I was wondering if anyone knew the specs for one of the longer scale Rono five string. Octave mandolin, baritone, whatever you want to call it. I'm looking for the width @ nut, width @ last fret, scale length, body width, neck profile. Any info would be greatly appreciated. I'm a student at the Roberto-Venn school of luthiery and I'm hoping to make a instrument to the same numbers as Ron's.
Check here. http://www.picknparlor.com/mandos.htm
They have pics of one that looks similar to a Rono. Could acually be the same one I saw at Rockygrass 2 years ago. I dont know the instrument's specs but the folks at the Pickin Parlor could probably help you.
home for wayward mandolins
Do you mean Michael Kang's "Dragon" 5 string?
Kangolin
I remember it described as a mandolin scale plus 5 frets.
Maybe a 17" scale tuned GDAEB? (Haven't measured though...)
This scale/tuning is intriguing, because its playable in
open position. I find that anything with a longer scale
hurts my hands to play melody. The sound is great thru an
amp, but I think the G string at this scale doesn't work.
According to people I've talked to, a 20" scale is the
minimum for a good G string sound. There is a video of
Kang playing this instrument in concert. I'm curious to
hear about what you create for your project. keep us
posted. #--Joel
By the way, the Cittern group on Yahoo Groups and the MIMF forum MIMF
would be good resources.
18" or that was what was promised and I had my deposit stolen by ordering.
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
Hi There:
The scale on my Rono is about 18.5" (measured from the nut at the fingerboard to the saddles (which are each adjustable, hence the "approximately"). The nut is 1 7/8. It is a 5 string with s/H/s pickup configuration. I've posted it before but here is a picture
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Clem
You know, if one of you builders can duplicate and improve on these electric mandolins, it seems the niche is there to be tapped. You could probably have a decent sized list of buyers ready to plunk down a deposit within a short amount of time.
Mandofiddle
Thanks for all the info you guys. It is very much appreciated. Mandofiddle, you kind of called my bluff there. However, I'd like to make a few test runs and work out all the kinks before hand. If anyone has any type of advice about the mando, or pros and cons of various electrics, please don't hestitate to tell me. I'm aiming for a mando with a longer scale length, but still has easy playability. I'd really like to explore the whole Rono idea. Also, 1 7/8 is a really large nut, that's bigger than a bass! Do you feel comfortable with that? By the way, I've only played a normal scale Rono, so that might be an entirely different beast.
How about a big Gibson EM200 with a pair of P90s...sigh
YIKES!! The nut is 1 3/8 (not 7/8)!! When I saw your comment about the bass I went back and re-measured. Either it was a typo, a misread or brain #### (or some combination)In any event, the mandolin is very comfortable to play. The scale length makes for a bit of a stretch (too much)for traditional mandolin technique in the first position, but with 5 strings,"extra frets" and 3 note chords its a good trade off.
Sorry for the confusion.
Clem
BTW, I love the electronics set up on my Rono. The 3 mini toggles turn each pick off/on. The tone knob is a push pull/splitter for the humbucking pick-up. IMHO you'll want good taper on the tone circuit because these things are naturally WAY TOO bright. I have found that I can get fat jazz sounds, Nashvile twang, and some complex tones using the various combinations.
Clem
That RONO!! - What a guy!!! -
Hey Clem, what's the width at the last fret?
its 1 3/4"
How come Michael Kang's Rono looks so big for a mandolin? It doesn't have the extended neck or anything. http://www.larry-fox.com/Content....021.jpg
"Because the world is round, it turns me on"
That one actually does have an extended neck (and it's not the dragon). That's why he's capoed on the third fret, which is where the nut on a standard scale mandolin would be.
Mandofiddle
Actually a fifth fret capo on Kang's Mando would be standard mandolin tuning.
What? I count 12 frets to the octave...
"Because the world is round, it turns me on"
I of course may be and usually am wrongThe only reason I say that is because I ten to remember RonO saying something about capoing the third... Thats why he called it a baritone mandolin... So then, so I can get this straight, what fret would you capo an octave mandolin to get a standard? 7th? Is the mandola the 3rd? I'm so confused. So maybe the one Kang is playing is actually an electric mandola? It just looks too long to be a standard tuned mando. BTW, wouldn't 12 frets to the octave be the case on a mandolin, mandola, baritone mando and an octave?
Mandofiddle
Well I was pointing out the 12 frets because his dragon has 5 more frets and the octave mark is at the 17th fret.
"Because the world is round, it turns me on"
21 frets on his current Rono he's playing, I counted many times.
my understanding- the thing that actually made me want to go with a rono (oh me oh my) was that the dragon was a 21 fret instrument (like an electric guitar) and it had the same basic range as a guitar on the low end with the exception of the 2nd fret (f#) on a guitar and lower, but was tuned the same way as a mandolin, due to the scale length. so the strings are still G D A E B, it's just that the four lowest strings are tuned an octave lower than a regular mandolin. so capoing it at the 5th fret would give you essentially a mandolin with a low C string. of course, this is all quite theoretical since my mandolin is currently still in it's native form (a tree somewhere). as soon as i get some sort of closure with the current thing, i may be the first to order a non-rono rono, though i have to admit that running a kazoo through a microphone and then through my pedals has me pretty entertained lately. but i'm easy to please.
karl
That RONO..., what a guy!! -
Why, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!
[Running off to buy a kazoo]
Christian
Mangolin/Karl is correct. My Rono has 21 frets; is tuned G-D-A-E-B and wehen capoed at the 5th fret is like a standard 5 string mando with a low C in the bass (a la Tiny). FYI the "octave" is at the 12th fret...just like a real mandolin.
Clem
For electrics, talk to Bill Lawrence about a custom wound pick-up. It'll have the frequency range encountered on a mandolin so you won't need to fuss with the amp so much to remove the pinginess without dulling the sound.
Wye Knot
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