Crafter
Q 50E

The chap selling it assures me that its a Ukulele and the picture shows no marks to indicate it ever had any more machine heads. Of course it could be a 4 string Mandolin but like Ukuleles I've never seen Crafter making 4 string Mandolins either. Whatever it is, it on the way to Ukulele Corner now so I shall learn its full pedigree; and I shall love it regardless. It has a (probably) spruce top and a fiberglass body and a model number of Q50 One thing that is slightly disconcerting though is I can find no mention of it at all anywhere.

Well its here now and I think it probably is a Mandolin?

On the definite side - It definitely is very nicely made  with a nice solid spruce top, good tuners, good electrics, good body. It definitely is big and fat, and heavy, (but that's ok so am I), It definitely is only suppose to have 4 strings; this is the way it was made, no alteration of the nut, bridge or headstock. It definitely is a model Q50E there is a nice sound hole label saying so...

But the neck is narrow for a Ukulele much more like a Mandolin and it has a truss rod suggesting that, although it came with nylon strings, it was made to take steel ones? I shall have to ask Crafter what they had in mind when they built it? 

Whatever it was, its future is to have a new set of Ukulele strings put on and be tuned and played as a Ukulele.

No reply from Crafter! (so much for customer service!!) The neck is very narrow for a Ukulele, much more like a Mandolin neck, so that probably gives me all the answer I'll get? 

I have now found what is probably this on a wayback copy of the Crafter Website from 2001, (I say probably but the picture has been lost! However the description of the Q50E/N matches it very well), It doesn't say what the tuning should be, or anything, on the website but it does list the whole Q50 series under Bass Guitars!!?? The plot thickens...

I have tried four different sets of Ukulele strings on it and whilst they work well electrically, (the pickup and preamp is one of the best I have ever used), they don't drive the board well acoustically; quite quiet, a bit buzzy if played hard and no bass. The same volume wise can be said for my Ovation Tenor, (not the buzz though), and that is definitely a Ukulele, (it has a similar bridge too?), but given that I have a set of Mandolin strings I will do a recording with the nylon ones on then swap them for the steel Mandolin strings and see how that sounds.

Now Crafter have put out what is most definitely a Ukulele and its nothing like this body shape, I guess that answers the "what did Crafter mean with this?" question once and for all, (not that it matters much as I'm still going to tune it and play it like a Ukulele).

One thought from right out there is, 4 strings, (probably meant to be steel), big body for the scale length, narrower neck than a Ukulele, doesn't this describe a Brazilian Cavaquinho?

The plot further thickens...