Mandola



AKA Tenor Mandola.

Standard scale length 16"/41cm to 17"/43cm can go to 20”/51cm.

Standard tuning. CGDA from bass to treble.

Other common tunings. ADGD GCGC GDGD



A mandola is only a little bigger that the mandolin and is tuned a fifth lower, CGDA, as a viola is to a violin. Standard scale length is 16" - 17" (41 - 43 cm), can be up to 20”. Some people call instruments with scale lengths up to 23" tuned GDAE (an octave below the mandolin) mandolas, this is an octave mandolin if tuned GDAE.



It is also called a tenor mandola by some (common on the UK), perhaps because of the tenor banjo but it seems to make more sense to name mandolins according to how they relate to the mandolin family, not to banjos. In German orchestral music the mandola is GDAE, an octave below the mandolin, this also might explain why an instrument tuned CGDA became known as a tenor mandola.



Octave Mandolin



AKA Tenor Mandola/Octave mandola/Bouzouki.

Standard scale length 19"/48cm to 22"/56cm.

Standard tuning. GDAE from bass to treble (one octave below mandolin).

Other common tunings. CGDA EADG DADA DADG EADA



The octave mandolin is commonly tuned an octave below the mandolin as its name suggests so why some call it an octave mandola or tenor mandola is a bit of a mystery but very common in the UK. The term octave mandolin seems to have American origins and fits in with the mandolin, mandola, mandocello nomenclature.



At this scale length and tuned GDAE it is also at the short end of the very big range of scale lengths of the bouzouki. The octave mandolin can be tuned the same as the bouzouki but with the shorter neck is much easier to play melodies while still giving a good chord sound. It is commonly tuned in unison (both strings of the pair or course tuned to the same note).



Bouzouki



AKA Octave mandolin.

Standard scale length 19"/48cm to 27"/69cm.

Standard tuning. GDAE. Other common tunings. CGDA EADG DADA DADG EADA



The bouzouki was developed from the Greek round backed instrument by Irish musicians. It normally has a Guitar length neck and is often tuned and octave below the mandolin, the same as the octave mandolin. Despite its origin it is effectively a larger member of the mandolin family and really the same as an octave mandolin but with a longer scale length. It is commonly tuned in octaves, the lower two notes - in standard tuning G and D - having one string an octave above the other (like a twelve string guitar).



Mandocello



Scale length 24"/61cm to 26"/66cm.

Standard tuning, CGDA, an octave below the Mandola.



The mandocello was developed by Gibson for its orchestras. Tuned an octave below the mandola, as its name suggests it is the cello to the viola (mandola) and violin (mandolin). In many ways it is similar to the long scale bouzouki, the only reason you can't use a bouzouki for a mandocello is that it may need a slightly wider neck to accommodate the thicker strings on the mandocello and will need wider slots in the nut and bridge, (there may also be issues with the build of the instrument with heavier strings). Until recently mandocellos were hard to get unless you could afford a vintage Gibson but many of the American makers now include them in their catalogues.



Mandobass



The mandobass is so ugly it becomes a thing of beauty. It's a beast with only four strings, tuned as a double bass EADG. I don't know anybody who makes one (or owns one for that matter). You can guess how they came about if you've read up to here. Scale length is 23.6 miles. TAMCO's famous mandobass has become our mascot!





