OM or Cittern

[davidwood]

I've been playing mandolin for a short while now, but I'm interested in adding something a little bigger. I'm primarily a melody player, so I'd like something for that purpose, but something with a little more flexibility in terms of chording would be good too.
I'd like to stay with something short scale to make melody playing/stretch a easier. My question is, octave mandolin or cittern? OM will get me in a little cheaper to start, but I like flexibility of the cittern in terms of having the addition top course to adjust for a longer reach. I'm not interested in a mandola.

What direction should I go?

[Markkunkel]

I've been playing mandolin for a short while now, but I'm interested in adding something a little bigger. I'm primarily a melody player, so I'd like something for that purpose, but something with a little more flexibility in terms of chording would be good too.
I'd like to stay with something short scale to make melody playing/stretch a easier. My question is, octave mandolin or cittern? OM will get me in a little cheaper to start, but I like flexibility of the cittern in terms of having the addition top course to adjust for a longer reach. I'm not interested in a mandola.

What direction should I go?

Good morning, David, and a belated welcome to the 'Cafe. So, primarily a melody player, opportunities for variable two- and three-finger chord shapes, shorter scale/stretch, and five courses?

Sounds like a cittern to me. There are some very nice five-course instruments out there (check out Steve J's thread on this very topic) with lots of tuning variations. What they seem to have in common is exactly the things you mention above. With GDAEB tuning you can use "standard" OM fingerings all over the place, and play more than two octaves in first position. Very cool...

Another thing you may want to try is a Waldzither. I got into five-course instruments this way, and still have and play one tuned GDAEB. That single-string G doesn't do much melodically and is prone to going sharp, but it's a nice and affordable way to see if you really want five courses. Do an eBay search for Waldzither and be certain to find one with good tuners....

Enjoy!

Mark

[Mandobart]

Five courses are definitely better than four. All other things being equal (and when are they ever?) the extra range is a great advantage. I almost never play my regular mandolin (despite the great tone) now that I have a 10 string mandolin-dola. The next instrument I get will be a 10 string mandocello (or a 5 course Hardanger fiddle with 5 drones....) But...a great sounding 8 stringer is still better than a mediocre 10 stringer.

[judith]

Check out Lawrence Nyberg instruments. He's a builder in Canada, a very nice fellow, and he is now making a shorter scale cittern. He'd be happy to discuss what you need. His instruments are quite nice. Judith