Thank you guest, that is very interesting. I will do some research. I have various combinations, but by and large people out front seem to like the Headway Snakes the best. The problem with this particular Hagstrom is the curious tune-o-matic bridge and the existing contact pickups and the existing pre-amp.

I also have problems amplifying my main mandolin (to the extent that I do sometimes use a solid-body "electric guitar" type mandolin if major amplification is on the agenda). Apart from that I have a B-band undersaddle in a Kentucky flatiron and the problem is thump - even taking everything below 300 hz off on an EQ pedal does not always remove it - but it sounds fine on some PA rigs and not fine on others! The unplugged sound is way better than what I paid for it - but I'm not looking for a bluegrass sound.