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Thread: Mandocello Envy

  1. #1
    MandolaViola bratsche's Avatar
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    Default Mandocello Envy

    It's no secret that I've had the malady, however I also knew that a true mandocello was out of the range of my physical capabilities. I've also had the desire to play fingerstyle for some time, hence my acquisition of some ukuleles, which I immediately strung for fifths tuning.

    But my joy was not complete until I had commissioned and received a very special build that satisfied both of these longings at once. The maker, John Weisberg (who also made me my most treasured mandola some years back, pictured below for size comparison), labeled it a "Mandocello-Thing". I had suggested "5-String CelloMandoUkeThing", but I guess the label wasn't big enough!

    It's not a double-course instrument, but has 5 nylon strings tuned CGDAE. The sound is mellow and intimate, and I love playing it! Here are some more specs:

    Top - western red cedar
    Back and sides - figured ovangkol with central padauk strip
    Inlaid double-helix rosette
    Fan bracing
    Neck - mahogany
    Nut width 1.5"
    Fretboard, "slightly radiused" - black ebony
    Headstock overlay & heel cap - black ebony
    Bridge - fixed 10-hole tie bridge - black ebony
    BWB Purfling and dyed pearwood binding
    Frets - 20, stainless steel
    Tuners - Gotoh UPTL planetary
    Scale - 20" (Yesss!)
    Measurements - total length 32", body length 15.5", width 14", depth 3"

    Oh, and the case fits like a glove, because I bought it first (it's a Gold Tone Irish tenor large resonator banjo case) and asked John to make the instrument to fit it, and he delivered on that perfectly. It pays to plan ahead!

    I had never played on a 5-string instrument of any kind before, only 4 (or 4 courses), so that was my biggest challenge. I underestimated just how much that could mess with one's right hand "muscle memory", and even to this day, accidentally hitting a wrong middle string (confusing the 3rd for the 4th, or vice-versa) is my most common error. But it's met and exceeded all of my hopes and expectations. I've had the new "baby" since last fall, but finally decided to post the happy news and make the formal introduction!

    bratsche
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    "There are two refuges from the miseries of life: music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer

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  3. #2
    Mandolin Player trodgers's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    That's a beautiful... thing! It sounds like you are off on a new adventure; enjoy the journey!
    “Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher ‘standard of living’ is worth its cost in things natural, wild and free.” -- Aldo Leopold

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  5. #3
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Oh, man, that’s a really, really cool concept. I had a Weber Yellowstone ‘Cello, but couldn’t handle the scale, at least not enough to make me want to play it for more than a1/2 hour or so. It became a 20 inch OM, which I’m really, really liking, but I do miss that low end thump. I’d pretty much resigned to just play base when I needed that rumble, but now you’ve got me thinking...
    Chuck

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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    congrats - very cool! - in the future -you will hand it down to some one in one way or the other, and they will have a post on a message forum, "what is this"
    Stormy Morning Orchestra

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  9. #5
    MandolaViola bratsche's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Quote Originally Posted by CES View Post
    Oh, man, that’s a really, really cool concept. I had a Weber Yellowstone ‘Cello, but couldn’t handle the scale, at least not enough to make me want to play it for more than a1/2 hour or so. It became a 20 inch OM, which I’m really, really liking, but I do miss that low end thump. I’d pretty much resigned to just play base when I needed that rumble, but now you’ve got me thinking...
    It was actually this old thread (Thank you, Ondrej) that first got the wheels turning for me on this. I didn't actually try stringing up my baritone uke as a mandocello, but seeing and hearing that it could be done began my conceptualization of this new hybrid. I figured that having a larger body cavity would help the C string's timbre, and of course having the E string on top gives me both the m'cello and octave mando tunings together in one instrument, as well. So I can play cello suite and violin partita movements in their original keys, not to mention arranging music so as to take advantage of the entire 5-string range!

    bratsche
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  11. #6
    MandolaViola bratsche's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Quote Originally Posted by tmsweeney View Post
    congrats - very cool! - in the future -you will hand it down to some one in one way or the other, and they will have a post on a message forum, "what is this"
    Haha, funny, but as I mentioned, it does say "Mandocello-thing" on the label...

    bratsche
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  13. #7

    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Quote Originally Posted by bratsche View Post
    …(O)f course having the E string on top gives me both the m'cello and octave mando tunings together in one instrument, as well. So I can play cello suite and violin partita movements in their original keys, not to mention arranging music so as to take advantage of the entire 5-string range!
    Let me warn you, as someone who plays a five-course... you will come to a point where you will have to make the conscious choice to curtain your arrangements and chording in order to keep your four-course instruments in the rotation. At this point, I often work out source material on my five-course in the initial run-through, but then have to decide if it can be done on something smaller.

    Incidentally, if you really want a thorough grounding on that mando-thing, here's a page with links to download all four volumes of the Calace Method for Liuto Cantabile, which is a five-course fifth-tuned instrument.

    http://www.federmandolino.it/wp/spartiti-music-scores/

    Tremolo, reading, duo-style... and additional virtuosic pieces elsewhere on the page to push things even further.

