Unboxing and examining a brand new Thomann M1087-P Octave Mandolin made in Romania by Hora. Link to Irish Bouzouki unboxing video: • Examining New Romanian...
The octave mandolin has a shorter scale than the bouzouki so it uses different strings than that; it has quite a bit longer scale than a standard mandolin as well. D'Addario and others make octave mandolin strings that are readily available.
@@royaltribewolverines A few years ago, I built myself an electric OM. The scale is 21", half again longer than a regular mandolin. The recommended string gauge for an OM was too floppy and loose, so I eventually settled on a custom set of individual strings: 52 /34 / 24/ 13. These work well on the E-OM. Not sure if they would not cave in the top of an acoustic OM.
Why not just buy or build a mandola. The extra 5 fret length of the neck would make the string tension prone to underbowing the neck. An OM can be difficult to build properly, in my experience. The old Flatiron OMs from the 80s and early 90s were cheap and prone to problems after many years. It is probably hard to find these after the shop in Montana closed down.
