Mandolin basics

[Mike Babcock]

I've never built a mandolin before. Can someone tell me what a typical scale length is for a mandolin? I'm assuming if you were to make it with 8 strings the neck will need a truss rod?

[Richard Sanabia]

Hi Mike.  Most common scale for mandolins is 13  7/8", bowl backs are common at 13" , they have a "chirpy" sound. Many many mandolins don't have truss rods.  In the ones I build I use a fixed carbon rod. I build a wider neck, usually 1 3/8 at the nut. Most new mandos have  1  1/8" at the nut.

[Mike Babcock]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the info