An A-style mandolin has a plain teardrop body. An F-style mandolin has a carved scroll and two points on the body. When the two are built the same way, with the same woods and the same sound holes, they sound close to the same. The F-style costs more because the scroll takes far more work to carve. For a first bluegrass mandolin, an A-style with f-holes gives the most sound for the money.
The two shapes
Both shapes go back to Orville Gibson, whose Style A and Style F designs set the pattern for American mandolins.
A-style. The body is a smooth teardrop or pear shape. The headstock is simple.
F-style. The body has a curled scroll on the upper side near the neck and two points on the lower side. The headstock is often carved to match.
Both have a carved, arched top and back, like a violin. Neither is the bowl-back mandolin of older European music.
Where the F-style comes from
Gibson began making the F-5 mandolin in 1922. Lloyd Loar, an acoustic engineer at Gibson, designed it and signed the labels of the ones made while he worked there. The F-5 had f-shaped sound holes like a violin, a longer neck, and a raised fingerboard.
Bill Monroe played an F-5 that Loar signed on July 9, 1923. He bought it in the mid-1940s and played it for the rest of his career. Monroe’s sound made the F-5 the model for the bluegrass mandolin, and builders have copied it ever since.
That history is the main reason so many bluegrass players choose an F-style.
Sound holes matter more than body shape
Mandolins come with two kinds of sound holes.
F-holes. Two f-shaped holes, one on each side of the bridge. The tone is bright and punchy, with a quick, dry attack. This is the sound of the bluegrass chop.
Oval hole. One round or oval hole under the strings. The tone is warmer and rounder, and notes ring longer. This suits old-time, Celtic, and folk music.
An A-style can have f-holes or an oval hole. Most F-styles today have f-holes.
For bluegrass, the sound holes are the choice that counts. An A-style with f-holes will chop and cut like an F-style. An oval hole mandolin of either shape will sound softer in a jam.
Does the scroll change the sound?
Players argue about this. The scroll is solid wood for the most part and adds little to the air space inside the body. Many builders and players say they cannot tell a matched A and F apart with their eyes closed.
What changes the sound more: the quality of the woods, how well the top is carved, the sound holes, the setup, and the strings.
What the scroll does do
It holds a strap. Most F-style players loop the strap around the scroll. On an A-style, the strap ties to the headstock or to a button on the heel of the neck.
It adds weight and shifts the balance a little.
It looks like a bluegrass mandolin. For many players that matters, and there is no shame in it.
Price
The scroll and points take many extra hours to carve and bind. For the same builder and the same quality of wood, an F-style costs a good deal more than an A-style.
Turn that around. For the same money, an A-style is the better-built instrument. A solid wood A-style often sounds better than a laminated F-style at the same price.
What to look for in a first bluegrass mandolin
A solid, carved top. Solid wood sounds better than laminate and improves with age. Spruce is the usual top wood.
F-holes. For the bluegrass chop.
A good setup. This matters more than the shape. The strings need to sit low enough to press with ease and high enough not to buzz. A shop that knows mandolins can set this.
An adjustable bridge and a truss rod.
A neck that fits your hand.
Play it before you buy if you can, or buy from a shop that sets up each instrument and takes returns.
Which to buy
For a first mandolin: an A-style with f-holes and a solid top.
If the look matters to you and the budget allows: an F-style. Buy the best-built one you can afford, not the fanciest.
If you play old-time or Celtic music too: try an oval hole A-style before you decide.
No one at a jam will turn away an A-style. Many strong players use one.
Can you chop on an A-style?
Yes. The chop comes from the left hand, the pick, and the f-holes, not from the scroll. Read how to play the mandolin chop in a bluegrass jam and mandolin chop chords for every jam key.
Other things worth the money
A good set of strings and a heavy pick change the tone more than most upgrades. Bluegrass players tend to use thick, rounded picks.
A strap, a tuner, and a case that closes tight. Read what to bring to a bluegrass jam.
For more on the instrument, see the bluegrass mandolin guide and the list of bluegrass mandolin players. For gift ideas, read gift ideas for bluegrass players and pickers.