Old violins and mandolins are tuned identically at first (5)
I believe the answer is:
amati
'old violins and mandolins are tuned identically at first' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'and mandolins are tuned identically at first' is the wordplay.
'at first' says to take the initial letters.
The first letters of 'and mandolins are tuned identically' is 'AMATI'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for amati that I've seen before include "Famous violin maker" , "Great fiddle" , "family of craftsmen" , "family of workers on the fiddle?" , "Craftsman" .)