Mandocello tuned as octave?

[Johnny60]

Hi folks

Quick question. Can a mandocello be set up and tuned as an octave mandolin (G,C,D,E) rather than mandocello tuning (C,G,D,A)? Or will this cause problems with the neck and top, due to the extra tension?

Thanks

John

[colorado_al]

It depends on the scale length. Measure from the bridge to the nut and report back please.

[JCook]

An octave mandolin would be tuned G,D,A,E. Seems like big leap to tune a mandocello.

Jack

[foldedpath]

You could do it with custom string gauges, but why not just throw a capo on it for GDAE, and enjoy the easier finger stretch? That leaves the option of taking it off for 'cello repertoire, and you would still have plenty of neck to work with when using a capo.

I can't think of anything a mandocello offers in GDAE tuning, except for maybe some extra sustain and maybe a little more bass response. And that's at the cost of much more difficult fingering than you'd have on an octave mandolin or a capo on the 'cello neck.

[colorado_al]

What he said ^

[AndyV]

What he said ^

ditto

Unless you want wider string spacing..?

[Johnny60]

Thanks guys - I don’t own this particular instrument. Was in a musical instrument store on Saturday looking for a mandolin for my son (mission accomplished - bought a really nice Eastman 305) when we saw a mandocello hanging on the wall. The store owners said it had been converted to GDAE tuning. Took it down off the wall and the sound was just fantastic - ultra deep, tons of sustain and resonance, just fantastic.

I’m very tempted, but was concerned about the extra tension, etc.

The scale length is 25”, so a pretty long instrument! Must admit, I hadn’t thought of taking it back to cello tuning and using a capo on 5 to play in GDAE. Not sure which way to proceed, but it did sound fantastic!

Thanks

John

[multidon]

I don’t see a problem. Most inch scale length or longer, and tuned GDAE or GDAD. Just use bouzouki strings. Or, if you don’t like octave courses, replace the high strings with the same gauge low string. Done.

Alternately, I have always wondered why one couldn’t, with the proper gauges, string a bouzouki as a mandocello.

[foldedpath]

I don’t see a problem. Most inch scale length or longer, and tuned GDAE or GDAD. Just use bouzouki strings. Or, if you don’t like octave courses, replace the high strings with the same gauge low string. Done.

Alternately, I have always wondered why one couldn’t, with the proper gauges, string a bouzouki as a mandocello.

No reason you couldn't try the latter idea, assuming appropriate string gauges, but there are enough differences in the way bouzoukis and "real" mandocellos are designed that you won't get the full 'cello effect, I think.

A purpose-built 'cello will have a deeper and larger body to support the lower pitch than a bouzouki, and the traditional design (ignoring guitar conversions) is usually a carved archtop compared to the typical flat top of a bouzouki. I don't think you could get the punch and power of a carved archtop mandocello with a flat top bouzouki, even if the scale length is roughly the same.

[Mandobart]

Don't you mean G-D-A-E for octave mandolin? G-C-D-E is not a tuning I would use...
Guess what - the mandocello already has 3/4ths of the strings it needs to be an octave mando! Crazy, right? Just remove the C course. Move the G, D and A strings over one pair of nut slots each. Then put on a medium gage pair of E strings, somewhere between .010 and .013 depending on your scale length. No change in string tension from when it was a 'cello. I did this on my Eastman once.

[Johnny60]

Well spotted, Mandobart! Yes, I did mean GDAE. It had been a long day, and I posted in the early hours of the morning when I should have been asleep!

Did you do it on an Eastman arch-topped mandocello? How did it play and sound afterwards?

Thanks

John

[John Kelly]

If you are thinking of using a capo, John, to get from CGDA to GDAE tuning, you need to put it at 7th rather than 5th fret. 5th fret would give you FCGD.

[thecelloronin]

$0.02: My 25" mandocello has 5 courses, including E's on top. I use standard D'Addario EJ-78's, plus a pair of plain steel 12's on top. No funny gauges necessary, at least for me.

[Mandobart]

Well spotted, Mandobart! Yes, I did mean GDAE. It had been a long day, and I posted in the early hours of the morning when I should have been asleep!

Did you do it on an Eastman arch-topped mandocello? How did it play and sound afterwards?

Thanks

John

Yes it is an Eastman MDC805.
I noticed the link I have up above was for octave courses with mandocello tuning - I'll have to dig up the right video...

[Mandobart]

Well spotted, Mandobart! Yes, I did mean GDAE. It had been a long day, and I posted in the early hours of the morning when I should have been asleep!

Did you do it on an Eastman arch-topped mandocello? How did it play and sound afterwards?

Thanks

John

Ok here is the video I was looking for, Eastman MDC805 tuned as an octave mandolin: