The mandocello (Italian: mandoloncello, Liuto cantabile, liuto moderno) is a plucked string instrumentplucked string instrumentPlucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings. ... The zither family (including the autoharp, kantele, gusli, kannel, kankles, kokles, koto, guqin, gu zheng and many others) does not have a neck, and the strings are stretched across the soundboard.https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Plucked_string_instrumentPlucked string instrument - Wikipedia of the mandolin family. ... Overall tuning of the courses is in fifths like a mandolin, but beginning on bass C (C2). It can be described as being to the mandolin what the cello is to the violin.