Octave Mando-Guitar (Guitar Style Octave Mandolin) by D. Rickert Musical Instruments

The new D. Rickert Octave Mando-Guitar is available now at the Don Rickert Musician Shop (D. Rickert Musical Instruments) 

For reasons discussed in the article The Octave Mandolin and its Relative, the Octave Mando-Guitar, we were absolutely certain that we wanted our first Octave Mandolin to be of the Mando-Guitar type. We decided to base the instrument on the best all-around tenor guitar we could find. That turned out to be a Gold Tone TG-18 Tenor Guitar.

We start with a new TG-18 tenor and make the following major modifications:

• Re-work the headstock into our shape (loosely based on a Stromberg-Voisinet mandolin head stock of the 1920s or later KayKraft models) and modify it appropriately for 8 Gotoh tuners.
• Replace the 4-string nut with a new Micarta nut that is grooved appropriately for 8 strings.
• Remove the fixed pin type bridge
• Repair the instrument top where the bridge was (e.g. expertly filling the bridge pin holes, glue removal, varnish repair, etc.)
• Craft a custom movable type bridge from ebony with a TUSQ™ saddle (Note: if you choose to have a pickup installed, the bridge may or may not have a TUSQ™ saddle)

Key Features

• Based on Gold Tone TG-18 Tenor Guitar body
• Solid Sitka Spruce Top
• Mahogany Back and Sides
• Mahogany Neck
• Double Action Truss Rod
• Ebony Fingerboard
• Ebony Bridge (moveable mandolin type)
• Gotoh Tuners
• D’Addario Octave Mandolin Strings
• Micarta Nut
• High mass cast mandolin type tailpiece
• Mini dot Inlay Pattern
• Scale 23”
• 14 1/4" Lower Bout
• 10 1/2" Upper Bout
• Total Length 37"
• Neck Width at Nut 1 3/8" (33.5mm)
• Lifetime Warranty
  • Obviously, the modifications we perform completely void the original warrantee. The Warrantee is thus, from D. Rickert Musical Instruments and contains the same terms as the original.