Mandola Tuning on octave mandolin

[po56okie]

yes,, I have a Joe foley scale length 21" mandola. Is it OK to tune it CGDA ?? ..he does refer to it as a mandola. It looks like an octave mandolin....BUT,, the string tension seems so tight that there's not much sustain not to mention harder to play. If I went to a mandola tuning maybe that would loosen things up a bit???? Thanks, eikoopcat

[fox]

Yes 21" scale can be tuned GDAE or CGDA but you need the correct strings.
CGDA could be 32 22 14p 10p GDAE could be 48 32 22 13p or there about...

[bbcee]

Joe likely means octave mandola, not tenor mandola. That's a long scale for a tenor mandola, anything above 17" is starting to enter OM territory. My OM is 21".

+1 on the right string gauges!

[dwmand]

Tenor guitars are typically 23" scale and they are tuned the same as a mandola - CGDA - and I've used even heavier gauges than what fox has provided.

[fox]

Yes on a 23" scale the A (CGDA) is on the limit of string tension as the string will snap around B. With a 21" scale you can feel more comfortable with the A. You could try 11 16 24 34 if you prefer tighter strings.