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  #1  
Old 11-13-2019, 12:26 PM
Mystery123 Mystery123 is offline
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Thumbs up They look like brothers but that's where the similarities end...

On a whim, I got this Ibanez mandolin.
Same brand as my semi hollow and looks like a mini me.

Man I thought guitar frets are narrow!
Wait until you try a mandolin.
1st fret is narrow for two fingers.
Can't even imagine how people play it on higher frets.



Anyone here play both?
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Old 11-13-2019, 09:07 PM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
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I started on violin, then got into guitar as well over 40 years ago. Picked up mandolin about 10 years ago. That led to mandola, octave mandolin and mandocello as well.

The first mandolin (shaped object) I got was a Chinese-built Ibanez. Ok to learn on but.....
I now have several custom and vintage mandolins and gave a beginner a good deal on my Ibanez (which I properly set up with new nut and bridge).

My archtop guitar actually was built as an Eastman MDC805 mandocello. I changed out the nut and bridge to convert it to a guitar. Easilly convertable back to a 'cello again if I want to.
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Old 11-14-2019, 09:08 AM
pjmacd pjmacd is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandobart View Post

My archtop guitar actually was built as an Eastman MDC805 mandocello. I changed out the nut and bridge to convert it to a guitar. Easilly convertable back to a 'cello again if I want to.
What an interesting idea! I would love to see pictures of the conversion. What did you do about the two extra tuners?
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Old 11-14-2019, 10:56 AM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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In dabble in mandolin, but don't play seriously. The short scale doesn't bother me, but the narrow neck does. I would need a custom mandolin with a wider neck, at least as wide as my tenor ukulele.
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Old 11-14-2019, 04:50 PM
penguins0141 penguins0141 is offline
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I started mandolin a few months ago after nearly 30 years of guitar, and I was also in shock at the small scale of the mandolin frets and neck. Amazed at how the true players can navigate the fretboard with such grace and precision.
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Old 11-15-2019, 12:02 AM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
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Originally Posted by pjmacd View Post
What an interesting idea! I would love to see pictures of the conversion. What did you do about the two extra tuners?
I haven't bothered to figure out how to post pics here. The top two extra tuners just sit empty. I did replace the original ones with Schaller's with gold hardware and ebony buttons. I also added an ebony armrest and pick guard and Kent Armstrong floating neck pickup (in addition to the JJB twin head SBT I added when I first bought it. It sounds great unplugged or with either and blended pickups.
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Old 11-28-2019, 12:28 AM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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I learned to play mandolin before I learned to play guitar. Getting used to the shorter scale length and narrower string spacing was pretty easy for me. I can't even begin to speculate on how easy or difficult it might be for others.


whm
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