Revised Octave Mandolins and Bouzoukis

Today I strung up my latest large bodied octave mandolin, with German spruce top and cocobolo back and sides. It is constructed with my modified neck joint. This can be identified by the fingerboard continuing almost to the sound-hole rather than finishing a centimetre or so back.

I have also changed the body shape just a little. The curve leading towards the tail is gentler and the line leading up to the neck is a little more curved. The body is now a little less pear shaped and a little more apple shaped than before.

Cutaway Model 1

Here are Model 1 cutaway sides in the mould. The little knot visible on the left is not a problem as long as it occurs on a straight rather than on a curve. The sides have to be marked out bearing this in mind.

Left handed Parlour guitar

Here it is strung and ready to go. Pictures of the front are reversed to show a right-handed guitar (and left-handed case!). The green tint is visible only in natural light and sometimes photography flash light, and is a reaction between Brazilian rosewood and the melamine lacquer.