No sir. You don't need an F mandolin...

[DavidKOS]

I think it's all to do with ''what Bill played'' (again!). As i've said before in several threads / posts - Bill Monroe & his Gibson F5 mandolin & Earl Scruggs & his Gibson 'Mastertone' banjo,not only left us a legacy of awesome music,but also one of ''which instruments real Bluegrass mandolin & banjo players should use''.]

Just suppose if BM had never stopped using his old bowl back mandolin!

[mandotool]

Just suppose if BM had never stopped using his old bowl back mandolin!

or his Snakehead..

[Mike Stewart]

Obviously an F is not a requirement, but I do like the ergonomics of a point to keep it on my leg when sitting, and a convenient strap hanger. I just wish such a premium price weren't paid to have a place to put a strap and keep the thing from sliding around. That, and I just want the points and the scroll, I could do without the fancy headstock that's just waiting to have pieces snap off. But a well-made F is purty, so I guess there's that.

[Northwest Steve]

I love the sound of this Ellis.
http://themusicemporium.com/mandolin...emona-sunburst

Baron from mandolessons.com Ellis sounds great as well.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Steve - Honestly,i think you'd love the tone of any Ellis mandolin !. Tom's mandolins are up there with the very best being made today,& not just in my opinion. If you ever get the chance to buy an Ellis,especially a 'used' one in good condition,at least try it out if you can,they're pretty spectacular,
Ivan

[Northwest Steve]

Ivan, I would love to try one (or a Pava) sometime. I have a 2001 Flatiron Festival that is a really wonderful mandolin. It is far more than my playing ability. Unless I found an Ellis priced at mistake it would be above my budget, at least for now. The music budget currently is going for my daughter who plays violin/fiddle and actually has some talent.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Steve - I was very fortunate indeed. You might know of TAMCO in the UK,''The Acoustic Music Company'',owned & run by Trevor Moyle. Trevor had my 'used' Ellis "A" style on sale for a while at a price that was a bit more than i could afford. Anyway,totally out of the blue,he offered it to me a a knock down price - he knows that i'm an Ellis fiend. As i already owned 2 mandolins,both "F" styles,i refused it. Having thought about it overnight,& also,with Trevor having mentioned that it would help him out,i did buy it. It was everything that i thought that an Ellis mandolin would be - maybe more !.

I have a friend who owns a good Flatiron mandolin & it is a terrific instrument - an Ellis might be more 'different' than 'better' (whatever that means),but if you could stretch to a 'Pava' at some point,from what i've read on here,you'd be 95% of the way there,
Ivan

[soliver]

I have tried a Kentucky KM1500, and one or two Eastman F styles, but the only F that I have ever played that I liked was a Gilchrist F5 Jr, and I only got to play it because the guy at my local jam who own's it was a very kind and trusting fellow!.... Just something about the A that I like

[Cary Fagan]

Speaking of A vs F, of course there are also differences in design within each category. I'm sure many others have noticed that a few builders have been inspired by the Loar A to use a more rounded shape--Heiden and Duff A styles come to mind, as well as Kentucky 900s. The difference seems to be in the slope towards the neck. I've not owned a mandolin with this shape but it really appeals to me, perhaps because it recalls the earlier Gibson As.

Here for example is a wonderful sounding and played Duff A:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mSUvd1kDJk

Different in shape from this Gilchrist A:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOtJj1Mj2A8

[Cornelius Morris]

or his Snakehead..

Thomas,
What's the source of that photo? I've never seen that. To think that he had a Loar-era snakehead long before he had a Loar-era F5. Amazing.

[Mike Stewart]

I would love to try one (or a Pava) sometime.

You need to get out more. If you're actual in the PNW as your nom de plume suggests, and you see a guy pull a Pava F5 out of a green Calton at a local jam, I'll bet if you ask real nice he'll let you play it. Which is probably about the only way to pull that off given that the only way I got to play a Pava was because she and Ellis were at Wintergrass last year. Nobody around here seems to stock them.

[Northwest Steve]

Hi Steve - I was very fortunate indeed. You might know of TAMCO in the UK,''The Acoustic Music Company'',owned & run by Trevor Moyle. Trevor had my 'used' Ellis "A" style on sale for a while at a price that was a bit more than i could afford. Anyway,totally out of the blue,he offered it to me a a knock down price - he knows that i'm an Ellis fiend. As i already owned 2 mandolins,both "F" styles,i refused it. Having thought about it overnight,& also,with Trevor having mentioned that it would help him out,i did buy it. It was everything that i thought that an Ellis mandolin would be - maybe more !.

I have a friend who owns a good Flatiron mandolin & it is a terrific instrument - an Ellis might be more 'different' than 'better' (whatever that means),but if you could stretch to a 'Pava' at some point,from what i've read on here,you'd be 95% of the way there,
Ivan

Nice of you to help out a friend Unfortunately I have not run into anyone who has a Pava or Ellis at a jam and we do not have a dealer for either anywhere close. Someday....

[DataNick]

Thomas,
What's the source of that photo? I've never seen that. To think that he had a Loar-era snakehead long before he had a Loar-era F5. Amazing.

The photo comes from a Facebook posting of Bill Monroe's grandson, James William Monroe III. He wanted to ID the mandolin so I started this thread: Bill Monroe's Mandolin When Mr Monroe was 21 years old consensus is that it's a Loar era Snakehead

[Cornelius Morris]

Thanks, DN. I don't know how I ever missed that thread of yours.

[doublestoptremolo]

Just saw this video for the first time today. Doyle Lawson with an A style with the BGAB:

[Mando Mort]

A or F, it is in the mind and hands of the musician to make it sing.

[Jim Imhoff]

F to A to F again; Not sure how much the internal structure works on this, but my first really good mandolin was an old Gibson A; it was 2 heads and shoulders over the $500 factory Washburn (not the old classic) I was playing. I thought I was set for life, but I came across a Stiver F and it absolutely killed anything in its path. Now I am sure the craftsmanship (I believe Stiver is handmade, 1 at a time) as well as the materials are a much bigger factor than the profile, although I have heard that the hole itself--"f" vs. oval does make a difference. On the other hand--and on the other clef--I have a 1918 K2 Mandocello, oval profile and hole; I had a chance to play the much fancier and more expensive K4 with all the curlies and points. If there was any difference, I could not hear it; the gorgeous K4 out-glamoured and grossly out-priced my K2, but the oval sounds just as good, maybe even better in some ranges. Still, all this might be a matter of specific instruments (rather than A vs F models) and just plain luck. I happen to be very lucky with my Stiver F and my Gibson oval K2.

[fatt-dad]

I think of what Tim played. Farmerjames shows all I need to know. Tim's the Man!

It was probably '78 when I first saw them in Boulder - straight out of college and working my first job. Wow!

f-d

p.s., when I first saw Sam Bush (NGR, c. '73, Denver) he was playing an a-model mandolin.