A mandolin, for example, tends to ring most loudly on the middle two courses of strings, the D and A. Unison strung vs strung in octaves: This is another interesting factor- the bass strings are sometimes in octaves, going low to high from the bass side to the treble side (the opposite of a … If I understand correctly the top (four) are tuned in sets, and the bottom (four) are tuned in octaves. I recently ordered a "Trinity College TC375 Bouzouki." Bit of a query for you. That's highest to lowest. I've been playing Mandolin and Banjo in a Celtic (with a touch of bluegrass) group for a while. Interestingly I have become so animated by the mandolin that my beautiful acoustic guitar now largely gets put to one side in favour of the mando! I have been playing guitar for a number of years and about 3 years ago I decided to extend myself and buy myself a mandolin. Read the full buying guide here. But there is a limit around approx. Unfortunately when it arrived two of the strings were broken. Re: Octave Mandolin or Bouzouki Staying in the same tuning is a thing I did, too, when I switched to bigger instruments. Mandolins, bouzoukis, octave mandolas, citterns, tenor mandolas and all other types in the mandolin family plus accessories, books and music. 22" when those 2nd-fret-to-5th-fret stretches just become too long, and that applies for melody and backing likewise. New instrument - bouzouki or mandolin? This instrument has 8 strings. In this guide we explain the differences between each. The mandolin family consists of the mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, cittern and mando-cello.