SELMER JAZZ GUITAR STYLE MANDOCELLO, MANDOLA / MANDOLE

MichaelHorowitz

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... =p3907.m29

delsbrother

These have been discussed a bit over on the mando cafe boards. According to luthier Paul Hostetter, these are Mandoles, used for playing Algerian Chaabi music. But as the seller points out, with a change in tuning (and/or capoing) they could also be considered long-scaled mandocellos or perhaps even octave mandolins.

Now here's a question... For those of us without the cash to shell out for one of these (or the Dellartes), would it be worth it to modify something like a Gitane 250 or 250M? Seems simple enough - new nut and bridge, perhaps a new tp, plug and redrill the solid peghead, and voila! I suppose you could string it up with single courses on the low strings to make it even simpler.

How do you think one of those would sound? I've heard some complain the 250 Gitanes don't have the "Gypsy" sound... I wonder if they'd work better in this context, or whether it would be just as bad/worse... Would Djangobooks ever offer this setup option?

Or how 'bout this - think Maurice Dupont would ever make an OM/Mandocello/Mandole neck for a Nomade? Just swap 'em in and bolt 'em on... Best of both worlds!