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Thread: What is this?

  1. #1

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    What is this? Looks like the strings are grouped in threes.

    <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Very-nice-old-mandolin-or-Lute-12strings-Guitar-shape_W0QQitemZ170230025167QQihZ007QQcateg
    oryZ10179QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/Very-ni....iewItem</a>

  2. #2
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    Either a tricordia or mandriola. Tuned like a mandolin, plays like a mandolin, just 50% more vibrating metal. Since it's guitar shaped, I would normally call it a tricordia. I think that's a Kaycraft logo on it, but one of the vintage experts should know for sure.
    Affordable lots in the Dutch Caribbean
    http://www.bellavistabonaire.com
    Bought a tricordia

  3. #3
    aka aldimandola Michael Wolf's Avatar
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    Isn't this a Tiple?
    A few days ago a similar instrument sold at ebay here in Germany: Hoyer

  4. #4
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    That Hoyer is clearly a mandriola ... four sets of three strings, and has octave strings on G and D.

    The instrument pictured could be a Columbian or Venezuelan tiple, because those normally have 12 strings. Most tiples found in the US have 10 strings (an octave pair, a triple with an octave string, a triple with an octave string, and another octave pair) but some do have 12.

    Here's a picture of me when I was first learning how to play my tricordia.



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    Affordable lots in the Dutch Caribbean
    http://www.bellavistabonaire.com
    Bought a tricordia

  5. #5
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    It appears the three complete courses are strung thin-fat-thin. Is this a mistake in set-up? I thought triple course were usually thin-thin-fat or thin-fat-fat.

    The seller has it strung over the bridge in a goofy, unplayable way. It reminds me of the optical illusion of the factory with three smokestacks at top, but only two on bottom.

  6. #6
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    This one is certainly screwed up (one of the reasons it's hard to say exactly what it is without measuring the scale), but thin-fat-thin isn't too unusual. That way, you get roughly the same tone whether you pick up or down. Strung asymmetrically, you get different tones, because you will start with a fat string picking one way and a thin string picking the other. Depending on the player and the musical style, that's either a bad thing or a good thing.
    Affordable lots in the Dutch Caribbean
    http://www.bellavistabonaire.com
    Bought a tricordia

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