Hi Tim,
I had a Weber Sweetpea and really liked it, but it is not a piccolo mandolin. They are quite different from each other That instrument has a small body but a full scale length, and is tuned as a mandolin. In a piccolo mandolin, the scale length, body size and tuning are in proportion to each other, just as they are in a mandolin, mandola, OM or other instrument. The shortened scale matches the body size and it is tuned a fourth above a mandolin (cgda).
In a travel mandolin, mandolin playing is matched with transportability. It plays like any mandolin but has a small body. In a piccolo mandolin, you have a different, but related, instrument just as you do with any mandolin-family instrument. While every instrument is a compromise to one degree or another, in my travel mandolin I felt that compromise, especially if I played it with others. I don't feel it with the piccolo.
Does that help? This is one reason I am making a few of these for my friends to try. I think if more people try them, they will gain in popularity. They are being held back by their rarity. If we meet in person at some point, you can give mine a try. They are surprisingly hard to put down.
Oh, and we would then have the chance to talk cats, too!
Best wishes, Bob
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