K. Gkelis VS Sicilian Mandolin

Mandolino-bouzouko with a scale of 61 cm !

On February 10, 2014, Memories of the Innocent Age followed  step by step the important attempt of the master luthier Niko Fronimopoulo, reviving the Konstantis Gkelis (master luthier and teacher of Zozef Terzivasian )  pre-war bouzouki instrument with 61 cm scale.

Mr N. Fronimopoulos (https://fronik.wordpress.com) during his re-creation of the historical Konstantis Gkelis bouzouki had mentioned:

"This summer , I worked on the very - difficult - restoration of an elaborate D Mourtzinos , 1910 mandolin . The comparison of Mourtzinos mandolin profile, with the one from Gkelis bouzouki  , gave me the first motivation . 
Gkelis model was almost identical to the Mourtzinos one , extended by about 2 centimeters."

Moved by great curiosity regarding the above discovery by Mr.Fronimopoulos, and motivated by the upcoming  conversion of Neapolitan mandolin to mandolino-bouzouko ( by the hands of the luthier Giannis Tsoulogiannis) I put under visual test the pre-war Gkelis bouzouki with the old Neapolitan mandolin

-What if the mandolino-bouzouko project had the same Gkelis scale of 61 cm ?

- What could be the instrument's sound  timbre of such an attempt ?
-What conclusion could we extract by comparing the profile of the Gkelis bouzouki to the Neapolitan mandolin profile?

 Using my digital tools I overlaid the Sicilian mandolin bowl on top of the K. Gkelis bouzouki.
( PS: Errors at the following  conclusion may occur by comparing photos of two musical instruments taking by different angles)

K. Gkelis bouzouki-Recreation by the luthier Mr.  Fronimopoulos

The Neapolitan mandolin profile is similar to the K.Gkelis profile, showcasing a slightly narrower shape close to sound hole.

The mandolino-bouzouko after digital conversion  to bouzouki with 61cm scale. Anticipating for the sound timbre produced by such a conversion. 

Stay tuned as the interesting journey back to the era of mandolino-bouzouka conversion, will start soon !