A Mandolute is a North African instrument derived from the more traditional Oud

Oud

The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...

. It is a ten string fretted instrument, sometimes called a mandoluth or mandol. It is slightly bigger than the mandola

Mandola

The mandola or tenor mandola is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola , a fifth lower than a mandolin...

. It combines the traditional Oud string format with western classical guitar

Classical guitar

The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...

 frets, resulting in a shape similar to a Mandolin

Mandolin

A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

, only deeper and larger in the body, or sound box

Sound box

A sound box or sounding box is an open chamber in the body of a musical instrument which modifies the sound of the instrument, and helps transfer that sound to the surrounding air. Objects respond more strongly to vibrations at certain frequencies, known as resonances...

.

Weymann Mandolute

The term mandolute was used as a brand name for an American mandolin made by the American company Weymann in the early 20th century. These American 'mandolutes' have 8 strings and are tuned exactly like a traditional American mandolin and their scale length is within the standard mandolin scale length between 13 inches (330 mm) and 13-7/8 inches (352mm).

External links

• Video of Hakim Hamadouche playing a mandolute
• Interview: Rachid Taha