Cremonese / Bresciano Mandolin Sounds

[mauricemcm]

Here is a rescue story inspired by the rescue thread in the general discussion forum.

1999 M-O model. This mandolin came back to the factory for repairs after having been sat upon. The original owner loved it dearly and had worn the frets down to less than ten thousandths of an inch tall within its first few years of life. Rather than repair it Mr. Dulak sent the gentleman a new one free of charge. Later it was hastily repaired and strung with nylon strings at the request of another customer. It was not impressive as it was still braced for eight steel strings. She did not follow through. I saved it from being discarded. I have changed the braces and some other things. It sounds very sweet and pure even before the strings are broken in. It plays so nice and easy perhaps even I can learn to play.

http://youtu.be/Ya1eLsf5R8M?si=aMZ0BNyeTw05DkB4

https://youtu.be/4tzYCkZ-t2E

https://youtu.be/cP8GHSxm3bw?si=Oq_ZLZwXmUSjw44T

https://youtu.be/__PmACH7c0I?si=9n_HINzB4cQesnCD

[mtnmade]

I vote no, the strings will not project well as they will not move the top, archtop anyway, may use the on very old instruments to keep tension down, but I wouldn't think they would sound good

[mauricemcm]

Thanks mtnmade for the vote and response. Check out the 3rd video. It shows a Nylgut 4 string holding its own fairly well alongside 8 steel strings. Both are flat tops however.

https://youtu.be/cP8GHSxm3bw?si=Oq_ZLZwXmUSjw44T

A snip from Aquila:

The Cremonese or Brescian mandolin became popular from the second half of the 18th century until the first decades of the 19th century, and its definition is due to Bortolazzi, author of the first German-language mandolin method, published at the beginning of the 19th century (Anweisung die Mandoline, Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel, 1805).
The research on the original instruments that survived until today show that they had vibrating lengths around 30-33 cm, and four single strings tuned in fifths (like the Neapolitan mandolin or the Violin; i.e. e, a, G, D), with 9 to 10 frets on the fingerboard.
There are two setups available.
The first is a historical reconstruction, based on the results of our research on the documentation of the time, and uses three gut strings and a silk core wound string with silver-plated copper wire for the 4th G string (code ref. 4M).
The second is a “modern” version that seeks the same kind of sound as the historical one but using modern synthetic materials. It uses two synthetic New Nylgut strings and two copper wound strings on a synthetic multifilament core (code ref. 5M).

[mauricemcm]

Originally Posted by mtnmade

I vote no, the strings will not project well as they will not move the top, archtop anyway, may use the on very old instruments to keep tension down, but I wouldn't think they would sound good

A good observation. I see ""Not for country mandolins" in the description of these strings. Country mandolins being archtops.

Another example from Jo Dusepo
https://youtu.be/iNzIBWnikMk?si=_L8z52hPgwFsYOIb

Another from Yaron Naor
https://youtu.be/VQ2tpmz-kz0?si=jEPOStbj1s3Z7eSL

Beethoven
https://youtu.be/Qeipf8cG7AQ?si=fEgVzE1-4fzi_-83