I got the fever

[sjus]

Today I tuned my "cheap" Rumaninan Troubadour mandola down to GDAE - OM way - and I must say I liked the feeling!
The G strings are a bit too slack though, and the E´s tend to go out of key, but I really like the ring and the sustain of it. Not to mention playability. The Troubadour mandola, that has been discussed in other threads in this forum, is a short scale (solid woods) mandola, and maybe not that well suited for an OM-tuning, but it´s working fairly. I wonder if a heavier string-gauge would help? What I have on it now is d´Addario .012 .022 0.32 .046. Any suggestions here?

I have always played it tuned in CGDA, but GDAE seems more useful in Celtic music.
Some weeks ago I bought an old noname tenor banjo, and tuned it GDAE, and have had a lot of fun picking out reels and Celtic stuff on it, but truly miss the sustain and the ringing, and I guess that´s why I tuned the mandola to GDAE.
I have made a maple/ebony bridge for it, and may have to sand it a bit down to lower the action; maybe that will help keeping the E strings from going out of tune? (They seem very soft all the sudden)

But of course: Now, I got the fever!
I need to get myself an OM!!!
Not too long a scale, not too short.
What is great for good volume and still being playable for a person with not very big hands?
Humm, probably a stupid question.
What is the average scale of an OM? The troubadour mandola is about 42 cm´s, and probably on the short side of being an OM....or?

Now I got the OMAS, while still waiting for a lefty Garrison guitar I ordered and paid for 10 weeks ago! Will this thing never stop?

Thank god my wife never reads the café board!
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Søren

[otterly2k]

Well... you're in good company...

I had a similar mandola experience...liked it well, but liked OM better. You will need thicker strings to get that 'dola to sound good as an OM (and then hope the strings are playable!). Alternately, start looking for an OM.

I like a short scale (20-21") for being able to go back and forth between melody and accompaniment, personally. I have small, stubby hands (but know how to use 'em!) and I find that scale works well for me. 22.5" (which is a pretty common scale) was too long for me, and if your hands are small, it may also be a stretch for you.

[sjus]

You´re so right. I´ve been following the CBOM threads for a while, and I know I´m in good company.

The tenor banjo, that works quite well for me, is about 21/22" in scale.
Double strings though seem to be a little harder to push down than single strings, so I´ll probably be looking for a 20-21. I like to give the pinky some exercise, but of course, it is just as long (or short) as it is.

You are making a point about thicker strings, and you´re probably right; I´m not sure it will be fun playing that mandola with heavier strings than it already got.

(sigh) Gotta find funds for my new quest!
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Søren

[Rob Zamites]

Yay! Another OMAS infection victim! My Romanian built short scale 'zouk is *perfect* in scale length, IMHO. It's 59.7cm (23.5 inches), which to me is short enough to make melody playing easy, and long enough that my fingers aren't squashed on the fingerboard. Mine has a pretty amazing sustain for an inexpensive built instrument - here's a picture (http://probrewer.dynup.net/images/octozouki.jpg) for you to peek at.
It was radically improved after a setup trip to a luthier, who replaced the nut, lowered the action and replaced the strings...this will be my 'beater' once I get a custom built short scale 'zouk.

[arbarnhart]

You might try mandola strings. I used a half set of GHS 'dola strings on my daughter's 19" tenor guitar to tune it like an OM. It's not very tight, but it's plenty playable.

[sjus]

arbarnhart, about mandola strings: I thought that ´dola strings in general are thinner than OM strings, and won´t be tight enough on a 17,5" scale.
But then again, maybe a 17,5" scale is just too short for OM tuning.

BrewingBard, it´s a good looking piece. Where/how did you get it? I see some similarities to the Trobadour by David Kilpatrick. Did you change the tailpiece, it looks more solid than the rather tatty one on my ´dola?

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Søren

[Rob Zamites]

Believe it or not, I traded for it. It's a bit of a complicated tale, but here goes:

Back in '98 or so, I had Shawn Spencer of Bardsong Instruments in Nashville build me a "Dulcitar". It was a 5 stringed, 25" scale length diatonically fretted instrument. I played it feverishly for a couple of years, and then basically got caught up in 'real life'. After the divorce, I wanted to get rid of it, as the "crafted by" plate inside the body made a lovely reference to the now Ex-wife, and I didn't want the reminder...plus the fact that when I started playing it again, I'd get pissed when searching for that half-step note I needed. I started the search for a chromatic instrument, and decided to sell the dulcitar.

Well, a few weeks back, I met someone on line in a Linux channel I frequent, and she expressed some interest in it -- I told her she could have it lock, stock and smoking barrel for $300, and *I* would even pay the shipping. She didn't have the cash at hand, and for awhile I was content to let her save up for it, but dammit! I still wanted a chromatic instrument!

I found the SSZ (short-scale zouk) on Ebay for a phenominal price, the owner had, indeed replaced the tailpiece (but put it on off-center -- another story for another topic!) and swore it was a great instrument. So, I told this girl, basically, "You win this Ebay bid, have that instrument shipped to me, and I'll ship you the dulcitar. Flat trade."

Well, long story short, she got the dulcitar for a song, I got the chromatic SSZ (which, after a trip to the luthier, is much happier and plays wonderfully), and I also have Z-OMAS!

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[sjus]

That was some story, BrewingBard!
What did it say on the plate?
(I´m under the impression that your former wife build it, but I´m probably wrong...?)

