What mando should I get?

[GreenJeans]

Hey, new to the forums here, and fairly new to mando too! I've been playing for just a couple months, and love it. I've been a long time musician (20 years or so), and am relishing finally having the opportunity to pick up one of these.

Until now, I've been borrowing a friend's dad's crappy old mando, and it's just not cutting the mustard anymore...time to buy my own!

What should I get/look for? I'm willing to spend up to $1k, but preferably much less if I can get a very playable and rich sounding axe for it. I've been a multi instrumentalist my whole life, and I expect to add this instrument to my life-long collection. I like the aesthetic of the f-style, but am not sure what the tonal/player differences are in the different styles. I'd love to start shredding some bluegrass

Thoughts, tips, and advice?

[JeffD]

F style over A style, no tonal difference. F holes over a single oval hole - very discernable difference.

Arch top versus flat top versus bowlback - very discernable difference.

What kind of music were you planning on playing through that mandolin?

[GreenJeans]

Mostly bluegrass and folk, some nice resonance and sustain for ballads and such would be nice...

[GreenJeans]

Can you describe the tonal difference between f holes and an oval hole? Between flat top, archtop, and bowlback?

[dcoventry]

Can you describe the tonal difference between f holes and an oval hole? Between flat top, archtop, and bowlback?

Excellent questions all, and these have been richly and resonantly discussed quite a bit.

Honestly, the search function will provide enough reading for many 6-packs. Great stuff.

[GreenJeans]

Point taken, I'll hunker down and read up sometime tonight

[thewaterbird]

You could also just spend some time on youtube listening to different mandolins to get a feel for what you like if there are none locally to test out.