Welcome

The McDonald Strings Website has information about the bouzoukis and mandolins I build, the books I have written about building them as well as a calculator for working out string tensions (rather useful for these instruments and others) and lots of other information on old time Australian dance music and a collection of old string packages.

You might also be amused by my blog, where our family scores out of ten any public performances of Australia's national anthem

The menu at the top will get you around the site

News

June '10 The Zoufest raffle mandolin has been won by fellow bouzouki builder Joe Mendel. Congratulations! I have just delivered a new Wombat fiddle and strung up a prototype Pocket Mandolin, which has been an interesting design exercise.

 

May '10 I built a mandolin for ZoukFest in the US last yaer and they have put it up for raffle to raise funds for the event. They sold all 100 tickets in 5 days, which was very pleasing to see. A picture below as well as on the Mandolin page where there are a few more two point instruments. A new F model will be up soon.

There is also some content on the Mandola and Mandocello pages (at last).

Jan '10 The Mandolin Project has been available through Independent Publishing Group from October 2009 and available through just about every book store anywhere as well as on-line stores such as Amazon.

It has been printed in 'perfect bound' form using 'lay flat' binding with the plans included in an envlope in the back. I still have a few of the ring bound versions left if people really want those. The retail price of the new print run is now US$25 so all the original print run will be $25 (plus postage) as well

I currently do not have any copies of The Bouzouki Book here but they will soon be back in stock. Luthiers Mercantile and Stewart MacDonald do have copies.

A chapter on building mandolins from the 1908 book Violins and Other Stringed Instruments, edited by Paul N Hasluck - click here.

 

Instruments

New Instruments

A new Wombat fiddle - an Australian take on a Norwegian Hardanger fiddle

and a Pocket Mandolin - just to see how small a mandolin can be

 

Mandolins & Bouzoukis

Type 2 bouzoukitype 2 bouzouki

Oval hole 2-point mandolin.

The ZoukFest Special

 

Books

The Mandolin Project is now available and details the construction of four mandolins, including
- a flat-top/flat-back,
- a bent-top/flat-back,
- a Celtic carved-top/flat-back. and
- a fully carved A style

The book is comprehensively illustrated with photographs, diagrams and plans and includes an extensive chapter on the history of the mandolin.

The first chapter - a history of mandolin construction is available here as a pdf download

The second chapter, an introduction to building a mandolin, is here as a pdf download as well. The rest of it you have to buy 8-)

The Bouzouki Book cover

The Bouzouki Book - a workshop guide to building Irish bouzoukis and citterns - is still available.

It is a comprehensive manual on the theory and construction of this family of instruments

More information here

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Independent Book Publishers Association