Attention!: This is an older post. We are currently working on newer and better instruments in this category. Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. The new D. Rickert Octave Mando-Guitar is available now at the Don Rickert Musician Shop (D. Rickert Musical Instruments) For reasons discussed in the article The Octave Mandolin and its Relative, the Octave Mando-Guitar, we were absolutely certain that we wanted our first Octave Mandolin to be of the Mando-Guitar type. We decided to base the instrument on the best all-around tenor guitar we could find. That turned out to be a Gold Tone TG-18 Tenor Guitar. We start with a new TG-18 tenor and make the following major modifications: Re-work the headstock into our shape (loosely based on a Stromberg-Voisinet mandolin head stock of the 1920s or later KayKraft models) and modify it appropriately for 8 Gotoh tuners. Replace the 4-string nut with a new Micarta nut that is grooved appropriately for 8 strings. Remove the fixed pin type bridge Repair the instrument top where the bridge was (e.g. expertly filling the bridge pin holes, glue removal, varnish repair, etc.) Craft a custom movable type bridge from ebony with a TUSQ™ saddle (Note: if you choose to have a pickup installed, the bridge may or may not have a TUSQ™ saddle) Key Features Based on Gold Tone TG-18 Tenor Guitar body Solid Sitka Spruce Top Mahogany Back and Sides Mahogany Neck Double Action Truss Rod Ebony Fingerboard Ebony Bridge (moveable mandolin type) Gotoh Tuners... Read more →