Octofone

The Octofone is a stringed instrument that belongs to the mandola family. It is classified as a composite chordopone according to the Hornbostel-Sachs system. Due to its small amount of popularity it is often mistaken for an eight string guitar. Its strings are tuned in courses which is common to the instruments in the mandola family. It got it's name from the advertisement claim by the company Regal that it was eight instruments in one during the late 1920's and early 1930's.

The name "Octophone" came from the idea that the instrument could take on the "tone combinations" of eight instruments, the tenor guitar, tenor banjo, ukulele, taro patch, tiple, mandolin, mandola and mandocello. Changing from one instrument to another was a matter of changing the tuning. The instrument came with an instruction book that told owners "how to use, how to tune and how to play" the instrument.