terbj - Posted - 07/11/2017:  17:51:26

I have fairly large fingers and some mandolins are easier to play, i.e., the frets are a little further apart, but the tone and range of the instrument aren't that great.  On the other hand, the one I'm playing now (a 1993 Flatiron Festival F) has great tone, but the frets are closer together, and a bit of a squeeze.  How do players manage this?  is it a trade-off?  Would a custom instrument solve the problem?

Mandodennis - Posted - 07/11/2017:  19:07:11

The vast majority of today's mandolins are made with the same scale length so the fret spacing is quite uniform. 13.875" or a nominal 14" scale is pretty standard.  Sure there are mandolins with a 13" scale length, like the old Martin bent top models, but they are in the minority at this point in time AFAIK.  But what do I know?

There are mandolins that will have larger frets, which might be helpful, but the distance between them is still the same. 

Also there is some variation in the width of the string spacing at the nut which could be helpful too.  I have a Breedlove that is a little wider at the nut.  It's not much wider compared to my other mandolins but it is noticeable when I play it. And it is obvious to others that pick it up to play.

I am sure that some custom builders could do a longer scale length but you'd be fighting the overall design of the instrument with such a request.  

I suppose it could be possible to string a mandola with strings at mandolin pitch. I've never tried that.  Getting the correct string tension could be an adventure. 

Then of course you could go to an octave mandolin.  Scale length varies on those anywhere from 17" to 23" - getting on towards guitar like fret spacing.  The pitch would be an octave lower but the notes are the same as a standard mandolin.

Just some thoughts. Let us know how you sort it out.

Dennis

Edited by - Mandodennis on 07/11/2017 19:14:24