Advice on how to tune and restring a mandolin

Wailin

Rooting through the wardrobe and came across this old mandolin wrapped in a plastic bag. I play guitar but dont know anything about mandolins and how to tune it. It has 8 strings so can someone tell me the proper tuning for such an instrument? Where would I get new strings for it?

BarryCreed

howdee,

You should be able to pick up strings in any music shop. You can get different gauges too. Just check if you need loop end or ball end strings.

Both sets of strings are tuned to the same pitch, low to high G D A E, so there are no octaves involved like a 12 string guitar.

Great instrument to have a crack around on!

Buy a chord book or download some online, and away you go. You'll pick it up handy.

some good bands to play along to would be REM, Mumford and Sons, Counting Crows, stuff like that..

Paolo_M

BarryCreed wrote: »

howdee,

You should be able to pick up strings in any music shop. You can get different gauges too. Just check if you need loop end or ball end strings.

Both sets of strings are tuned to the same pitch, low to high G D A E, so there are no octaves involved like a 12 string guitar.

Great instrument to have a crack around on!

Buy a chord book or download some online, and away you go. You'll pick it up handy.

some good bands to play along to would be REM, Mumford and Sons, Counting Crows, stuff like that..

don't forget steve earl; galway girl and copper head road. drunken party classics.

Wailin

Thanks a mill, I'll look up some chords and have a blast with it!

BarryCreed

How could I forget Steve Earle!! or Rory Gallagher "goin to my hometown".

I think you might need a capo for Galway girl. You can use a guitar capo on a mando, but best to get a smaller capo used for banjos/mandos........

Strings.ie

Try and get a light gauge set of strings to start with. A little caution with an old instrument goes a long way. See how it does and if its fine and you want heavier strings work your way up. Mandolins have a phenomenal amount of tension with those 8 steel strings.

Most Mandolins take loop-end strings but check yours first, it might take ball end.

Wailin

Strings.ie wrote: »

Try and get a light gauge set of strings to start with. A little caution with an old instrument goes a long way. See how it does and if its fine and you want heavier strings work your way up. Mandolins have a phenomenal amount of tension with those 8 steel strings.

Most Mandolins take loop-end strings but check yours first, it might take ball end.

Yes they have loop-end strings alright. Having a blast with it so far, chords quiet easy to finger. What gauge strings then would you recommend? When I tightened up the strings to the correct tuning I noticed quiet a forward bow on the neck.

Strings.ie

Wailin wrote: »

Yes they have loop-end strings alright. Having a blast with it so far, chords quiet easy to finger. What gauge strings then would you recommend? When I tightened up the strings to the correct tuning I noticed quiet a forward bow on the neck.

9's might be a good start, 10's maybe.
The bow isn't a good sign, def try some lighter gauge strings and see how it goes.