The Mandolele

This is not actually my creation, I just saved it from becoming a permanent wall decoration. It's a mandolin from the 20's that I picked up at the flea market in Rome for $10. The body had cracked completely in two pieces all along the curvature. I glued it up, refinished the wood and gave it a new bridge and tailpiece. I put extremely heavy strings on it so that it can be tuned like the top four strings of the guitar, (even at the same octave!)

The strings I used are were originally intended to be light gauge acoustic guitar strings but I used the E-A-D-G and tuned them D-G-B-E.