Mandolin Mandolin A mandolin ( ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is usually plucked with a plectrum or "pick". It commonly has four courses of doubled metal strings tuned in unison (8 strings), although five (10 strings) and six (12 strings) course versions also exist. The courses are normally tuned in a succession of perfect fifths. It is the soprano member of a family that includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello and mandobass. There are many styles of mandolin, but three are common, the "Neapolitan" or "round-backed" mandolin, the "carved-top" mandolin and the
Electric mandolin the body) in 1949. His first one had 10 strings and was built for Al Giddings. Other Bigsby electric mandolin players were multi-instrumentalist Paul Buskirk, Johnny Muessig, and Eschol Cosby. Bigsby's most famous mandolin, built in 1952, was owned and played by Western swing musician Tiny Moore. This instrument had 5 single courses rather than the more common four double courses, and was patterned after a similar instrument built by Jim Harvey of La Jolla, California, for a player named Scotty Broyles. Gibson and Rickenbacker introduced solidbody 8-string mandolins in the 1950s, while Fender followed the single-course idea with its