Octave Mandolin Strings on an Octave Irish Bouzouki?

[Flannyman]

Hi all,
This might seem like a stupid question...can I put Octave Mandolin Strings on an Octave Irish Bouzouki?

[Explorer]

This might seem like a stupid question...can I put Octave Mandolin Strings on an Octave Irish Bouzouki?

You can, if the lengths of the strings allow it. Some bouzoukis have octave stringing on the wound courses, necessitating widening the string slots at the nut and possibly the bridge. Further, if the scale lengths are different between the bouzouki and the octave mandolin for which the string set is intended (9often bouzoukis are a bit longer), you should be careful to not put on a set which increases the total string tension by a large amount, so as not to jeopardize the instrument's structural integrity.

Do you have a reason for changing the string set to something not designed foe the purpose?