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Thread: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

  1. #1

    Default Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    I am looking to step up in quality from my trinity octave and was thinking of picking up a pono. But i wondered if it was more cost efficient/I could get more bang for my buck getting a tenor guitar and tuning it in gdae. What do y'all think are the pros and cons of the tenor guitar vs octave mando? I know this is all pretty subjective, but I am looking for your opinions.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    The paired strings make the octave mandolin sound more unique, and richer/fuller/overall better, in my opinion. Tenor guitar would be lower maintenance, and possibly easier to play.

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    Registered User Bad Monkey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    depends on wether you want to play octave mandolin or tenor guitar.

    That's not a wiseguy answer, they are two very different instruments. And it's all subjective.

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    Mediocre but OK with that Paul Busman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    A lot depends on what kind of music you want to play and how you want to play it.
    I also have a Trinity College Octave which I think is a terrific instrument. I got it to play mostly Irish music, melody rather than chords. I found,however, that playing melody like that sounds kind of muddy because of the double strings. Chords sound great.
    Somewhere along the way I heard someone playing Irish tunes on a tenor guitar and loved it. Buying one was out of the question because of cost, so I took one string of each pair off my Octave and it now serves me very well as a (sort of) tenor guitar. Give it a try if that's the kind of music you're looking to play.
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    Registered User John Flynn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    One issue may (or may not) be that if your tenor was set to be tuned CGDA, like a lot of them are, the intonation may be off and also the nut slots may be the wrong width for GDAE. Both are fixable, but might require some luthiery expertise.

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    Registered User bruce.b's Avatar
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    I play fiddle tunes and I’m firmly in the tenor guitar camp. For melody I think it sounds better, IMO.

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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    I love playing my Martin O18T tuned GDAE. The idea of changing an OM from 8 to 4 strings sounds intriguing, don't want to derail this post but does anyone have experience doing this...? How is string spacing, playability, etc..?

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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    You should play both and wait for any one of them speaking to you. You must like the tone to make it work.

    Some call the sound of paired strings "rich", others call it "muddy". So you see that words won't help you decide. Playing will.

    I am clearly in the "rich" camp and even like wet tuning, so an acoustic TG would do nothing for me. I do have an electric TG, though (mainly for silent practising), but a high-gain compression amp setting gives me all the richness I need on that one (both here).
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    I live in Miami. The closest store that even carries mandolins is 9 hours away. The chance that they have both octaves and tenor guitars is slim and the chance that they carry Ponos is non-existent. I know that the go-to response is "play them both!" but that's not a privilege everyone has.

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    Mandolin user MontanaMatt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    Quote Originally Posted by Em Tee View Post
    I live in Miami. The closest store that even carries mandolins is 9 hours away. The chance that they have both octaves and tenor guitars is slim and the chance that they carry Ponos is non-existent. I know that the go-to response is "play them both!" but that's not a privilege everyone has.
    I’ve read other complaints on the cafe about lack of music stores and Luthiers in major cities...why do you think? In MT, where the whole huge state has right a 1million pop., there are great stores in several cities, several great repair Luthiers, and great builders.
    Why none in Miami, pop 500k?
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    Quote Originally Posted by MontanaMatt View Post
    I’ve read other complaints on the cafe about lack of music stores and Luthiers in major cities...why do you think? In MT, where the whole huge state has right a 1million pop., there are great stores in several cities, several great repair Luthiers, and great builders.
    Why none in Miami, pop 500k?
    Because very few people listen to or play acoustic music in Miami; there's no market for it. Most people down here don't even know what a mandolin is, much less an octave mandolin or tenor guitar. This is a very electronic dance music, hip hop, and reggaeton centric city. Not a lot of mandolins in that trio. There are some out-of-towners that have head up a buskers festival in downtown, but most of those musicians come from elsewhere. Of the small acoustic scene I have seen here, people are playing laminate junk mandolins they picked up from guitar center. I had to get my education on the mandolin from here at the mandolin cafe forums. Y'all's experience is invaluable to me, you are the only teachers I have!

