Hi, I'm thinking about a teeny mandolin build for work travel, here are my thoughts:
First and foremost, carry on size is a must. As far as materials and effort go, I think a flat top would be way easier/cheaper to source and build than carved. I plan on playing this in a hotel room so not looking for bark, the need to cut through a band or anything loud associated with an archtop bluegrass style mandolin.
I would like to keep the standard mandolin scale length and tuning so playing feels normal, but maybe cut back the frets to 15 and then set the bridge back closer to the tailpiece to make up for lost space. I gather there will likely be a need for bracing further back there vs the middle, I can play with that idea. Are alarm bells ringing yet? Id like to keep the body length to around 10", lower bout 8" and the total length to 21". I am thinking an oval hole to make the most out of a really small soundboard with no carved top, maybe a soft two point shape like a double cutaway guitar. 1.5" was my guess for rib depth but open to opinions, deeper might be better but there has to be a point where the sound just gets washed out right? Good sound, not loud sound, but also not a cookie tin mandolin.
Spruce top, but not necessarily maple back and sides... maybe mahogany or rosewood, any suggestions?
Honestly, from the looks of it I could put together the wood that would normally fit the bill for a tenor ukulele and go from there. How do I keep it from exploding under double course tension?
Please let me know your thoughts, I greatly appreciate all of the collective intelligence on this forum and hope to put it to good use!
Greg
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