photo: Kris P. Silverman Ted, mandolinist with San Francisco's Chazz Cats, a swing band, usually plays a Flatiron F5 Performer with a Fishman piezo bridge through a Mesa Boogie Mark III—"a thunderous combination" according to Ted. But he also plays this 5-string Blue Star Mandoblaster through a Digitech RP12, and recently acquired a Godin A8. He writes: "I use a few toys now for fun that serve to add a wee bit of flavor to the tone without stripping the general character of the instrument. My rig goes A8 > ProCo Rat Distortion > DanElectro Chili Dog (octave divider) > DanElectro Pepperoni (phaser) > TC Electronics Chorus/Ring Modulator/Flanger > Ibanez Auto Filter (envelope) > Alesis Nanoverb > Boogie Mark III."