When my Dad passed on I was given his mandolins. One is a Suzuki which I do not know how he played it due to the fact the neck had a bad back bow so anything above the 5th fret was the same as the 20th fret and the frets were very worn. Once I freed up the truss rod and levelled the frets it plays quite well. He also had a banjo mandolin that needed a new skin and tuners but it is what I was told as a bass version and weighs more than my guitars and is very heavy and difficult to hold. The last one is an electric Daion that needs a little bit of TLC but sounds great out of my Fender amp playing Smoke on the water. Very unique to say the least. I am about to order a custom 12 string but now I am very interested in making a solid body mandolin as until I read what you have written did not know they existed. Was thinking of going off on a tangent and maybe using a scaled down SG or maybe an LP shaped body but will have to do a little bit of research and clear it though the correct channels. (wife)