Octave Mandolas
Individually hand-crafted using time-honored methods & premium hand-carved all solid tonewoods with solid Spruce top, solid Maple back & sides. Ebony fingerboard & adjustable ebony bridge. A-style body with F-holes for warm, ringing tones & excellent sound projection. Tuned GDAE and supplied in a deluxe Eastman hard case. See below for details.
- All Solid
- Hand crafted
- Supplied with Gig Bag
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Pickup fitted
Individually hand-crafted using time-honored methods & premium hand-carved all solid tonewoods with solid Spruce top, solid Maple back & sides. Ebony fingerboard & adjustable ebony bridge. A-style body with F-holes for warm, ringing tones & excellent sound projection.
Now available as an electro-acoustic model. Fitted with a KnK pickup.
Tuned GDAE and supplied in a deluxe Eastman gig bag.
See below for details
Excellent All Solid Octave Mandola with ornamental soundhole design, rosewood fingerboard,slotted headstock and rear facing geared tuners.
Ozark Celtic model Octave Mandola with Solid Spruce Top and Solid Mahogany Back and Sides. Fitted with a factory fitted pickup with built in volume and tone controls. Supplied in quality padded gig bag.
Individually hand-crafted using time-honored methods & premium hand-carved all solid tonewoods with solid Spruce top, solid Maple back & sides. Ebony fingerboard & adjustable ebony bridge. A-style body with F-holes for warm, ringing tones & excellent sound projection. Tuned GDAE and supplied in a deluxe Eastman gig bag. See below for details
Ozark Celtic model Octave Mandola with Solid Spruce Top and Solid Mahogany Back and Sides. Supplied in quality padded gigbag.
- Pickup fitted
- Supplied with Gig Bag
- Zero Glide Nut
- Archtop design
Electro-Acoustic Octave Mandolin from Gold Tone with solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides. Tuned one octave lower than a standard mandolin, the Gold Tone OM-800+ has a low action and a thin neck for rapid playing. Hard case included.
- All Solid
- F Holes
- Hand crafted
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Supplied with Gig Bag
Individually hand-crafted using time-honored methods & premium hand-carved all solid tonewoods with solid Spruce top, solid Maple back & sides. Ebony fingerboard & adjustable ebony bridge. A-style body with F-holes for warm, ringing tones & excellent sound projection.
Tuned GDAE and supplied in a deluxe Eastman gig bag. See below for details
Please note the extra cost for this instrument is due to having a brand new hand made left handed compensated saddle made from ebony, side dots fitted and nut slots recut and filled for left handed playing
- All Solid
- F Holes
- Hand crafted
- Highly flamed finish
- Made in the U.S.A
- Supplied with Gig Bag
Northfield Wavelength Short Scale Octave Mandola. For the mandolin player who wants that octave mandola tone without the stretch. Traditionally octaves usually have a scale length of around 21-22", the Northfield Wavelength is 19". This means the gauges are slightly heavier than normal to get the tension at that shorter scale length.
A truly unique instrument!
Choose from 2 colours - Dark leatherburst or Ox amber.
Supplied with Airloom gig bag.
A brilliant sounding Birds eye maple octave mandola from the excellent British luthier Thomas Buchanan. Finely appointed 'Flat Top' instrument with solid birds eye maple back and sides and a solid european sitka spruce soundboard. Also features a rosewood headstock faceplate and maple body binding. Please see below for more details
Handmade in the UK by luthier Tom Buchanan, this Octave Mandola features a Solid Cedar Top and beautiful Solid Koa Back and Sides. Buchanan octave mandolas are double strung as standard.
Tuning on an octave mandola is similar to a mandolin but an octave lower: GG-DD-AA-EE.
- Pickup fitted
- Lightweight
Excellent All Solid Octave Mandola with ornamental soundhole design, rosewood fingerboard,slotted headstock and rear facing geared tuners. Fitted with a stick up bug pickup. Pre-amp recommended to shape and enhance the tone further.
- Gold hardware finish
- Gloss Finish
- Hand crafted
- Hand made in the UK
A brilliant sounding Hawaiian Koa octave mandola from the excellent British luthier Thomas Buchanan. Finely appointed 'Flat Top' instrument with solid Hawaiian Koa back and sides and a solid european sitka spruce soundboard. Also features a rosewood headstock faceplate and maple body binding.
This model features a beautifully patterned rosette, golden Gotoh closed side tuners and amber tuning pegs.
