This incredible instrument, hanging in a private home for the past thirty years, came to my attention in February, 2003. It appears to be all original (except for a top repair patch), but unfortunately is missing the nut and bridge. Luckily, it was well played, as the heavy fret wear from the strings provides the only clue as to the original stringing. However, I still can’t say with absolute certainty what instrument Knutsen intended it to be, nor how he originally tuned it.

At first glance, it appeared to be a 14-string harp mandolin with a shorter neck. While 12-string mandolins (three strings per course) were once a somewhat common variation, the two additional strings on this would seem superfluous. Neither did the scale length of 12" match up with Knutsen’s mandolins (normally 13-3/4" to 14"). Nor did I suspect Knutsen of attempting the rare piccolo mandolin with so many strings (and which have a 10" scale besides). My only hope (and thought) was "please let there be fret wear!" Alan Frazier, the owner, gamely threw himself into the investigation by photographing the frets through a 50 power microscope to look for any telltale grooves created by the strings. Unfortunately, it turned out that someone had filed down the frets toward the treble side, erasing much of the evidence. However, with a reference ruler included, I was able to assemble the entire third fret in Photoshop and, after some lengthy number-crunching, calculate with a high degree of probability the arrangement (and even gauges) of the original strings (presented below). Finally, after much careful consideration - including the unusual length of the neck, the number of strings, and now the string layout (6 courses) - I concluded that this instrument was most likely Knutsen’s version of the well-known Spanish bandurria.
As it differs from the traditional bandurria in a couple of ways (besides the obvious Knutsen harp-mandolin shape), let me explain my line of reasoning by discussing clues provided by historical context, and the features of bandurrias (and relatives) themselves.

The bandurria is the instrument played by the infamous "Spanish Students," a touring group who took our country by storm in 1880 and ultimately inspired the subsequent Mandolin Orchestra craze. As the bandurria was considered a musical counterpart to the mandolin, Americans chose to simply use the Neapolitan mandolin (and later flat- or arched-back mandolins) to recreate the sound in mandolin clubs and orchestras. Even so, the bandurria was well enough known that some American manufacturers made them on a custom or limited basis. Specifically (and Readers, please let me know of any others):

And now Knutsen. It seems unlikely that Knutsen would have been completely unaware of these instruments – especially those of the Schireson Brothers, who were just a few blocks from Knutsen when this instrument may have been built (based on the label)! Whether a commissioned instrument or another of his wild experiments, the plethora of strings on yet another strange design must have been irresistible to Knutsen.

The bandurria dates back to at least 1555, at which time it was a 3-string instrument. It evolved into it’s final state (6 courses and metal strings) by the late 1800’s, and is still being made today in Spain in the same style (and played – 600 ensembles in Valencia province alone). Incidentally, it seems to have evolved independently as a guitar-mandolin hybrid, and not as a descendant of the mandolin nor the cittern (as the superficially similar Portuguese guitarra did).

The traditional bandurria has six courses of double strings (totaling 12). It has a squat, deep, pear-shaped body with an extremely short neck accommodating from 12 to 14 frets. Scale length varies from 10" to 11." Unlike mandolins, citterns and Portuguese guitarras, the strings (originally gut, now metal) usually attach to a bridge glued to the top, not a tailpiece. Tunings can vary, the most common utilizing all fourths, from g’# to a’’ (enabled by the very short scale).

The Knutsen instrument has fourteen strings arranged in six courses. But what a strange arrangement! The tripled strings may have occurred on the fifth and sixth courses, or perhaps more likely, on the first and fifth courses. Regardless, the tripled fifth course is definite - but whereas in bandurrias and bandolas the strings within courses are tuned in unison, Knutsen’s fifth course consists of two low (normal) strings with a high octave string. Finally, where bandurrias’ 6^th-1^st courses are tuned low-to-high, Knutsen’s 6^th course (whether double or triple) seems to have been strung and tuned an octave higher than normal (as in a ukulele re-entrant tuning). It’s as if he was asked (or chose) to build a combination of bandurria, tiple and mandolin. Nevertheless, I am sticking with "harp bandurria" as this remains the most similar instrument when all the evidence is weighed.

At left is the 3rd fret composite image showing what's left of the 6 courses, evident in the wear. In the next image, note that the wear on the fingerboard from the player’s fingernails occurs between the six courses – as expected from typical fretting technique/finger placement. At right is a mathematically accurate drawing, according to my calculations, of the proposed original nut – including spacing and approximate gauging of the strings. The missing, assumed strings are in red.      Option 1: 1st and 5th courses tripled; more evenly and correctly spaced; fits the scenario of filing down towards the treble side, leaving the bass side alone.      Option 2: 5th and 6th courses tripled; less evenly spaced; courses 5 & 6 are a little tight, course 1 has plenty of room to the edge; the 6th course doesn't appear as filed down as 1st course, so it's harder to imagine that there was a string here - however another fret shows some small marks that suggest someone may have added an extra string here. Of course, filing may reduce the original string dimension, and excessive wear may increase the suspected string dimension - so the gauges listed only represent a rough approximation of the original string diameters. Current GHS brand bandurria strings range from .033 to .011".

Sources: Martin Guitars: Washburn & Johnston, 1997; European & American Musical Instruments: Anthony Baines, 1966; The Oxford Companion to Musical Instruments: A. Baines, 1992; Cataloque of Musical Instruments in the Victoria & Albert Museum: A. Baines, 1998, A Survey of Musical Instruments: Sybil Marcuse, 1975, Randy Osborne of Fine Fretted Instruments, pers. comm., Kerry Char, pers. comm.

Click on a picture to enlarge
(all images of HBA1 copyright Alan Frazier, all other images copyright Gregg Miner)

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