# Octaves, Zouks, Citterns, Tenors and Electrics > CBOM >  Gypsy 10-string

## Ken_P

I've been thinking about getting a flat top for a while, and I know Gypsy's are very highly regarded. I also love the idea of having a 10-string, but I know a lot of people have reservations about those. Does anybody here have any experience with one of Walt's 10-string mandolins? What are they like to play? Are there issues with the sound on either the high or low strings? I'd like to give him a call and discuss options, but I'd like some first hand comments before I do that, if anybody can help.

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## Markkunkel

> I've been thinking about getting a flat top for a while, and I know Gypsy's are very highly regarded. I also love the idea of having a 10-string, but I know a lot of people have reservations about those. Does anybody here have any experience with one of Walt's 10-string mandolins? What are they like to play? Are there issues with the sound on either the high or low strings? I'd like to give him a call and discuss options, but I'd like some first hand comments before I do that, if anybody can help.


Hi, Ken!  If you have a hankering for a 10-string I'd encourage you to give it a try.  They can be quite cool.  The big consideration seems to be scale length, and relatedly of course tuning options (that essentially reduce to whether you have a basic mandola tuning vs. an octave mandolin tuning, and whether you have an added bass or treble course).  If you haven't already take a look at John McGann's VERY cool 10-string fan-fret mandola to get some ideas for that approach.  I am more familiar with the octave mandolin approach, and I have and enjoy three 10-string instruments (well, one of them is a 9-string instrument but that's not relevant to your question).  They're tuned:

1. on the shorter end (18" - 21") of the scale GDAEB (two of them)...this is a versatile and interesting tuning because it maintains fifths (and moveable patterns and shapes) across all string groups, and allows with a capo on the fifth fret some mandolin-timbre voicings on those upper four courses (which are then of course GDAE).  I love this tuning, although some prefer GDAEA for the drone on the top string.  The high B tends to get stretched pretty tightly with a 21" scale instrument, but I have .010 strings on the incredible Herb Taylor now and so far they've held up and seem beefier in voicing than .009s. 

2. and with a longer scale (say, over 23") you can get away with a lower bass, my Nyberg being DGDAE.  This of course loses the fifth interval between the D and G, but some tune down to C to give you that (a longer scale would be better here, although the Nyberg works for Cs).  Longer scale would probably make C a more predictable option, and of course string gauges matter of course as well.

So lots of fun options.  And discussing them with Walt is just the thing to do, I think.  

As for playability, I think once you get used to having an extra course (or string) it's not a huge impediment, and the necessary extra width to the neck can be a bit of a bonus if like me you're coming from guitar. 

Enjoy!

MK

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## Ken_P

If I had the money, I'd have Lawrence Smart make me one of those fan fret mandolins without a second thought. As it is, I'm looking at something much simpler. I know Walt's instruments have a great reputation, and the price is just about what I'm looking for. I'm not really interested in the octave versions, which is what I presume you're talking about with those scale lengths. I want something with around a 14" scale, tuned CGDAE. I'd really like to hear from someone who has played a Gypsy specifically, but I'm guessing they're pretty rare.

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