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    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    Quote Originally Posted by MontanaMatt View Post
    I’ve read other complaints on the cafe about lack of music stores and Luthiers in major cities...why do you think? In MT, where the whole huge state has right a 1million pop., there are great stores in several cities, several great repair Luthiers, and great builders.
    Why none in Miami, pop 500k?
    I haven't lived there in 15 years, but I grew up in Miami and spent most of my life there. It was never a hotbed of acoustic music, although strong in other areas like Rock, and then Latin and Pop music in general. It had great music stores for electric guitars, drums, and electronics like Ace Music up in North Miami. There was a small shop called "Ed's Guitars" I used to hang out in, mostly electric but I bought a few acoustic guitars from 'ol Ed.

    There was just one shop dedicated mostly to acoustic instruments with a Bluegrass focus called "The Banjo Store," run by the Stype Brothers up in West Hollywood FL. They had acoustic guitars, banjos, Dobros, fiddles, probably some mandolins although I wasn't looking at mandolins back then. I bought a cheap plywood double bass there. It was a fun store, but I think it closed years ago.

    Anyway, I don't know what the current scene is like, but every big city has its own unique culture, and the one in Miami has always been heavily Rock and Pop-oriented, with a big Latin/World Music focus now. Probably not enough local acoustic culture to support a specialized store like Dusty Strings out here in Seattle, or Gryphon down in California.

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    Registered User Tim N's Avatar
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    Might be worth popping over to the Tenor Guitar page of this Cafe - lots of experience there about the best TG types for GDAE tuning. You might get referred to older threads because it's all been discussed before, but there's a richness of experience to harvest.
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    Registered User Jesse Kinman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    Have you checked out Penny Lane Emporium in Ft Lauderdale?
    They don’t have any in stock, but they have a Pono tenor guitar listed on the website available for backorder, as well as the Eastman Octave available for backorder. They might be willing or order one and let you try it out, ya never know. They also have a Weber Octave currently in stock, but that’s in a completely different price range.
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    In the past, Penny Lane has only ordered mando instruments if you pay for it, not really a test situation. I'd assume precisely because the consumer base here isn't exactly flush. They also charge a premium for higher end mando instruments; I can get them cheaper with excellent service at the mandolin store. TMS also sets them up perfectly. I don't know that Penny Lane has the same skill given that they are primarily a ukulele and guitar shop. If anyone on the forums has any experiences with their luthiery services, I'd love to hear about them.

    I wouldn't necessarily consider an eastman octave a step up from my trinity, more like a lateral step in a different direction.

    They probably do have a kala tenor guitar in stock though, that's worth the visit! Thank you for suggesting them.

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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    It would cost you some money but - Order one of each from a store that allows returns within a couple days and be very clear with the store about what your intentions are. Try both out at the same time for a day or two, make up your mind, and send one back for a refund. Over and above what you will pay for purchasing the one you keep, you will pay shipping both ways on the one you don't keep, but you will at least be able to make a sensible choice and for cheaper than traveling to some other state where you could make that choice in person.
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    Quote Originally Posted by mossmanl View Post
    I love playing my Martin O18T tuned GDAE. The idea of changing an OM from 8 to 4 strings sounds intriguing, don't want to derail this post but does anyone have experience doing this...? How is string spacing, playability, etc..?
    I did it and I'm very happy with the results. Spacing etc has not been a problem. I also play tenor banjo,short neck, so my "Octave guitar" feels pretty similar and I can use my banjo techniques more easily than I can on a mandolin or Octave strung with 8 strings.
    Try it the next time you change strings. You can always put the extra 4 strings on if you don't like it, or you can keep them as a "free" second set of strings.
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    Registered User Marcus CA's Avatar
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    Default Re: Octave Mandolin or Tenor Guitar tuned GDAE?

    I think that the tg will give you a sharper attack and a cleaner sound, and the om will give you more shimmer and gravitas. Both can work well, so as others have written, it depends on what musical voice you are looking for.

    Looking long term, since you already have a functional om, I’d suggest going for a barebones tg now —- I really like the Blue Ridge 40-T —- to see whether the instrument speaks to/for you. Then, down the line, go for an upgrade of whichever instrument you like better. If the tg is a total bust, you can always sell it here for probably $100 less than you paid for it.
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