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I need to play low guitar accompaniment parts (simple bass-note-plus-chord style) but I prefer the narrow neck and short scale length of the mandolin.

Is there an instrument (acoustic, not electric) that has a narrow mandolin-style neck (and preferably a short scale length, although I realise that's perhaps unlikely) but that can reach the low guitar range and has something of the rich and powerful low-end that a guitar has?

I've looked at a few mandolas (tuned a 5th below mandolin) but so far nothing I've found has had anything like the guitar's power or sustain in that range. Is this a fool's errand?

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Hmm, perhaps a miniature child's guitar would be close? –  Matthew Read Jul 28 '11 at 13:55
Power and sustain might be difficult, because the sound characteristics is mainly made by the size and form of the instrument for accousting string instruments. –  awe Jul 29 '11 at 10:35

4 Answers 4

up vote 5 down vote accepted

Yes, you are on a fool's errand, but you might learn some new ideas while you are on it.

Why not consider a 4-string tenor guitar? Those are tuned in 5ths like a banjo. The lowest pitch on the tenor guitar is the C above the E on the regular guitar. But there is an alternate tuning for the tenor guitar where the lowest pitch is the G above the low E on the guitar, or a minor third higher. In the G tuning, the tenor guitar is tuned like a violin, but one octave lower.

You are aware of course of the issue that the mandolin is tuned in 5ths and the guitar is tuned in 4ths--I hope you are taking that into account.

There are a number of "baby" acoustic guitars on the market now which have the shortest possible scale length that can still accommodate standard guitar tuning.

  • A mandolin has a scale length of 356mm or 14 inches.
  • A standard acoustic guitar has a scale length of 648mm or 25.5 inches.
  • A "baby" guitar has a scale length of 584mm (23 inches) or 559mm (22 inches).

Any shorter than 559mm and you can't adequately produce the low "E" of a guitar.

Some "Baby" guitars of good quality:

Be sure to check out specialty instruments by Gold Tone. They make some freaky cross-over hybrids between mandolins, guitars, basses, banjos--you'll just have to see the site and view the demos!

Gold Tone has a new mandolin with a 6-string guitar neck on it, tuned in 4ths, but of course it plays the range of the conventional mandolin. It does not go down to the lower octave of a real guitar. I played one of these at the Summer NAMM convention in Nashville last month. It's an impressive instrument, but it's not quite what you are looking for.

Then there are the octave mandolin, the Greek bouzouki, and the banjo, all of which do in fact go down close to the range of the guitar (and lower than the mandola), yet are tuned in 5ths, not 4ths.

Finally, as a left-field choice, if you want a real acoustic guitar, tuned like one, but you want the thinnest, narrowest neck, you might want to consider the Daisy Rock Girl Guitar brand. They are quite hideous in aspect but they are designed to be played by, well, girls, with small adolescent hands. Nothing wrong with that, mind you, but a sparkly pink guitar may not be your thing.

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Nice answer and welcome to the site! –  Ben Alpert Aug 10 '11 at 8:32
Also worth checking out the Irish Bouzouki, which is generally bassier than it's Greek forefather. –  Muckle Beats Aug 22 '12 at 9:34
It's worth note that the "octave mandolin" Wheat mentions (i.e. the mandola tuned an octave below the mandolin) is also called the octave mandola or (perhaps more correctly) the tenor mandola. –  dumbledad Mar 20 at 21:36

You won't find anything with a short neck that plays guitar notes, because the range of available notes is a function of the length of the neck.

I would suggest a mandola, a mandocello or a bouzouki but they are not necessarily designed to offer as much sustain as a guitar- if you listen to music designed for those instruments it tends to be based on very rapid picking rather than individual sustained notes. You could perhaps adapt your playing style to accomodate this.

Or I guess you could try the viola, which is a very different type of instrument, but could offer the sustain and tonal characteristics you want.

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I'd just add that for bouzouki and mandola, I've often heard them played strumming-style on the folk scene. –  Mich Sampson Aug 10 '11 at 8:57

Have you tried a ukulele? I don't know any other instruments that your looking for other then a ukulele

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A baritone ukulele might fit the bill. –  NReilingh Jul 28 '11 at 15:03

a tenor or bass ruan, perhaps?

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That is an interesting suggestion, but a ruan sounds nothing like a guitar or a mandolin! –  Wheat Williams Sep 14 '11 at 1:28
'nothing like'? subjective evaluation of similarity in tone can be affected by context too. please try listening to some works played by the Singapore Ruan Xian Chamber Ensemble on youtube e.g. youtube.com/watch?v=xvn3PCatV7g youtube.com/watch?v=yZkUzL94_4o etc. –  user1217 Sep 18 '11 at 20:47
This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. –  ecline6 May 1 '13 at 22:09

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