Don Rickert Musical Instruments

The New Mandolin Family Part 2: Octave Mandolins, Citterns and Irish Bouzoukis

This article is Part 2 of 2 and a follow on the article, The New Mandolin Family Part 1: Ancient Mesopotamia to Orville Gibson. We will pick up with other developments staring in the 1960s and culminating in today's New Mandolin Family of instruments. Here I will discuss the large tenor range instruments of the New Mandolin Family. These instruments are often called ‘octave mandolins’, ‘citterns’ and ‘Irish bouzoukis’. There is considerable confusion about whether... Read more →

The New Mandolin Family Part 1: Ancient Mesopotamia to Orville Gibson

This is the first of a multi-part series on the New Mandolin Family of musical instruments. Those who follow this blog will know that this is also the first article I have posted in some time. This reason for this hiatus is simple; we at Don Rickert Musical Instruments have been very busy making instruments. The success of our 5-string Violoncello da Spalla was far greater than anyone could have predicted. This is the kind... Read more →