Very Curious Newbie~Question re: 14" scale

[Sudhira]

Curious about the type of sound I might expect from a 14" scale OM

Debating buying one sight unseen (used).

Thanks

[multidon]

That is an impossible scale length for an octave mandolin. 14 inches is the typical scale length, more or less, for a regular mandolin. So it has to be a mistake. There is no way to string that for an octave. No way at all.

The shortest "normal" octave mandolin I know of course s 20 inch scale. While a 23 or 22 inch can use standard OM strings sets, I find that on my 20 inch light mandola sets (tuned GDAE, not mandola tuning of course) work best.

Thomastik makes a special string set that enables one to string a long scale mandola as an octave mandolin. The mandola in question would have to be a minimum of 17 inch scale length for those strings to work. At 14, you're not even close.

If you are being told by the seller that he has a 14 inch scale length octave mandolins, he is being either ignorant or deceitful, IMHO.

[Sudhira]

Thanks, because as little as I know, it seemed impossible...

[mandroid]

Might manage Mandola CGDA , at 14" Mandolin conversions .. I have 2 , both electric.. C is an .050"..

[John Kelly]

As Multidon said, not a scale for an octave. Can you check with the owner/seller to see what it is tuned to at present? If seller cannot tell you, then be very cautious!

[multidon]

Maybe he meant it's an octave HIGHER than a regular mandolin?

[Ray(T)]

It might also be worth asking how they're measuring it. I suppose it's possible that, if they don't know what they're talking about, they're just measuring the length of the fretboard.