Jimi Hocking's mandolins ..
As my musical history lies with the guitar, a few people have assumed that the mandolin is much like a guitar, only smaller. This is not the case, and here's why.
The guitar is a six stringed instrument, standardly tuned in fourths (harmonic intervals) - the strings run from bass to treble E A D G B E.
The mandolin is an eight stringed instrument tuned in fifths, double strings, sounding four tones - the strings run from bass to treble G G D D A A E E (the tuning is more in the same family as the violin).
In actual fact, after so many years of playing guitar tuning, I really had to do some work to adapt my mind to mandolin tuning and also the smaller scale of the neck, something I am still working on! It is typical of me to become obsessed with musical instruments, and much like my journey with the guitar, I tend to acquire a number of instruments in the search for what is right for me, and to gain an understanding of the different sounds and applications.
Click the mandolin names at the right for photos and info.