You´re right, arbarnhart. I found a set of mandola strings in Elderly´s online-store: J74 - 15, 25, 35, 52, and they are thicker than the OM-set I have strung on it now. I´ll have them sent over, hopefully they will add to playability.

That is, ot course, only until I get a REAL OM!!

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Søren

[Martin Jonas]

Søren,

Since you got that Troubadour mandola, they have introduced a new OM model at 584mm scale length (called the "Tamburlin" model), halfway in scale length between the mandola and the Bouzouki (which is what I have). So, you may want to think about getting that one if you like the Troubadour feel and tone. I think it's what BrewingBard has. See Troubadour (http://www.troubadour.uk.com/).

For myself, I'm considering going up in gauge on the zouk, then tune it three or four semitones flat and play with a capo, to get the equivalent of an OM with a shorter scale length than the zouk.

Martin

[sjus]

Martin,

I checked David´s webpage, but only saw the Timburlin mentioned on the frontpage. I didn´t find any descriptions, pictures or pricing. However, I know the description allready - how did you find out about the scale?

Tuning the zouk down and using a capo is going to make melody-playing easier for you, (I assume) I wish the mandola had some sort of a telescope device that would extend the neck and make it an OM - he!

584mm may just be a bit too long for me, but still, it´s an unexpensive OM - and all solid woods!

Hmmm....I have to be a little patient this time, and take a good look around before any action is taken.

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Søren

[Martin Jonas]

Check the Troubadour homepage:


The prices are identical at about $240 shipped to the USA for either the Lionheart 660mm scale or Tamburlin 584mm scale complete with gig bag.


Martin

[arbarnhart]

arbarnhart, about mandola strings: I thought that ´dola strings in general are thinner than OM strings, and won´t be tight enough on a 17,5" scale.
But then again, maybe a 17,5" scale is just too short for OM tuning.
You are correct; they are too thin. I did the math wrong and didn't realize your was so short. I think the 19" one that I have them on is short and they are very playable but they couldn't be tuned much lower without a problem. 18.5" is the shortest I have ever seen an "OM".

[Rob Zamites]

Nah, my Ex-wife didn't build it, but I had a sappy dedication to her pu ton the plate. I'd vomit a little in my mouth everytime I'd read it. ::gag::

[sjus]

Now I got the short-scale Troubadour mandola working more like an OM, because:
I found a set of allmost fresh mandola strings in the house, and replaced the OM E strings (12) with the mandola A´s (15). They don´t tend to get out of tuning and work okay. I left the OM A and D strings on since they´re doing an okay job, but replaced the OM G´s (46) with the mandola C´s (52). They are tighter, but still had the buzz, so I removed one of them and put on a mandola D (25) and tuned it one octave up. It´s working pretty okay, and sure adds a new experience to playing!

I saw the octave tuning in the pictures you took at Elderly, Rob (great work, and I love your homebrewed webpage too!) and that´s what gave me the idea to try octave tuning
Only, I have the fat string as the first string, meaning the string I´ll hit first when making a down-stroke. On the zouk-pictures it was the other way round.
What´s the deal here?
(I don´t know the first thing about zouks)

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Søren

[Ken Sager]

Two words for you:
Buy a Bussman.

[sjus]

Thanks Ken, that´s a good advice. I´m afraid a Bussman is a bit over my budget, which at the moment is just about zero.
Because of GAS!
I´ll have to settle for a while yet with that hybrid Romanian I´ve come up with.

Where I live there aren´t many OMs around to check out, if any, so I could either choose to order one in a local music shop, or buy one on the internet (when the time comes!) which in both cases would be taking a bit of a chance.
It doesn´t help that I am a lefty player and will have to convert the thing - which means I can´t even try before buying.
Well, there is another way: The other guys in the band I play in know about a guy in my local area who builds quality stringed instruments, and the perspective here is to cut a deal with him some day, and get myself a custom built lefty OM.
To be honest, I am tempted to phone him right away!

And then something happened to my fingers: they have grown fat! I`ve been playing the hybrid-OM for the last 3 weeks or so, no mandolin, but grabbed the old Kalamazoo to pick a bit this evening, and I could hardly press my fingers down between the frets!
Sure it had the woody sound, but I missed those deap drones that you can make on an OM, and all the reels you know that lives within it. #
Oh, am I a deserter? An apostate? Is that the hounds in the posse I hear barking?

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Søren

[steve V. johnson]

I think you're in Apostate Country here... <GG> #AS for the posse hounds, just play louder, on either instrument. #It'll keep 'em away. # (I have a Kalamazoo, too! KM-11 and I love it!)

I think you should talk with your local luthier soon. #Very soon. #Find out what his opinion of a fine recreational beverage is and go and hang out a bit. #It's NEVER too early to start a relationship with a luthier, there's just too much to learn. #Even if you don't make an order soon, or even at all, you'll have a great time and the two of you will exchange good infos.

There is a thread somewhere else on the Cafe (where was I a minute ago???) in which someone, "Permanent Daylight" I think, was asking about how to choose a luthier and how to choose instrument designs and details (and stuff) for his first custom instrument. #I replied and went on and on with what I thought might have been useful. #I've ordered several custom instruments since 1976, and they've all been fun. #I still have the first one. #Maybe some of that stuff I wrote for PD might help you...

Apostately,

stv