I have an old banjo-mandolin which I tune the same as a mandolin ( I have no idea if that's how it should be tuned.) It is, as Rick said, fun to play and has a neat sound. To simplify a description, mine has the body of a banjo and the neck and strings of a mandolin. I also am curious to know more about them....the name on mine is Abianc or Abianco...with three more letters/numbers under the name which I can't quite read.