DESCRIPTION:
This is a little video describing my latest arch top guitar to mandocello conversion. This instrument started out as a 1940 Vega C-66 Super Jumbo arch top guitar meaning it has a 17 inch lower bout. This is the same size box as a Gibson J-200 flat top guitar! The guitar tuners were removed, the holes were plugged and the headstock covered with a thin Gaboon ebony veneer. New holes were drilled and mandolin tuners were installed. The relatively wide and short guitar fretboard was removed and a new, narrower i.e., 1.5 inch nut, and longer mandocello fret board was created from an 0.25 inch ebony fretboard blank and it was fitted with EVO guitar fret wire. The mandocello retains the 25 inch scale of the guitar it came from. The new fret board was bound with ivory to match the body. This work was done by Mark Keiser's luthiers and repair shop in Centerville, OH. He is awesome to work with and does fabulous work -- as you can see! The fretboard MOP position dots and side markers added. Then the old guitar neck was slimmed down to match the new fretboard and then re-stained and finished. A new mandocello bridge was made from an ebony arch top guitar base and a new ebony saddle was carved to allow proper compensation. A new mandocello nut was made of fossilized ivory and a standard gold Gibson style tail piece was added. It is fitted with D'Addario J78 phosphor-bronze strings (BTW I mis-stated the string sizes in the video -- the strings gauges run from 0.074" C-course to 0,022" A-course.). The back and sides are maple and the top is solid spruce. So far I am very pleased -- it plays like butter. Hmmmm, well in truth a mandocello probably NEVER plays like butter -- they are a handful to fret. But it plays great for a mandocello and sounds just awesome I think. More videos of it in action to follow soon as I have time to make them!