Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandobart
I've had an Eastman MDC805 mandocello for the past 7 years, 25" scale. Just got a custom 26" 10 stringer 3 years back. Of all the instruments I play, MC is my favorite. That 36" scale will be just as hard as a tenor or MC - traditionally they're both tuned in 5ths.
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I disagree with just as hard. Adding 10"+ to the scale and keeping the 5th tuning seems like you would be extremely limited in what you could play. Especially when it comes to chords.
Tenors are 23" and a MC is 25" and they can have a couple of wide, but doable, stretches. Compared to a guitar, single note runs not much more difficulty once you learn the 5th tuning. Chord shapes are a different matter.
For example, there is about a 10-12" difference in scale between a mandolin and a mandocello and many of the chord shapes that can be played on a mandolin cannot be played on the longer scaled instruments. Adding another 10" to a MC I would think would limit playability even further.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa
A few uber-high-end 5- and-6-string basses boast a 36" scale; I've tried one of the former and they're a bear to handle - and they're tuned in fourths...  |
+1. If you had a short scale bass converting it to an electric cello may be doable. There would be some wider stretches and leaps when playing single notes. Short scale basses are about 30" to the cello's 27". Again though, some additional limitations when playing chords.