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Thread: Wide neck Mandolins ?

  1. #26

    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    Ah, Many thanks Randi Gormely for the tip on holding the Mandolin. I have a Windsor Zither Banjo Mandolin No. 5, which is very heavy but the most beautiful action and a 1 1/4" neck . I bought an Ozark Navy to learn on and to have a Mandolin, It's very hard to play in comparison mainly because the other is so played in it's just comfortable but it's 1/8" smaller. So I thought I needed a larger neck but I tried the Ozark at the angle you mentioned above and found it much easier. I also realised that the weight of the Windsor keeps that angle easily. I'm looking to upgrade the Ozark but I now know that width might not be so important. I better mention that I have small square hands and play various Ukuleles Tenor, Baritone and a Guilele so not a large stretch.
    Last edited by cfb; May-09-2021 at 6:23am. Reason: Reads better

  2. #27
    Registered User J Mangio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    Take a look at "The Loar" brand Mandolins, I believe all models come stock with 1 3/16" at the nut, at an affordable price.
    2021 The Loar LM700 VS

  3. #28
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    https://www.bigmuddymandolin.com
    Big Muddy Mandolin will let you order a 1 1/4 inch nut width for a very small upcharge.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #29
    Jo Dusepo, luthier Dusepo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    Many luthiers make wider nut mandolins.
    Or, perhaps get a mandriola and string it up as a mandolin?
    I am a luthier specialising in historical and world stringed instruments. You can see more info at my website.

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  7. #30
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    you could string a mandola like a mando but the scale is usually 3-4 inches longer, I do prefer the wider neck I know this from mandola and octave playing.
    I let a nice Weber Yellowstone wide nut go this winter, and now I am having a hard time finding a wide nut - ( they are out there I just don't want yet another sunburst).
    I see the oval Yellowstone in the classified Mary Weber is selling but I am reluctant to purchase the oval hole, as I prefer the F hole sound.
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  8. #31
    Jo Dusepo, luthier Dusepo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    Quote Originally Posted by tmsweeney View Post
    you could string a mandola like a mando but the scale is usually 3-4 inches longer, I do prefer the wider neck I know this from mandola and octave playing.
    I let a nice Weber Yellowstone wide nut go this winter, and now I am having a hard time finding a wide nut - ( they are out there I just don't want yet another sunburst).
    I see the oval Yellowstone in the classified Mary Weber is selling but I am reluctant to purchase the oval hole, as I prefer the F hole sound.
    Not a mandola, a mandriola. A 12-string mandolin (which hence has a wider neck) could be strung with just the standard 8.
    I am a luthier specialising in historical and world stringed instruments. You can see more info at my website.

  9. #32
    Registered User kookaburra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    Quote Originally Posted by cc7 View Post
    https://www.bigmuddymandolin.com
    Big Muddy Mandolin will let you order a 1 1/4 inch nut width for a very small upcharge.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Yes, they do. I have a Big Muddy, great stuff at a decent price. Mine is a standard neck.

    Mike will do you right, too!

  10. #33
    Registered User withfoam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    FWIW, when I came over to mandolin from guitar, I got a Kentucky KM-1050 with a 1 1/8" nut. Dennis at the Mandolin Store said I'd find the width helpful for the transition. It definitely helped. Not super wide, but a bit more. Now I can play anything.
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  11. #34

    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    I ordered a Stiver A in 1995 w/Natural finish, upgraded flamed maple neck/back/sides, a radiused fingerboard, AND a wider fingerboard...not sure of the exact number at the nut. I definitely helps with some chord fingerings.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  12. #35

    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    Big Muddy's wide neck is 1 1/4 (as stated). They are fairly affordable too. Mike will make a primitive one if your budget is tight.

