The octophone (or octofone) is a stringed musical instrument related to the mandola family resembling an

octave mandolin The octave mandolin (US and Canada) or octave mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted string instrument with four pairs of strings tuned in fifths, G−D−A−E (low to high), an octave below a mandolin. It is larger than the mandola, but smaller ...

. It was marketed by

Regal Musical Instrument Company The Regal Musical Instrument Company is a former US musical instruments company and current brand owned by Saga Musical Instruments. Regal was one of the largest manufacturers in the 1930s and became known for a wide range of resonator stringed ...

, who introduced it 21 January 1928, as an "eight-purpose instrument". The name "Octophone" came from the idea that the instrument could take on the "tone combinations" of eight instruments, the

tenor guitar The tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was initially developed in its acoustic form by Gibson and C.F. Martin so that players of ...

tenor banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, taro patch,

tiple A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a plucked typically 12-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first mention of the tiple comes from musicologist Pablo Minguet e Irol in 1752. Although ma ...

, mandolin,

mandola The mandola (US and Canada) or tenor mandola (Ireland and UK) 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 ...

and

mandocello The mandocello ( it, mandoloncello, Liuto cantabile, liuto moderno) is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It is larger than the mandolin, and is the baritone instrument of the mandolin family. Its eight strings are in four paire ...

. Changing from one instrument to another was a matter of changing the tuning. The instrument came with an instruction book that told owners "how to use, how to tune and how to play" the instrument

Construction

The instrument measures 33.5 inches long, 10 5/8 inches wide at lower end, 3 1/8 deep at the end block. It has a scale of 21 3/8 inches. Owners of octophones have said that the instrument is made with birch neck, neck block, sides and back and a top made of spruce. The neck is attached to the body with a 3/4 inch wooden dowel stuck into a hole in the neck block, rather than a strong joint such as the dovetail used on some guitars and mandolins. The instruments were lightly built and fragile, or have grown fragile with age.

Tuning

The tuning is done with the

machine head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...

s located on the headstock, much like other stringed instruments, and the strings are arranged in courses. ''All pitches shown here are estimates''; the book the company provided (to show customers how to tune their instrument) is rare. Tunings are based on the instruments advertised. These tunings using the

stringed instrument tunings This is a chart of stringed instrument tunings. Instruments are listed alphabetically by their most commonly known name. Terminology A Course (music), course may consist of one or more Strings (music), strings. Courses are listed reading from ...

notation include: * C3 C3•G3 G3•D4 D4•A4 A4 tuned in fifths as tenor guitar, mandola, tenor banjo * D2 D2•G2 G2•B2 B2•E3 E3 tuned a fourth, a third, a fourth as a tiple * C2 C2•E2 E2•A2 A2•D3 D3 tuned a fourth, a third, a fourth as a tiple * G2 G2•D3 D3•A3 A3•E4 E4 tuned in fifths as octave mandolin * C2 C2•G2 G2•D3 D3•A3 A3 tuned in fifths as mandocello * D2 D2•G2 G2•B2 B2•E3 E3 tuned a fourth, a third, a fourth (as a guitar's 4 highest pitched strings, down 1 octave) Although it can be tuned to the same notes as a mandolin G D A E, it will be in tune an octave lower, like an

Use in recorded music

*Nathan "Prince" Nazaroff album, recorded in 1945 ''Jewish Freilach Songs'', he sings "with octofone and accordion." *

Chris Cagle Christopher Norris Cagle (born November 10, 1968) is an American country music artist. He was first known for writing songs for David Kersh before signing to Virgin Records Nashville in 2000. Cagle made his debut on ''Billboard'' Hot Country Si ...

album, ''Cris Cagle'', Jonathan Yudkin is listed with the mandolin, mandocello, fiddle, cello, and ''octophone''. *Joey Bochenek album "Musical Wizard", the artist Joey plays nine instruments including the octophone. *

Gurf Morlix Gurf Morlix (born 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and music producer. Career Born in Buffalo, New York, Morlix moved to Texas in 1975 and performed with Blaze Foley. He moved to Los Angeles in 1981 and joined Lucinda Williams's band. H ...

plays an octophone on the title song of the

Mary Gauthier Mary Veronica Gauthier ( ; born March 11, 1962) is a Grammy-nominated American folk singer-songwriter and author, whose songs have been covered by performers including Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Kathy Mattea, Boy George and Jimmy Buffett. She ...

album " Mercy Now", although the liner notes spell the instrument as octofone.

Perfume organ

An unrelated instrument, also called "octophone" was an instrument invented by a French chemist, in which the keys of a keyboard activated one of 46 perfume fragrances.

References

{{reflist

External links

Information on Regal, who made the octophone pictured in the article.Music Trade Review advertisement for Octophone.Picture of store displayDiscussion of Octophone construction with pictures of the inside and the neck joint and bridge.
Mandolin family instruments Necked box lutes