Mandolin Glossary

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Hybrid

LeStock guitar styled mandolin

Mandolins that don't fit a particular model style or that combine elements not normally found in construction and/or visual interpretation of a mandolin are often referred to as a "hybrid".

Builders are often attracted to the artistic need to break out of traditional models for mandolin design and there have been many efforts to make mandolins more broadly accessible by attracting other instrumentalists. Mandolins have been hybridized with all manner of other instruments and the results which range from interesting to unusual, and successful to questionable, are all part of what can give a hybrid appeal.

Some of these could be categorized as guitar-like (flat tops with strings fixed to an immovable bridge like Ovations or Crafters), Selmer guitar styled mandolins, solid-bodied or semi-hollow electric mandolins (those that need amplification for practical use like little electric guitars), banjo-mandolins, National-/Dobro-like resonators as examples.

Hybrid examples

Authored by: Mandolin Cafe

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