A Good Mandola

I'm wondering what a middle-of-the-line mandola would cost and what are the good makers of mandolas?

[Lee]

Weber lists a mandola version of most of their mandolin models. I'd imagine these are built per order so you might ask around with the custom builders themselves. Note that Weber specs their scale length at 17 inches.
Bill Bussman of Old Wave would certainly be glad to build you a mandola for a very reasonable price. I believe he'll build to the shorter 16" scale length.
Where does "middle of the line" put you in terms of money?

[Jack Roberts]

I played a Coombe Mandola (15.8 in scale) and thought it was one of the best sounding stringed instruments I've ever heard. Count on a two year wait, though.

[grsnovi]

Gibson made some nice ones.

I picked up a 1920 H2 for $2500 recently (no ordering or waiting involved).

[Lee]

I've heard some less-than-desirable comments concerning Gibsons 15-3/4" (?) mandola scale length as being too short to allow the low C string to vibrate nicely. To get enough tension a really heavy gauge string is required, and it kinda goes thud. YMMV

[Jim Garber]

I had an 21 H4. The problem was not the low string but getting any volume on the upper frets on the high courses. Sweet sounding and very playable, tho. I sold it soI could get my Monteleone.

Jim

[Lee]

I'm told Monteleone also uses the 16" scale; yes?

[Mandobar]

don paine (pomeroy) makes a fine mandola. #i love mine. #you can see it on his website
www.pomeroyinstruments.com

[Jack Roberts]

I've heard some less-than-desirable comments concerning Gibsons 15-3/4" (?) mandola scale length as being too short to allow the low C string to vibrate nicely. To get enough tension a really heavy gauge string is required, and it kinda goes thud. YMMV
I agree with the assessment of the short scale Gibsons, which is part of the reason I mentioned the short scale Coombe. #Shorter scale has advantages in that it is easier to play more complicated music with my stubby fingers, but it has to be voiced properly in order to get both the lows and highs.

I asked Peter about his mandola design, and one of his comments, (as pointed out by Lee957) was the problem of the C string:

"I mainly use the bigger fretwire because of the C string. #On these short scale mandolas, the weak point is always the C string. #The banjo fretwire does improve the sound of the C string when fretted. #With the mandolin fretwire there is a more noticable change in sound from the open string to a fretted note on the C string, with the result the C string sounds rather dull in comparison to the other strings." (Peter Coombe)

One of the nice things about working with a small builder is that they can build to your own specifications. #I want a short scale mandola, but I want more "ring" than "thud" on the C string when I play it. #I did try another mandola, and noodled around on the C string to test it. As you would expect, the open C string sounds just fine, but as you move up the finger board, the strings are shortened, and there is a "thudiness" to the sound.

The use of heavy strings to make a different sound when played up the fingerboard is sought after by many players. #I know a lot of players who put the heaviest strings they can on their manolins, and play the bluegrass "G" chop chord, where the G string is played on the 7th fret to deliberately make a "thud" or "woody" sound. #So it depends on the kind of music you want to play, as not everybody wants to sound like Sam Bush(although I wish I could). #Jethro Burns, for example, did not like that sound at all and advocated using lighter strings and getting away from the the seventh fret on the G chord. (See "The Complete Jethro Burns Mandolin" by Jethro Burns and Ken Eidson)

Allow me the following disclaimer. #Other than having played the instruments and listened to and read people who know what they are talking about, I am pretty ignorant of the whole matter. #So always play before you buy! #

Jack

[peter.coombe]

Short scale mandolas - I know them well, and am very familiar with the "thud" problem on the C string. It is something that certainly can be minimised, but not eliminated completely. Banjo frets do help because most of the thud occurs when fretting, the open string usually does not thud. I have made a few modifications from the old Gibson design to try and eliminate the C string thud problem. The body depth is a few mm deeper, the scale length is a fraction longer, and I use a backwood that has a good bass sound (myrtle, but Walnut should also work well), and carve the back to a lower note than the top. The tops are all X braced. The instruments do "thud" a bit on the C string when band new, but with time and playing the problem almost completely disappears and you end up with a nicely well balanced sounding mandola. These techniques can be overdone and you can end up with a mandola with a strong bass and weak treble if you get it wrong. It is a matter of getting the balance right. Not so easy, but get it right and they are really gorgeous sounding instruments.

As already pointed out, the short scale mandola is easy to play. Any mandolin player can play one. I have played longer scale mandolas and just can't live with the extra reach required. However, having said that, I am about to start work on my first longer scale F soundhole mandola shortly. The customer is always right.

Thank ya'll for your help!