Mandoliin pair tuning 'either side of centre'?

I used to play with bands led by Scottish tuned accordions - they use 'musette' reed tuning consisting of one row of reeds dead on on pitch plus a row just below pitch and a row just above pitch. The above and below tuned reeds are far enough out that it produces the characteristic fat and grainy Scottish accordion sound.

Now, the obvious way to tune a mandolin is with each set of pairs dead in tune. However, you could tune it with one string of each pair a tiny fraction below pitch and one above pitch to the same degree. I'm talking about just enough to fatten the sound of each pair, not to make it sound clearly 'out of tune'.

Does anyone, or has anyone, deliberately used this style of tuning for mandolin?

I did this when learning to hit both strings in the pair. Hearing dissonance assured me.

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Originally Posted by maxr

Does anyone, or has anyone, deliberately used this style of tuning for mandolin?

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https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...373-Wet-Tuning

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...948-Wet-tuning

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...perfect-Tuning

The tip of the iceberg.

I think with a fretted and plucked instrument where you are unlikely to push both strings down with exactly the same pressure or hit both stings equally hard this will happen naturally.

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Originally Posted by Nevin

I think with a fretted and plucked instrument where you are unlikely to push both strings down with exactly the same pressure or hit both stings equally hard this will happen naturally.

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An interesting point - if you pull a string with a pick, it will go sharp to some degree before the pick releases the string. However both strings in a pair should presumably do that to roughly the same degree? Slightly 'wet' tuning (not enough for 'beating' to be audible) has a different effect, I think.

Build commission a 12 string. 4 courses of 3 & you can try it ..

Like this?

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/threads/25286-12-strings-four-courses-what-is-this

I believe the reason for "wet" tuning is to get the natural vibrato that's heard when the slightly different sound-wave patterns produced by the differently tuned reeds go into and out of phase. The Echo Harp harmonica uses "wet"-tuned reeds to obtain the same effect. (Note to harmonica players: don't try to bend notes on an Echo Harp.)

Would this produce an attractive sound from an instrument with more limited sustain, like a mandolin, and one where much of its current appeal is in producing a succession of rapid notes? I don't see it, but would welcome other perspectives.

Well, I'm not really taking about 'wet' tuning with beating - more that sound you get just before a string pair comes 100% in tune, just a bit more full than perfect.