Mandola tone question

[stevem]

Interested in getting a mandola, but I'm not a big fan of the tone of most mandolas I've heard. I love the tone of a good mandolin with f sound holes when they have a pure, clear tone, almost like a piano key being struck, but with more of a pop or "pow".

It seems like every mandola I've heard, F or oval hole, lose this purity of the tone and has more of a buzzy or raspy tone, especially on the C and G strings. I love the deeper register of a mandola, and how they tend to have more sustain, but, again, not sold on the gravely voice. It's tough to put tone descriptions into words, so I'm not sure if I'm making sense.

Any recommendations for a builder that makes a mandola with less buzz and more of the pure, bell-like tone? Or is it just the nature of mandolas that their tone takes on the buzzy sound. Maybe I should just learn to love them as they are.

Thanks.

[helric]

Sound depends a lot of the strings. High gauges produce more rounded sound and less buzz but are harder to play. I think this little buzz you hear is typical of mandolas. Some love it, some hate it. Personnally, I love this kind of vibrations.

[multidon]

I think I would compare this situation to a violin versus a viola. A good violin produces acoustically pure tones on all its strings, but a viola, even a good one is problematic at best on its C string because the body just can't be made large enough to be acoustically compatible. This is why viola players choose an instrument size that is the largest they can physically handle. Full size violas can have body sizes anywhere from 15 inches to 17 inches and all be considered full size. Not everyone can handle a 17 inch physically so maybe they try a 16 1/2 or if that won't work a 16. Point is, bigger is better sound wise for them. A mandola is in that same range of notes. Have you ever tried a long scale mandola, something like a 17 inch scale? You may be more pleased with that sound. Worth trying anyways if you never have.

[helric]

I have never tried such a long scale mandola, but I know how it sounds, I've already heard such an instrument. A short scale instrument produces a more punchy sound than a long one. I think the string gauge must be higher on this kind of instrument to avoid buzz a produce a nice round sustain.

[Eddie Sheehy]

I've got an 18.5" scale mandola with a 3" deep body... oval hole, carved top... I currently have it tuned GGDDAE (octave mandolin) where the short om scale makes fingering easier but will switch it back to CCGGDDA with lighter strings... Here's a vid clip of it in GGDDAAEE tuning...

[OldSausage]

Any recommendations for a builder that makes a mandola with less buzz and more of the pure, bell-like tone? Or is it just the nature of mandolas that their tone takes on the buzzy sound. Maybe I should just learn to love them as they are.

Thanks.

I tell you what, I played a Collings mandola not so long ago, A style with f holes, and it was just a wonderful instrument and just like you describe - it sounded like a nice f-hole mandolin, but lower. If I'd had any money, I would have bought it. So I believe what you seek is out there.

[Dave Hanson]

My Eastman 615 mandola is the best sounding Far Eastern instrument I've ever heard, deep, rich, clear and powerful.

A class above the 615 mandolin BTW.

Dave H

[lenf12]

I have to agree with multidon's comments above. I believe the raspy-ness described by the OP is a by-product of the relationship of scale length to string tension. The longer scale length mandolas must be tuned to a higher tension than the shorter scale 'dolas. From my own experiences, I owned a Weber Yellowstone mandola with 17" scale length. It was a bear (difficult) to play but the sound was pure and clear. I now own a Duff H-5 mandola with 15 7/8" scale which is so much easier to play but the string tension is much lower and produces a bit of that raspy buzz. You can raise the saddle to increase the break angle of the strings but at the expense of the action and playing comfort. You have to experiment a bit to find the best compromise.

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Mandobar]

I've owned a slew of mandolas. I have sold them all except the Collings, and I have a new Girouard 'dola which is quite close to the Collings. That and the Trilliums, all seem to have a clear, round very pleasing tone. The Trilliums are a 19 inch scale which might classify them as more tenor mandolas, but still very clean sound.

All these 'dolas are easy to play. The first Collings mandola I bought has become a real monster as I have played it a ton with the mandolin ensemble.

[allenhopkins]

I have several mandolas; one is a Sobell with a 20.5 inch scale, really long for a mandola, but by using really light strings -- 0.10/.018w/.030w/.046w -- I can tune it CGDA. Long scale/light strings gets rid of a lot of the "growl," makes it clear and ringy, though with the large Sobell body it still has a hefty bass. This instrument was once owned by Martin Simpson, and he apparently had it strung as an OM, but I needed a mandola, so…

My Eastman MDA-615 is a 16 inch scale, strung with standard D'Addario j76's -- .015/.025w/.035w/.052w -- and it has some of the "raspy" growl you're trying to avoid. Complicating the sound is that it's an f-hole F-model, sorta a giant F-5 mandolin, and it's the only f-hole 'dola I own. So it has a bit of a "bark," but in a lower register (Great Dane?), and doubt it would provide the sound you're seeking.

