Mandolin the instrument. It is used in Trinidad's "parang" music, accompanied by "cuatro and maracas". There is another member of the mandolin family, the Trinidadian version of the bandol, different from the mainland bandola. It is the tenor of the mandolin family on the island, also strung with 8 strings in 4 courses; however, the lower two string courses are strung differently, each having a metal and a nylon string. Turkey has been the home of a mandolin-banjo manufacturer, Cümbüs, since the early 20th century. The country had what may be its first Mandolin festival in June 2015, and has at
Mandolin that used steel or steel-and-bronze strings. Pasquale Vinaccia (1806–c. 1882), modernized the mandolin, adding features, creating the "Neapolitan" mandolin c. 1835. Pasquale remodeled, raised and extended the fingerboard to 17 frets, introduced stronger wire strings made of high-tension steel and substituted a machine head for the friction tuning pegs, then standard. The new wire strings required that he strengthen the mandolin's body, and he deepened the mandolin's bowl, giving the tonal quality more resonance. He didn't introduce the bent soundboard, as it was present in some of the instruments made by the previous generation for bronze strings. Other luthiers who