After much discussion, we landed on 23 - 1/2 “ for both playability and tonal concerns. The construction is a hybrid of the Selmer and modern guitar building techniques, the challenge being that the whole package revolve around scale length. The Selmer Octave has an Engelmann spruce top, east Indian rosewood back and sides, a mahogany neck, and an ebony fingerboard and bridge. Bryce, his father Joseph (a talented glass artist, as well as the brains behind this web site) and I tweaked the design for balance and scale, making a concert ready version of the Selmer as a 4 string octave mandolin. The design is essentially a scaled down version of the famous Selmer “Petite Bouche” guitar, made famous in the hands of gypsy guitarist, Django Rheinhardt. The prototype Selmer style octave mandolin was built for Bryce Milano, a gifted 13 year old mandolinist from Pennsylvania. The octave mandolin is a rewarding instrument for all styles of music and is especially well suited for accompanying a singer. Octave mandolins can either be strung with all four pairs (courses) in unison, or with the bottom two courses (low G and D pairs) tuned in octaves, with the top two courses (A and E pairs) tuned in unison. Sunburst finishes are an additional $150. Octave mandolins are typically blond finished lacquer with an unbound birds-eye maple pick guard and heel cap. The adjustable bridge is ebony and the tail piece is a gold or silver Monteleone, which accepts either loop or ball end strings. Tuners are Gotoh minis in gold or nickel plate. The finger board is ebony and has a scale length of 21 - 1/2” making it short enough to be easy to play, while long enough to support the lower register. The adjustable truss rod is accessed from under the finger board extension. The neck is of either one or two piece Red maple with an adjustable truss rod, further reinforced with two pieces of 1/8” X 3/8” graphite rod that extends through the peg head, strengthening that vulnerable area. The top is X-braced Engelmann spruce with F holes. The top and back are carved from air dried split billets. The octave mandolin has a guitar shaped body with a 14 - 3/8” lower bout.
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