Aluminum Electric Mandola

Perhaps its creation came as a reaction to my first aluminum commission – a Tele (I love the Tele, but it is not my creation). I still own the tenor even though it has changed hands a few times.

Twenty years later, the design comes bubbling to the surface once again by way of a viola player who likes my aluminum instruments. It seems that the body shape and dimensions of my tenor design lent itself nicely to the viola’s geometry. So voila, a viola!

The sculpting of this mandola’s hardware from billet aluminum is an extra labor of love whose rewards are not only ergonomic, but provide the instrument with tonal and mechanical advantages. The saddle-height adjusting thumb-wheels and the top-loading trapeze lend functionality, while the silhouette of the bridge provokes the feel, vibration, and caress of the music.