This instrument design was originally an experiment. I worked it out in consultation with the person who placed the custom order for it, and he provided a plan for a ca. 1937 Gibson L-00 (Guild of American Luthiers plan #55) from which the soundbox design is taken. The only change I made to the soundbox was to reduce the depth to 3″ throughout. The guitar had a 14 fret neck with a longer scale, but the mandolin has a 12 fret neck with a 22″ scale length. This leaves the bridge in the same position it would be in on the guitar. I was very pleasantly surprised by how resonant the first one was, and now that I have built more to the same specifications they are just as good.
The neck, sides, and back are walnut, the soundboard is Sitka spruce from Alaska Tonewoods, the peghead overlay is walnut, the binding is curly maple, the fretboard and bridge are zebrawood, and the bridge pins are ebony. The dots are brass, the nut and saddle are Corian, and the tuners are Gotohs. The finish is Tru Oil. The nut width is 1-1/2″ and the fretboard has a 12″ radius. I don’t have any mandolin playing skills but I hope the video will give some idea of the sound.
