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I have been wondering. Is it possable if I could put mandola strings on a regular mandolin and it work the same. It seems to be no difference in them although I have never playes a mandola (that could be the problem). Please let me know. There's no hurry. Thanks. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/...andosmiley.gif
Josh:
Mandolas (I assume that you are talking about ones tuned CGDA) have scales that are, at the minimum 15.5 inc - 17 vs and mandolin which std is around 13 7/8".
You could do it but I think the tension would be a little loose on the mandolin if tuned down to the std pitches.
Then again I suppose you could experiment with heavier gauges and find ones that would work. Why not?
If you want a lower pitched note on a string you have to either lengthen the string, make the string heavier or lower the tension. That means at any scale length someone has selected a compromise among that facts and their implications for playability. You can customize but the "standard" lengths today represent a lot of trial and error over the years to find the right mix.
I recently restrung one of my mandolins with mandola strings, so that my daughter, who is learning the viola, and I can play the fretted version. This has worked well, though the mandolin body is a bit small for that low C string, tone-wise.
You really only need to worry about the C string. You already have a G, D and A string that work, so just move them one across. To get to C at mandolin scale you need pretty heavy gauges, at least 0.0056", and it'll still sound a bit weedy. But, it can certainly be done.
Martin