The mandolin-guitar hybrid

The Gold Tone Music Group draw attention to their F-6 Mando-Guitar or 'Manditar', with a body in the form of an F-style mandola, a 15" scale, and six strings tuned EADGBE (an octave above a regular guitar) so that it can easily be taken up by guitarists. It comes with a trapeze-style tailpiece, a pickup, and a hard-shell case for $699.99; Gold Tone are also giving one away in a draw that can be entered here up to 22 Nov. They make A-6, GME-6 (solid-body), and F-12 models with the same scale length.

The tenor 'banjo' was invented about 120 years ago so that musicians used to the tuning and/or playing style of instruments in the violin and mandolin families could pass as banjo-players before the general public, and the Gold Tone instruments represent a similar development. They're not a completely new idea - the Gibson M-6, introduced about twenty years ago, used a similar neck and tuning on an A-style mandolin body - but Gold Tone can be complimented on making this option available again.

© Richard Hawkins