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Wow, also gorgeous! And some great music YouTubes. Yes, these are also very close to zero tension.
This makes me think that I should do a test... see how much it really matters to the sound to get...

WOW, COOL! I hadn't known about his instruments. They look beautiful! I found the bridges I think you mean. They have 2 cross-members, right? These are very similar, but not quite zero tension: with...

Hey out there:
In case you aren't totally sick of all this horndola stuff, I just posted another YouTube showing it's vibrational modes. My buddy Chris Jenkins and I recorded them using his...

Yes: absolutely zero resting tension or torsion on the soundboard from the bridge. Zero break angle. If I release the Ti rod holding down the strings, and take out the bolts holding the bridge onto...

I’ve been asked by several people now, including friends through e-mails, about the thinking process that went into the design of the horndola, and also if I have measurements of the resonant...

All good ideas... will really have to figure out exactly how to proceed next.
As for relative loudness: This one is pretty loud, I think. I don't have another mandola, but I do have a beautiful...

Wow, more cool instruments. I had seen photos of the French Gelas inverse bridge instruments before. With the clamp setup, they really could have been configured for neutral tension, too. I wonder if...

Yes, you are right! These are very small contact areas relative to a normal (tensioned) set up. I could get away with small contact areas, because there is zero tension onto the soundboard. In a...

Tom: I have some cool laser vibrometer movies and spectra that I will collect into another YouTube sometime within a couple of days, that show the low-end resonances. And I will record and analyze a...

Hey Doug: Just got on and saw these questions, here and below.... will answer all of them that I can now.
As for the Thomastic strings: Haven't tried any! But I will order some on your...

Tom:
Great questions. Here is kind of a long-winded response.
I am pretty sure that the horn doesn’t directly affect the sustain at all. It affects it indirectly by increasing the overall internal...

Wow, these things by Stroh are amazing!!! I have never seen these!!!!!!!!

I just finished building an experimental mandola.
I was worried… this whole instrument was an experiment, in two major respects:
1) I built an exponential horn into the internal body structure...