Soprano/Piccolo mando body structure

[gregoriousd]

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

[Jim Garber]

A soprano or piccolo would have a shorter scale. You are talking about a pocket mandolin with standard scale. It sounds like you are describing a Seagull S8. It sounds like you want to build one but i would take a look at the S8. They are pretty solid but small and the sound it amazing for a small body. At least look at the design and maybe adapt it for your build. I played one recently and was pretty impressed.

[gregoriousd]

That’s pretty cool, thanks Jim. The stubborn side of me wants to still build but I will certainly look into Seagull.

[pops1]

Instead of a sound hole in the top, think about only a side port. It would let you hear easily and not be as loud in front.

[gregoriousd]

Instead of a sound hole in the top, think about only a side port. It would let you hear easily and not be as loud in front.

Now that's an interesting thought.

[Walt]

Also check out the Weber Sweet Pea, if you're looking for ideas.

It fits the bill as far as having the standard scale length and smaller body size. As far as bracing, maybe lookup some of Graham McDonald's stuff (I think he has written about flat-top bracing on here). The only flat-top mando I've owned was a very cool mandocello built by Joe Mendel. I think it had sort of an "H" bracing pattern (tone bars with a brace running perpendicular between them).

Keep us posted on what you come up with. In a couple of months, I'm going to build a short-scale, small-bodied mando for my three-year-old. It'll be 4 strings and tuned standard GDAE--resulting in super low tension. The goal is to have something that's (a) easy on her hands, and (b) small enough that she can learn proper chords.
Let us know where you end up getting your lumber from. I know LMII has ukulele sets available in different tone woods. Tenor-uke size is probably big enough for what you want to do.

[pops1]

Since you want it quiet, no sound hole would let you easily do a simple X brace and the side port would let you hear. Since you could make the body stronger without the sound hole you could also use heavier strings and be similar in feel to whatever mandolin you normally play.

[gregoriousd]

Thanks for the additional replies, looking at the sweet pea there is zero chance of me keeping the total size to 20” with a standard scale length. I’m just ballparking the math at a 7” peghead and a 13.875” scale has me already over. May have to squeeze down to 11”. I’m racking my non-engineer mind on how to bury hex nut tuners into the back of the neck and take the head completely out of the picture... there were guitars like that in the 80’s. Or string it from top to bottom hmmm. Do these little things normally have truss rods? I’m assuming yes.

[pops1]

I don't see why you would need 7" for a peghead, you are not looking for anything pleasant design wise so I would think 5" would easily be sufficient. Truss rod should not be needed which will help shorting your peghead. The body can be as small as you need and the bridge can be at the very back, you are not looking for a lot of sound, just something you can practice on. You could also make a light solid body with a pickup and use a headphone amp which would be still light, quiet, full length and sound good in the phones.

[gregoriousd]

Fair enough, I would like it to sound somewhat nice though. Why no need for a truss rod? Same tension as a fancy mandolin equals the same need for neck relief adjustment no? I suppose I could just put a carbon rod in there and cross my fingers.
Speaking of necks, there is nothing to keep me from using a mahogany ukulele neck right? Provided I fit the proper dimensions for the fingerboard.