Mario,

Octave mandolins are appearing in more Americana and bluegrass music than ever before.

A close friend of mine who is a luthier just built an octave mandolin. It's not for sale. The mandolin he built about 30 or so years ago is the best mandolin I've ever played.

I'd love to have an archtop octave mandolin. It gives you full bodied sound of a guitar while being easier to play than a mandolin since it isn't as small.

Mandolins cramp my hands if I play more than 2 or 3 songs on one. Same thing with a fiddle.