This is the second A style archtop octave mandolin I’ve made. The first was a custom order which was shipped in January. The design was mostly made by scaling up the A style mandolins I make based on Roger Siminoff’s excellent book to 140%. This resulted in a 14″ body width, 19.5″ scale length, and a fairly shallow body depth. I made the neck width and headstock the same as the other octave mandolins I make, with a 1-1/2″ nut width. The back, sides, and neck are all cherry, the headstock overlay and truss rod cover are cherry burl, the fretboard and bridge are jatoba, the blocks are African mahogany, the braces are Sitka spruce, and the soundboard is western red cedar that was given to me by a kind person.
The fretboard has a 12″ radius, and there is a two way truss rod in the neck. The tuners are Gotoh, the strings are a John Pearse octave mandola set, the bridge adjustment wheels are from Stew-Mac, and the tailpiece is a generic import. The finish is Tru Oil, like I always use. To see a short video demonstration please follow the link below.