  13. #36
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    I've always prefered octaves and mandolas to mandolin and I'm pretty sure its because the 1 1/8th nut width is a challenge for my clumsy fingers, I did pick up a 1920 Gibson F4 which has a fretboard and bridge even wider then 1 3/8 and most of my mandola/octaves are at least 1 3/8.
    Well, I said if I see a wide nut in something higher end and not sunburst (Black or Blonde or anything else) on my drive back home across the state, and when I got home and checked the classified, there it was, a 96 blonde Collings F5 wide nut, it was a little above what I wanted to pay, but I did just say if I saw one I would get it so I did, and I do love the wide nut, not that a blonde Collings F5 is anything to sneeze at anyway. The concept of wish is strange in itself but stranger still when wish comes to fruition. While I don't think I will be buying too many more mandolins, pretty sure I won't go back to the 1 1/8 width.
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  14. #37
    🎶 Play Pretty 🎶 Greg Connor's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    I just bought a mandolin last November that has the widest neck I’ve ever seen on a mandolin. The builder, Bruce Brockman, said he made it that way for guitar players. Here is a short video of it and the builders website is listed in the description:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh4wvfN5-oc

  15. #38

    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    I understand the desire for a wider neck. I'm fine with standard size for mando (not sure why) but on guitar I sure wish I could get a Martin HD28 with a wider neck. I love this guitar, but despite having ordinary or perhaps even thin fingers, I just stumble due to width despite playing it since 1982. I don't understand the standard size! Sure, it makes a few things easier, but I can't think of anything I can do on the Martin that I can't do on my classical, including some thumb-overs that I admit are a stretch.

  16. #39
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Randi Gormley View Post
    Although I've seen some reference to "practicing more" with what you have, nobody has actually spelled out that you may be holding the instrument wrong, or if they have, I missed it (perfectly likely). You don't hold a mandolin like a guitar. You hold it like a violin/fiddle. Good guitar technique means your hand is perpendicular to the fretboard. that's horrible mandolin technique. If you hold your mandolin up to your chin as if it were a violin/fiddle and see where your hands naturally fall -- at an angle -- you're closer to mandolin technique. With your hands at an angle, you have a better chance of fretting the notes more cleanly and your hands aren't as strained. This may not be your experience -- you may be holding the instrument in the best way a mandolin ought to be handled, in which case a wide neck may be what works better -- but I'd double check your fretting hand position. Just putting that out there.
    Coming from playing classical guitar, the typical mandolin neck presented a real challenge, so like others I thought I should look for one with a wider neck. That search brought me to this thread and Randi Gormley's post regarding the increased hand angle for mandolin as opposed to typical classical guitar hand position.

    I immediately picked my mandolin, held it to my chin, and viewed the left hand position. I then tried duplicating that hand position while playing a few tunes, and it made quite an improvement.

    When I first started, I would hold the mandolin in a comfortable position, while adjusting the hands to fit, which was a big mistake. After reading Randi's post I did it the other way around, making the mandolin position accommodate my left hand with more of an angle.

    These changes should save me the cost of another instrument, allowing me to keep playing what I already have. Thank you Randi.
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  18. #40
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    i’m glad someone mentioned big muddy. always been curious how that wide neck option would feel!

  19. #41
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wide neck Mandolins ?

    Quote Originally Posted by dcuttler View Post
    Coming from playing classical guitar, the typical mandolin neck presented a real challenge, so like others I thought I should look for one with a wider neck. That search brought me to this thread and Randi Gormley's post regarding the increased hand angle for mandolin as opposed to typical classical guitar hand position.

    I immediately picked my mandolin, held it to my chin, and viewed the left hand position. I then tried duplicating that hand position while playing a few tunes, and it made quite an improvement.

    When I first started, I would hold the mandolin in a comfortable position, while adjusting the hands to fit, which was a big mistake. After reading Randi's post I did it the other way around, making the mandolin position accommodate my left hand with more of an angle.

    These changes should save me the cost of another instrument, allowing me to keep playing what I already have. Thank you Randi.
    Great story, I’m glad Randi’s post helped and I hope it works out!

    I played guitar over 50 years before picking up a mandolin and my story is not unique around these parts. Hundreds, if not thousands, of the mandolin players on this site came to mandolin from guitar. I’m glad I didn’t succumb to the urge to buy a wide neck mandolin. The smaller fretboard real estate was a big challenge but there are also great advantages when you get the right hand position. Fretting two courses with one finger is one of those advantages.

    Surely wider boards are better for some and no shame in that, but your story resounded with me. Happy picking!
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