Odd Oscar Schmidt 12 string (four courses) mandolin

[CWRoyds]

Hey all,

I came across this odd Oscar Schmidt 12 string mandolin at a store in Marin.
It has four courses of three strings.
Was this layout common at some point, or is this just an oddity of the time?

[NickR]

There have been quite a few of them for sale on ebay. Also, they were made in Germany over the years. As OS was originally a central European maker, I don't know if the mandolins made in America were influenced by the activities in Europe at that time- the mandolin craze swept both continents.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Oscar-Schmi...EAAOSwxU9dcCRb

[allenhopkins]

These are often called "mandriolas." Schmidt built quite a few of this type of instrument; however, they were always a small minority of mandolins built. Sometimes a number of the courses were strung in octaves; I believe unison tuning was the most common.

For melody playing, they tend to sound a bit muddy (in my experience), but they do have a full chordal sound. I haven't seen a mandriola that I would date as post-WWII, at least not a US-made one. The ones offered for sale on-line tend to be German-made, as NickR mentions.

[rickbella]

I can only imagine the challenge of keeping one in tune.

[barney 59]

I came upon a pre 20s Gibson A model 12 string in Mexico a few years back.

[Jim Garber]

There was a 12 string Gibson in We Buy Guitars n 48th Street in NYC many decades ago. I assume someone bought it. Also, Mandolin Brothers had a D'Angelico 12 string.

Here's one of the videos of Andy Statman playing it:

[brunello97]

Here's a photo of a Gibson 12 string from 1963, apparently.

And a link to a discussion about it.

Appears to have been up at Elderly for awhile.

Does it resemble the Mexican or New Yorkan versions y'all have seen?

Mick

[CWRoyds]

Here's a photo of a Gibson 12 string from 1963, apparently.

And a link to a discussion about it.

That is a little different.
It is basically a 12 string guitar, up an octave.
That is 6 courses of two strings.
The one I posted is four courses of three strings

Although, I guess you could cut a new nut and bridge to make it four courses of three.

[Jim Garber]

Lowell Levinger has an A-4 12 string mandolin in his online museum. I don't think that was the one I saw on 48th Street. I seem to remember an orange-topped A1 body.

[Denis Kearns]

I have a Mexican instrument called a tricordia that has 12 strings in 4 courses, tuned in unison. It has a deep body and I believe that it is used more as a rhythm instrument. I picked it up at a pawn shop on lunch break from jury duty a few years back. I'll try to find some photos and post them. I don't play it much, but it was worth the price of admission.

- Denis