Mandolin Body Area/ Fret Spacing

[mandolinz]

Hi

I am new to playing the mandolin and thought I might have a go at making my own. I was wondering if there was any regulations as to how big or small the body is to determin the sound. Is there a set area.

Also what are the spacings for the frets.

Cheers.

[Chris Baird]

Your best bet is to get a plan from siminoff.net or stewmac.com and either copy it or make revisions using it as a guide. #The normal fret scale is 13 7/8". #You can come up with your own scale by placing each fret at 5.613%the remaining distance to the bridge.

[Michael Lewis]

Mandoplyr is giving good advice and beyond that there is the world of celtic instruments where there is no set size or shape for the body and several different scale lengths are used. If you are more interested in bluegrass instruments then stick with the plan.