Some of you old timers might remember Alex Gregory's Pentasystem instruments: a high-end 5-string mandolin, mandola, octave mandolin and mandocello, all based on the Fender Mandocaster and Stratocaster designs. Great instruments, but they ended up being too expensive for most of us mortals, and none were produced beyond the initial run of 72.
Well, comes another builder whom I won't name at the moment, trying to reinvent that particular wheel: Standard 14-inch 4-string mandolin (GDAE); 17-inch 5-string (CGDAE), 22.5-inch octave (GDAEB) and 25.5-inch cello (CGDAE).
Apart from the fact that the 17-inch instrument will never work because there isn't a string made that won't break when you try to tune it up to E at 17 inches and play it, what else do you notice in this photo that looks a little fishy?
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