Dear wife left her Ibanez F-5 style mandolin when she departed for the next realm quite some time ago. As a guitar picker, thought was to invent a custom set of strings for it and have the neck adjusted for the tension to tune to DGBE as top strings of guitar, but octave.

It did not work out, despite efforts. Kinda gave up but still pick at it on occasion. Best of fortune and keep us posted.

If you'd like something a bit more guitarist-friendly, give the 4-course bouzouki a look. Try Lark In The Morning for a selection, Bouzouki World for the real thing. Did purchase a Greek bouzouki from BW and just love it. Flat top, flat back Celtic bouzoukis are less expensive and are tuned CFAD, a full step down from guitar, with commensurately longer scale.