Please see below for more details
- All Solid
- Gloss Finish
- Hand crafted
- Hand made in the UK
- Lightweight
- Oval Sound hole
A brilliant sounding octave mandola from the excellent British luthier Thomas Buchanan. Finely appointed 'Flat Top' instrument with solid Rosewood back and sides and a solid european sitka spruce soundboard. Also features a rosewood headstock faceplate and maple body binding. Please see below for more details
- All Solid
- Hand crafted
- Lightweight
- Pickup fitted
- Supplied with Hard Case
- Made in the U.S.A
Northfield EleOcto EL1 Electric Octave Mandola. Fusing together an electric guitar and octave mandola into a lightweight instrument with only your imagination to hold you back. Made 100% in Marshall, Michgan USA
Choose from 3 finishes, Auburn brown, Ox amber or vintage amber
Supplied with Gator case.
- All Solid
- Archtop design
- F Holes
- Hand crafted
- Supplied with Hard Case
- Vintage design
Beautiful Northfield archtop octave mandolin, made with a special Italian spruce top and a figured maple back and sides, made with one eye on the classic designs of the 30's.
Available in 2 colour choices, dark cherryburst or honey.
Supplied with Airloom fibreglass case.
- All Solid
- Archtop design
- F Holes
- Hand crafted
- Made in the U.S.A
- Supplied with Hard Case
- Vintage design
Beautiful Northfield archtop octave mandolin, handmade in the USA with a special Italian spruce top with mahogany back and sides, made with one eye on the classic designs of the 30's.
Finished in 30's Martin style sunbiurst top, dark brown back, sides and neck.
Supplied with Airloom fibreglass case.
As New Ozark Celtic model Octave Mandola with Solid Spruce Top and Solid Mahogany Back and Sides.
Supplied with padded gig bag.
The Bourgeois M5O Octave Mandolin is a versatile addition to any musician’s arsenal, designed to comfortably accommodate mandolin players and guitarists alike. Whether you’re crafting intricate melody lines, accompanying vocals, or exploring new
sonic terrain, the Bourgeois M5O Octave Mandolin is a remarkably adaptable musical asset across a wide range of traditional and contemporary musical styles.
Supplied with deluxe fitted case.
- Supplied with Hard Case
- Pickup fitted
- Oval Sound hole
- Gold hardware finish
- Gloss Finish
Electro-Acoustic Octave Mandolin from Gold Tone with solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides. Tuned one octave lower than a standard mandolin, the Gold Tone OM-800+ has a low action and a thin neck for rapid playing.
Used. Excellent condition. Supplied with hard case.
- All Solid
- Hand crafted
- Lightweight
- Pickup fitted
- Supplied with Hard Case
- Made in the U.S.A
Northfield EleOcto EL2 Electric Octave Mandola features 2 pickups and a preamp pedal. Fusing together an electric guitar and octave mandola into a lightweight instrument with only your imagination to hold you back. Made 100% in Marshall, Michgan USA
Choose from 3 finishes, Auburn brown, Ox amber or vintage amber
Supplied with Gator case.
- All Solid
- Hand crafted
- Supplied with Gig Bag
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Pickup fitted
- Left Handed Instrument
Individually hand-crafted using time-honored methods & premium hand-carved all solid tonewoods with solid Spruce top, solid Maple back & sides. Ebony fingerboard & adjustable ebony bridge. A-style body with F-holes for warm, ringing tones & excellent sound projection.
Fitted with a KnK pickup and custom made left handed
Tuned GDAE and supplied in a deluxe Eastman gig bag.
Please note the extra cost for this instrument is due to having a brand new, hand made, left handed compensated saddle made from ebony, side dots fitted and nut slots recut and filled for left handed playing
The octave mandola or sometimes referred to as the octave mandolin is a fretted string instrument with four pairs of strings tuned in fifths, usually GDAE (low to high), an octave below a mandolin. The most common body shape for this instrument type is the A style (or teardrop) shape. Popular brands include Eastman, Ozark, Gold Tone, Buchanan and Trinity College.
It’s a longer scaled instrument than the mandola, but shorter than the bouzouki and its construction is similar to other instruments in the mandolin family. Usually the courses are all unison pairs but the lower two (G and D) may sometimes be strung as octave pairs with the higher-pitched octave string on top so that it is hit before the thicker lower-pitched string (similar to a 12 string guitar).
Alternate tunings of GDAD and ADAD are often employed by Celtic musicians which this instrument is a popular choice for. Octave Mandolas are most commonly picked with a plectrum rather than fingerpicked like the guitar or banjo.
Important with any instrument is playability especially with the Octave Mandola with it having 8 strings in close pairs and a relatively long scale with a narrow neck and fingerboard. Fully setup in our workshop for the best playability and tone, each Octave mandola will be ready to play the day you receive it.
Some instruments can have pickups built in ready to plug and play whether for recording or live use and some are expertly handmade by some of the UK’s finest luthiers such as Buchanan.