KR Strings Octolindo F Artist Octave Mandolin New

Kilin Reece, the driving force behind KR Strings, is a well-known luthier and Hawaiian music historian based in Honolulu. After years of building and repairing a wide range of fretted instruments Kilin has designed the “Octolindo,” a line of flat-top octave mandolins. Thanks to a scalloped X-braced Engelmann spruce tops these are big-sounding octave mandolins with a deep, throaty tone and plenty of volume. The relatively short (21.5 inch) string scale and radiused fingerboard makes them remarkably easy to play.

The F Artist version shown here has attractive Indian rosewood back and sides and curly maple binding. It differs from other Octolindo models in that it has an f-hole top and a floating adjustable bridge, with the strings anchoring in a tailpiece (the other models all use a pin bridge). The combination of f holes, floating bridge and tailpiece results in a somewhat different tone, with more of the “string-ring” you hear in acoustic archtop guitars. One advantage to this design is that adjusting string action is fast and easy compared to raising or lowering the saddle in the fixed-bridge models.

Please note that these come from KR Strings without an end pin! If you plan to use a strap you’ll need one, so tell us if you are ordering online so we can install an end pin for you before the instrument is shipped.