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| Site last updated . This particular page was created 17/01/2005 and last updated 21/05/2005 Site updates |
 Picture from Music123 |
One of the problems in defining the mandolin family is that from a historical point of view, the mandolin family doesn't really exist at all. Various "mandolin style" instruments really belong to two very different types of stringed instruments: the bowl backed flat, top lute family and the arched or flat top/back cittern family.
Another problem is that the naming of the larger instruments is a bit confused to put it mildly. The same name has been reused for wildly different instruments through the ages, and different names are used for the same instrument.
But let's give it a try at least.
The scale lengths listed here are based on actual instruments I've gotten data from, but should be taken with more than a grain of salt, since there are huge differences.