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Mandolins

Tom Jessen (TJ) Madelia, Minn.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------New instrument on the menu:

Hybrid 10-String Mandolin/Mandola!
No price tag on this one yet...but it just might be available some time in March.
 (This one turned out real nice and I'm in no hurry to part with it!)


Since my first Mandola turned out so nice I thought I'd try and add a little extra and combine a Mandolin with a Mandola. Actually...since the new item is really a Mandola with an E string...it probably should be called a Mandola-Lin. But that sounds funny so either 10-String Mandola or Mandolin-Dola will do for now.

The back and sides are made of leftover scraps of highly figured Maple.

 
Scale length (from nut to bridge) is 16 inches.
The width of the neck at the nut is 1 and 3/4 inches and the width at the 12th fret is 2 inches.  

 
The neck is made of Birds-Eye Maple.

The peg-head is made of highly figured Quilted Maple  The fret board is Ebony.


The top is made of Redwood.



      ...all stained a nice dark purple-reddish-plum color called "Merlot". The tail-piece is a nice heavy chunk of bronze made by Allen Guitars.







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 Mandola

Don't know why it took so long to make one of these but it turned out real nice!
Patterned after the Gibson A-style Mandolins but with a nut to bridge string length of 16 inches and tuned like a Viola (A-D-G-C) it is the perfect size between a regular size Mandolin and an Octave Mando. You get a nice deep growly sound out of it.   
Made of highly figured Birdseye, Quilted and Curly Maple stained dark reddish brown.   Fretboard and trim made of Ebony. The top is made of tight grained old growth (?) Redwood. Please note: I have always been against the use of Redwood. However, since good quality Western Cedar has recently become difficult to obtain I have been forced to switch over to Redwood. I have found a quantity of this amazing wood so I will continue to use these boards while they last. This could be the last of the really decent sound board material at an affordable price. This stuff is getting rare and expensive!   The bridge is also made of Ebony.  

Good quality Maple is still available (Thanks to the nearby Minnesota Valley) 
                      

 
The case is made of Pine and Plywood and stained a deep reddish brown.   Lined with foam and felt. There is a little storage compartment with a hinged lid built in for extra strings and picks. This padded compartment also supports the neck thus creating a nice snug fit for the instrument.