A Mandolute is a North African instrument derived from the more traditional Oud. It is a fretted string instrument unlike the oud, sometimes called a mandoluth (French) or mondol (Morocco, Algeria). It is slightly bigger than the mandola. It combines a traditional oud string format with five courses (pairs) of metal strings, resulting in an instrument similar to a mandocello or flat-backed liuto cantabile.
Weymann Mandolute
The term mandolute was used as a brand name for an instrument made by the North American (U.S.) manufacturer Weymann during the early 20th century. These 'mandolutes' have 8 strings and are tuned exactly like a traditional mandolin. The scale length is also within the standard mandolin scale; between 13 inches (330 mm) and 13-7/8 inches (352mm).