Help identify this mandolin!

[oklokat]

Hi! I was watching this Youtube cover of the Kook's Tick of Time, and the video has a really neat mandolin, or mandolin related instrument playing in the background- the camera cuts to the mandolin player towards the end of the video. Can anybody identify what the guy is playing in the video? Is it a custom made mandolin? Whatever it is...I want one!!
Thanks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7BlMWqcK-o

[Strado Len]

Listening to the instrument, I believe I hear nylon strings. Thus, the instrument is not a mandolin, but an 8-string uke. The background looks tropical, which supports the uke hypothesis.

[oklokat]

Listening to the instrument, I believe I hear nylon strings. Thus, the instrument is not a mandolin, but an 8-string uke. The background looks tropical, which supports the uke hypothesis.

Thanks Strado... my theories were either that this was custom made...or some type of uke. It does sound ukeish!

[allenhopkins]

A double-stringed ukulele is called a taropatch. From what I can see, it looks like its player is using guitar-like fingerings on it, which would substantiate the hypothesis that it's in uke tuning -- 4ths and a 3rd, like the top strings of a guitar -- rather than mandolin 5ths tuning. On the other hand, he's taking a real "mandolin" approach to the single-string work behind the vocal, before going to a more chordal style on his break. Flat-picking ukulele players are more the exception than the rule, but there are plenty of them around.

From the appearance, it's a "one-of"; I've never seen a ukulele with that body shape. Interesting music!

[catmandu2]

Sounds like charango to me -- looks like a custom, long-scale charango-type. People have been encouraging me to try charango--since I enjoy uke, I'd probably love it. But I've resisted acquiring yet another instrument fetish.

(Kura has a delightful voice)

[jeff mercer]

Hey, all.

The instrument is a "Tahitian Ukulele" , 4 doubled courses of nylon strings ( In fact, the Islanders usually use very light-guage fishing line for strings !).

It's not very clear in the video, but they have a round wooden "resonator", too, which give them that plinky, almost Banjo-Mandolin-ish tone..

If you're serious about wanting one :) , they do pop up on eBay fairly frequently..

Cheers,
Jeff.

[Jim Garber]

Jeff beat me to it. Here is the clip from the video and a picutre from wikipedia. Also here is the article from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahitian_ukulele).

Great oddball ones here (http://www.boraborarealtor.com/tahitianukulele.html).

[catmandu2]

Cool. Yet another instrument to fetishize. Anyone for TUAS?

[oklokat]

Thanks guys! I totally have to get me one of those!!!