I picked up the mando as my instrument of choice a few years ago, as I couldn't sing and play bagpipes or whistle, and I never seemed to be able to get the hang of guitar.

Anyway after sweating over it for some time and not telling anyone I was doing it, I brought it out at a jam with my band, at which point my fiddler, who also plays guitar (a little classical bu mostly rhythym) grabbed it and started hammering out jigs and reels with no apparent difficulty. Needless to say this was a little dispiriting, but sort of answers the question of swapping between instruments. In Adelaide, South Australia, quite a few of our fiddlers are alos mando players.

There are actually a whole range of mandos along the same line as the viol family, to the point of mandolin orchestras being around in some parts of the world, as well as the octave-mandolin, and the mandolin guitar (never seen one and don't know what it is).

Seems everyone has had as much fun making modfications to the mando as they have the guitar!!!

BB