    Congratulations on your new instrument!

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  15. #8
    Registered User Louise NM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    It's gorgeous! How does it sound?

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  17. #9
    MandolaViola bratsche's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Here is a video. This piece was inspired by the Mandocello-thing, and started out as something I made up to help accustom myself to picking accurately across five strings; like an etude, if you will. The parts for the accompanying bowed strings were added after I had been playing it for a while, and imagined them in my head.

    This is the first time I've ever actually composed anything "from scratch", but I had fun doing it, and hope it's not just a one-off. Enjoy!

    bratsche

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  19. #10

    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Very clever, and I really like the intentional attachment of the tuner, too!

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  21. #11
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    It looks great and I like the voice a lot! Congratulations.

    Jamie
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  23. #12
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Nice meditative piece, and the quiet but steady 5 string motion is beautiful.

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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    My thought was "Celtic harp" sounding , very nice piece.
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  27. #14
    MandolaViola bratsche's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Quote Originally Posted by Marty Jacobson View Post
    Very clever, and I really like the intentional attachment of the tuner, too!
    Yeah, with those things, I always ditch the silly clip, lop off the nub it attaches to, and just use my trusty double-sided foam tape. Makes it too much of a pain to remove for photos, though,

    bratsche
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    Registered User Louise NM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    The Thing has a lovely sound, very clear. If that's your first composition, I can't wait to hear your fifth or tenth!

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  31. #16

    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Agreed, lovely playing, lovely tone, Reminiscent of some of Rob MacKillop`s pieces. Congratulations

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  33. #17
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Very, very nicely done!
    Chuck

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  35. #18
    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Quote Originally Posted by tmsweeney View Post
    My thought was "Celtic harp" sounding , very nice piece.
    I had a different acoustic deja-vu, and I think I know what Bratsche's next challenge is going to be...
    the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world

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    Registered User DougC's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    One of the most satisfying aspects of the project is in the design for your needs. I just ordered a violin bow and I have similar feelings of excitement of getting something 'just right'. Others on Mandolin Cafe have made nylon strung instruments and I would like to know how you 'all are doing with them. Some have done this a while back and probably have some great insights.
    Do you plan to play with others with this instrument? How does the sound blend with steel string instruments? I'm sure it has a wonderful deep and mellow tone.
    And that middle string tuning peg! That's a new one.
    Send more about this instrument and the builder, what music you are playing and planning to play.
    Decipit exemplar vitiis imitabile

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  39. #20
    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    I would have called it a mandukulello.
    But the center tuner feels weird in my mirror neurons.
    the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world

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  41. #21
    MandolaViola bratsche's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Thank you all for the kind comments!

    Because I lacked anything in this voicing and was drawn to the lower tones, I wanted this for the solitary pursuits of playing alone and helping me in arranging music. I hope to learn very soon how it blends with steel string instruments in future arrangements and recordings; but the partners in these endeavors will just be "me, myself, and I" again, unless circumstances drastically change. The other people with whom I play almost always require my bowed instruments over anything else.

    John is a local self-taught and adventurous luthier who can build or repair almost any kind of box with strings, but mostly likes to make classical guitars and violins. (He's also an accomplished oboist, of all things!) He has made a diverse variety one-off builds just for the challenge and learning aspects of the experience. Here's a link to the thread about the mandola he made me. That instrument, like this one, was one of a kind.

    Bertram - I do greatly enjoy the sound of a theorbo! But I don't aspire to own one, alas, as it's not tunable in fifths, and also, I'd need a home with higher ceilings (not to mention more storage space, which is quickly being maxed out)!

    Oh, and I love the center tuner - that, to me, is the only perfect solution! I can't claim credit for the idea, though. I got it from somebody's custom 5-string build on the uke forum. The moment I saw it, I made a note that when I get my 5-stringer, that's the only way to go! It appealed greatly to my almost obsessive preference for symmetry - the 3 and 2 (or 2 and 3, or 5 on one side) configurations just didn't do it for me, but rather set my teeth on edge and raised the hair on the back of my neck. LOL

    bratsche
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  43. #22

    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    The planetary tuners and their layout are a very nice touch. We listened to mediation on 5 several more times and found our teeth very relaxed. Thanks again, Maurice

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  45. #23
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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Nice instrument! Looks great and I love the sound.
    Ironically, I just happened to listen to the “Meditation” last night. I’ve had a pulled neck muscle For about the last month and a half and haven’t been sleeping well at all. I finally received relief from the physician yesterday So last night I was enjoying reading through the forum without feeling like my head was gonna fall off. The absence of pain and general fatigue blended with that piece of music that you wrote and it was like taking a sleeping pill: I actually fell asleep about halfway through the piece it was so relaxing. I woke up when It ended And immediately dragged myself off to bed . It was a very well done piece .thanks for sharing it. I hope you write something else in a similar vein soon

    Garry

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    Default Re: Mandocello Envy

    Thanks for sharing your beautiful instrument, composition and playing with us! I really liked that piece, and the instrument sounds great.

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