me worrying about pick ups and mics for live. Luckily my instrument doesn't have that buzz yours does. Any tips on fx would be greatly appreciated. I noticed you have a reverb on which I have an I have some delays and stuff. I was thinking an eq might be needed but like I say, any advice is welcome. I'll be playing mostly energetic folk music but I also experiment with genres quite a lot. Thanks

Great Video... on the Cozart, I have watched it several times now, while "thinking" about it. : ) I was looking on eBay earlier this afternoon (4.24.2024), and came across this same Solid Body Mandolin, except it was "Pelham Blue" (Metallic)... actually looked pretty nice, for $148.... then I spotted a Similar one from "Cotton Eyed Joe" - which is also Cozart... but it was White w/a black pick guard, 8 strings, dual pickups, three way switch and three control pots. I ordered it, after searching YT for any reviews and demo's on it, first... found a few, and they were pretty favorable... and they sounded good. You mentioned putting "fresh strings" to put on yours.... did you? If so, Where did you get them and will regular Mandolin strings fit these Solid bodies ? The specs were pretty near identical to yours, size wise.. as I looked them both up for comparison, but the "scale" length on mine are just a touch longer than the one you have. Mine was $160.... supposedly "on sale" and marked down from $300..... which I doubt it was ever that much. It was also showing as being the "Last One Available"..... which it was, because after I bought it... I went back on the eBay site, as well as the Sellers (Cotton Eyed Joe - Very Reputable Instrument seller on eBay) site, and couldn't find it Anywhere. I was almost going to get the one like yours in Pelham Blue, but I figured if it has Two Tone Control knobs, I may as well get a Mando that has Two pickups and put them both to good use. lol I already have two mandolins, one "F" Style Loar, and an Acoustic - Electric "A" Style Ibanez..... and 4 Steel Guitars (6 & 8 String), 2 Ukelele Bass Guitars and 8 electric Basses. What's One more to add to the collection?... Oh!!... and 32 Harmonica's - Diatonics, Tremelo's, Bass, 2 Chromatic Slides, and several non-slide Chromatics. Jack of all trades... but, Master of None, at 71+ years "young", but sure is a Lot of Fun!! lol : )

Great video! I just received my Cozart "Strat" mandolin, 2 single coil pickups. Two questions, how did you lower your pickups and are you happy with the D'addario EJ-74’s. I was thinking of going to flatwounds but would value your opinion. Thanks again, the Cozart is a lot of fun and a nice departure from the classic mando for certain types of music. Cheers!

HA! That's a riot! It's funny because so often we see "electric" solid body mandolins without the double course string. Remember the old Fender electric mandolins? I think they may still be making those, or they remade them a couple/few years ago? It's refreshing to see a real solid body mandolin with a bolt-on and the full 8-string set up. That I think makes it more legit' There was a nice bolt-on Godin I played a while back that I really liked. The on board pickup and EQ sound nice, and the thing actually played well. I thought they were a little overpriced but it was still a nice instrument. I just haven't been able to convince myself yet to want to buy one. That thing you have there has a cool look to it and everything. Plays nice too? Well made for the price do you think? Do you have any vid's you've done on your channel addressing what AMPS you've liked for F-style mandolins w/a pickup? They're hard to amplify and really get an accurate reproduction of the instruments sound without investing a fortune in high-end preamps. There's a few I like playing through w/my LRbaggs radius pickup and the actual bridge pickup I have on 2 of these sound good, but the Radius pickup is just way more convenient because I can use it on a couple of different ones without reinstalling a new bridge. Anyway, I'd like to see what you have to say about some amps you've tried. ~JSV

Haha! Great unboxing and what a fun new toy. Enjoy!

Curious who you bought it through. I am seeing two sellers, both in Ripley MS. One says "Cozart Violin Company" and is the same as the one you have here...telecaster like. The other says "cotteneyedjoe23, and is the two pickup Strat type (as one commenter below stated) The Strat type is 150 and this one is 138. Have you tried the other one yet?

I did the same thing as you a few months ago. Silver Eastwood. Can you play the Munsters song? Put an octave on it.

...or could it be pronounced CoZart as in Mozart? Looks like it's got more room in between strings and the fret spaces a bit wider than the Eastmans. If nothing else you'll punch thru in the mix when giggin' with a group. MaZel tov!

sounds like a bad cable