I'm primarily a Guitarist - have been since 1960. But I added a few Tenor Ukuleles and an Electric Bass to my bag of tricks a few years ago. More recently, I flirted briefly with a couple of Banjos, but I didn't bond with them. Then, about a year and a half ago, I bought an Eastman MDA315 Mandola. What a wonderful sonority, and fifths tuning has been fun to explore! I thought of adding a Mandolin, but they feel too small. So, I just got an Eastman MDO305 Octave Mandolin with a K&K Mandolin Twin Internal pickup installed. Acoustically, It's not quite as full sounding as the Mandola - the body's strangely not as deep, and it could benefit from slightly heavier strings (e.g., light gauge Mandola strings) - but those deficiencies as well as the shortish scale work to its advantage (i.e., easy playability and less susceptibility to feedback) when played thru my Henriksen Bud 6 amplifier - and it sounds glorious! I'd been thinking of getting the K&K pickup system installed in the Mandola, but I can just capo the Octave Mandolin at the 5th fret to simulate that sound when amplified. So, I'm having great fun with these 'alternative' instruments. Could there be a Mandocello in my future?!
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