Re: Hora Octave Mandolas
Scale length is pretty short as octave mandolins go. You have to take a different approach to chord fingerings, if you're used to a "regular" mandolin; more use of open strings and partial chords -- at least that's how I go at it.
There are quite a few Romanian-built instruments sold in Europe. Consensus seems to be: all solid woods (a plus), no frills, not great "fit and finish," cheap-o hardware. At that price, about what you'd expect.
Yes, "tuners" refers to the pegs, gears and keys that tighten or loosen the strings. Difficulties in getting a "clean" sound when fretting a string may arise from several sources, including placing the finger too far behind the fret (often an issue when dealing with longer scales and more widely separated frets), frets either too high or not high enough, or strings too high above the fingerboard (high action), which sounds like it might be the problem the previous post mentions. Few of the Romanian instruments come with adjustable-height bridges, and I don't think they have adjustable truss rods in the neck, so lowering the action may involve some repair work, lowering either the bridge or the nut.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
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