The Washburn bowl-back's a whole other thing; it's so old and multi-crack-repaired that I have it strung with light-gauge mandolin strings, tune CGDA, to minimize stress on its severely "dished" top. So not helpful for comparison.

Just had local luthier Bernie Lehmann build me a five-course mandolin-mandola combo, tuned CGDAE, but I'm just breaking it in and can't give definitive reviews as yet. It's a slant-bridge, fanned-fret job, so scale ranges from 14 inches for the E string, to 16.5 inches for the C string. It's set up for ball-end strings, so I'm going to try .011/.016/.024w/.036w/.052w, and see what happens. I predict a period of trial and error before I get it where I want it.

[Toycona]

I'm also a recent convert to the mandola and the Girouard in particular. I'm drawn to the slightly longer scale (15.9"), but not too long (like the 17" of the Weber or similar). Mary and I have sibling mandolas (mandolae???), and for me at least, it provides me a bit of space between other mandolin pickers and the guitars in the ensembles I play in. On Friday I played in a traditional Bluegrass circle, and after answering the "what are you playing one of those here for?" question, things fell in place really well. It has a kind of 'thunder chop' - aided by the slightly smaller scale, allowing me to intone a robust chop chord along side the bass. Since the mandolin player and I weren't entirely in the same sonic space, he was really free to fill at will. Then on Sunday I played as a part of a guitar, mandolin, mandola trio, and that particular trio sounded really good as well. It's plenty loud enough to fill an open space, like the farmers' market where we played.

I played a few Collings mandolae over the last year or so, as well as a few Webers and the TC that I owned, and the Girouard sounds, plays, and looks as good or better than all of them. (NFI on my part)

[Chip Booth]

Chris Thile, Mike Marshall, John Reischman (and me) play Lawrence Smart mandolas. Trust me (and them), the tone is all there. The mandola can require a slightly modified right hand technique, so like any new instrument you need to optimize the way you play to make the most of it. I suspect that some of what you hear as buzzy has to do with players pick choice and angle creating a scratchy sound on the strings. That raspy tone is more likely to happen on larger wound strings if you don't pay attention and make some small adjustments.

The mandola has quickly become one of my favourite instruments that I play, so I strongly recommend checking it out!

[bratsche]

Neither my 15.5" nor 17" scale mandolas have any buzz, but I definitely know there's a difference in the type of tone with the strings under less vs. more tension. The short-scaled MidMo and Big Muddy have very subtle and viola-like qualities, while my 17" Sawchyn Beavertail has a very clear, piano-like tone, albeit without any "pop" or "pow", as it is a flattop instrument with a round soundhole. (I prefer the type of sustain that "blooms" after it is picked when it's allowed to ring, and then decays more gradually.) All three of the above are strung with Thomastik 164s (and I love them all for different reasons!). My 17" scale Flatiron 1N has heavier Thomastik 174s on it, and is tuned GDAE as an OM. Its tonal characteristics are more in line with those of the shorter-scaled, higher-tuned instruments, though I remember that it was quite loud-voiced when tuned as a CGDA mandola.

In general, I tend to associate a "buzzy" sounding mandola in my mind with wound bronze strings, since that's how all of my mandolas first came to me. They all had a bit of buzz on the low end, until I switched to the flatwounds, FWIW...

I used to find the longer-scaled mandolas significantly harder to play than my MidMo and Big Muddy, but since practicing on my 22.75" scale OM (formerly Baby Taylor guitar), the 17" scale mandolas suddenly became like a piece of cake to navigate. Funny how that works - everything's relative!

bratsche

[Barry Wilson]

I have only had a mandola for a week now and it is just a wonderful sounding instrument and I can actually hit the F chord unlike the OM, wait that isn't an F.. ok so the chords still confuse me.

I am taking the mandola to band practice this weekend. should be interesting through a 65 fender twin (I leave my amps setup there). I dare say I am kinda liking it more than mandolin but that may just be the newness, though I am not convinced. so rich and full.... mine is 17 1/16 scale

[garthh]

I agree with the above comments: strings, pick choice, right hand make a lot of difference. When I first got my mandola (weber yellowstone A, oval), I played it like it was my mandolin, but as I have continued to work on it, it feels and requires me to approach/play it on its own terms.

[otterly2k]

I have an Old Wave oval mandola and I wouldn't say it has any kind of buzz. Classic, bell like oval hole sound. I think this is enhanced by having flatwound strings on it.