Hora Octave ?

[kkeesy]

I bought one of these just for the heck of it.I wasn't let down as much as I expected.Made pretty well sounds really good.BUT the tuners are crap.Has anyone replaced theirs?Also the bridge slots aren't deep enough,the bass strings want to come out.I can fix that.Really would like to change the tuners,any help would be appreciated.

[BoxCarJoe]

(subbed)
The mandola tuners are terrible also. I think they are the same hardware.

I replaced my bridge and it made a difference.

It's not a bad instrument.

[Harley Marty]

I have a Thomann/Hora mandola. The tuners truly are crap! I'm thinking of stripping them down to see if somehow they can be improved, maybe silicone spray or anything at all. One thing for sure I can't see them getting worse!

[Carl Robin]

I had one of their mandolas in the past and the tuners were of very low quality. They clearly would not have lasted long. I made a new bridge for it, and it was playable for a while, until the neck warped. Being unfixable at that point, I gave it away for someone to use as a wall ornament. Hopefully yours will remain stable. Replacement tuning machines are easy to order on line, and they would definitely be an upgrade.

[neilca]

I have a Hora octave mandolin and yes the tuners are terrible. Unfortunately, they are also not on a standard 25mm centerline. I purchased some "Metallor Guitar Machine Heads Tuning Pegs Keys for Mandolin Banjo and 8 String Guitars Instruments Double Hole Chrome Plating 4L 4R" from Amazon. I plan on plugging the existing holes and redrill for the 25mm centerline. I will post pics when I get to this project.

BTW I replaced the saddle with bone and it really helped get rid of the buzz I got when lazily fretting. I think it made the sound a bit crisper too.

[mislykketmusikant]

bought a mandola and had a guy do a proper setup. the mandola was about 250 dollars, and the setup about 150. the frets arent great, and the tuners arent top notch. but the pickup works, and the sound is surprisingly good for the price. its a joyful instrument to play after the setup, I have to say. defenately worth the 400 dollars spent.

[neilca]

I replaced the tuners on my Hora. Changed the nut to bone and made the nut the height regulator of the strings instead of the zero fret. Replaced the strings with D'Addario phos bronze bouzouki strings. Tuned it to GDAE and it sounds terrible. The D strings have some kind of ringing overtone.

What strings work on an octave mandolin?

[Bill McCall]

So, when you stopped using the zero fret, did you move the nut to its location?

[John Flynn]

I had a Hora Octave for a couple of years. Mine was sold rebranded by a British company and was finished differently than the standard Horas, but otherwise identical, same exact body, headstock, tuners. I got a luthier to fit new tuners, but he had a "fudge" the holes. It still wound up working pretty well. I think if I had it to do again, I would find some individual tuners that would fit.

The biggest problem I had with it is the top sunk, pretty badly. That's what I would watch out for. Keep it humidified and put the lightest strings you can find on it.

[neilca]

So, when you stopped using the zero fret, did you move the nut to its location?

I did not move the nut to the zero location. The intonation is on the sharp side and I am limited on moving the bridge due to an electronic pickup in the bridge.

[neilca]

I worked on the Hora today. I found one of the D strings was rattling. I replaced it and still had the rattle. I decided to change all the strings to lighter gauges so I could tune it DGBE. I have started to learn the six string so the two instruments will be similar. I used nickel strings I had left over from an electric guitar. Sound is much better and no rattle. I replaced the saddle with a bone saddle I had made earlier. I am happy with the Hora once again.

[Monte Barnett]

If you don't already have it, Cafe member Rob Meldrum has written a great guide on doing setups:
http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?98399-Mandolin-Set-up-E-Book-by-Rob-Meldrum&highlight=Meldrum

[neilca]

Here are some pictures from my replacing the tuners

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Old tuners removed and 1/4 wood dowels are cut ready to insert on the old holes

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Dowels glued in place

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New holes back drilled from the new tuners and the extra dowel material is removed.

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I decided to paint the interior of the headstock to hid all the hack marks.

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And the final shot. The new tuners are worlds better.

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One of the new bone nut

[neilca]

I never could get the sound right on my Hora so I replaced the zero fret with a higher one and once again use the zero fret instead of the nut for scale length. I also worked out strings to tune this the same as my 12 string guitar DGBE. Here are the strings I used measured in inches:

D4 - 0.012
D3 - 0.026 W
G4 - 0.010
G3 - 0.020 W
B3 - 0.015
B3 - 0.015
E4 - 0.011
E4 - 0.011

The sound is amazing. Really happy with the result, sounds like my 12 string without base strings. BTW tension of the strings per the calculator I used is 16 lbs. the top appears to be happy with this.

[Seter]

I had a Hora octave and the tuners were definitely the weak point, but still hard to beat at that price. I eventually upgraded to a Gold Tone, but I still have a nearly identical except for longer scale Hora bouzouki. They're sturdy all solid wood instruments, just need some touching up to improve playability.