Hi, first post here.
I've been playing guitar for 34 years, and I fancy an Irish bouzouki or an octave mandola to mess about with. But I don't fancy learning a new tuning so I want one that I can tune to CFAD so that the relationship between the strings is the same as I'm used to on guitar.
First, I've read that bouzoukis are more suitable for chords and octave mandolas are more suited for tunes (apparently because the bouzouki is more twangy). Is that correct, or an unhelpful generalisation? I'm more likely to be using whatever I get to pick out tunes.
If I went with a bouzouki, I see that D'Addario do a EJ97 pack for CFAD. Is it as simple as getting an instrument I like and putting those strings on? Their product info says "Designed for use with 8-string Greek bouzoukis of various scales", so I assume I can use these on any Irish bouzouki that has a scale length around 26" / 670mm? Not sure if I want the bottom pairs to be octave or unison, I guess that's just about trying it to see how it goes.
If I went with an octave mandola, my guess is that there are no CFAD sets available and I'd have to work out the tensions and get individual strings?
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