6 string ukulele to mandola conversion

[Leroy]

In a brief moment of clarity I saw what the true purpose of my 6 string ukulele was. Not unlike Chaz Bono, it was a mandola born in a ukulele's body. I took 2 days reconfiguring a few things and more time refinishing it. It's quite a gem now.





Click here for more photos and two quick and dirty sound samples.

I may have to look through my collection for other suitable candidates.

[Folkmusician.com]

I like it!

[JH Murray]

Did you have to refret it for the conversion?

[Leroy]

Did you have to refret it for the conversion?

No, just a little cleaning and polishing. I did have to plug and drill new string holes in the bridge.

[Dobe]

Any bracing changes for the coversion to steel strings ? Looks like it had an X in there. Nice to have that access port if you ever need to. I'd watch the bridge/top for rotation over time. 8 steel strings is way more tension than 6 nylon.
Sounds great !

[Leroy]

Any bracing changes for the coversion to steel strings ? Looks like it had an X in there. Nice to have that access port if you ever need to. I'd watch the bridge/top for rotation over time. 8 steel strings is way more tension than 6 nylon.
Sounds great !

No structural changes other than the ones mentioned before. I'm confidant that the top can handle the added tension, but will keep an eye on it.

As our buddy Roger Siminoff states in his book "The Luthier's Handbook"

"Many guitar manufactures brace their soundboards to prevent distortion; a bulge behind the bridge and/or a hollow or dip in front of the bridge. For me, the bulge and hollow are signs of a lightly braced top that is torqued in place and ready to do its job."

[kkmm]

Sounds really good to my ears, lots of sustain too.
What is the scale length of your new mandola ?
I have seen another baritone uke converted to "nylon string" mandola, but it sounds muffled, not that crisp and clear like yours.