My new mandocello (conversion)

[n0ukf]

I've been thinking about doing this for maybe a year now but only started in the last 2-4 months. Started with a Japanese-made Orlando classical I got in a pile of junked guitars, most of which had been strung once with steel (despite classical design and construction). The bridge was missing, having been glued back on at one point and ripped off again by the steel string tension.

I started by plugging up the tuner slots and other holes in the head and hiding the main plugs under a (thick) veneer of cherry. Then had to route out the back of the thick head so the new tuners could stick through enough to get strings on. Added a bass guitar tailpiece and made a bridge of more cherry (after making a router base with fence for the Dremel). Nut and saddle are bone blanks I found on ebay.

Instead of linking individual pictures, I'll just link to their set page on flikr.

[Jim Garber]

I would think that those nylon strings would sound pretty nice in the mandocello range.

[n0ukf]

Not as bright sounding as steel but it has a nice bass growl on the low C. Sometime I'll replace that plain nylon .032 with a wound .020. I started by getting a D'Addario Classic guitar set plus some .048 singles. Next time I'll go with all wound singles from .020 to .050.

[Jim Garber]

n0ukf: I ordered some custom Nylgut strings from AquilaUSA to string my Lombard (6 string) mandolin tuned to one octave above a guitar. The guy I contacted was quite helpful. You might consider getting exactly what you want from them.

[n0ukf]

But I didn't know what I wanted (other than wound nylon) til I tried. JustStrings.com has what I'll want to use next time in their singles. I'll give him a look, though.

[Bill Snyder]

Why don't you post the photos here? That way five years from now if you no longer have them hosted at flkr we can still see them when this thread is visited again.

[n0ukf]

I made the initial post from work and so wanted to get it done as quick as possible, thus the flikr link.

[tmsweeney]

I did string my Michael Kelly octave with nylon for a period - it didn't sound bad, but it wasn't anything remarkable either, really was like a parlor guitar
be interesting to hear the cello

[Bill Snyder]

TMSweeney, this having been a classical guitar might work better than you Michael Kelly with nylon strings.

[n0ukf]

If I end up having some bridge buzz problems, I might have to hold the tailpiece down somehow. There's hardly any string slope down from the bridge.

[n0ukf]

After playing with it for a week then jamming over the weekend, I decided I will go back and narrow the neck, it's too wide for comfortable playing.

[n0ukf]

Much better now. I could maybe go a little narrower yet but I'm done with it. Maybe next a Mandola conversion (3/4 guitar).