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Thread: F Styles uncomfortable?

  1. #1
    Pittsburgh Bill
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    Default F Styles uncomfortable?

    Are there others that find F Style mandolins uncomfortable to hold and handle or is it just me? I have owned only one, but have played many F styles, and have found that they do not rest well for me when playing from a setting position. I also suspect that the points, scroll, and ornately carved headstocks are more vulnerable to damage.
    Perhaps this is just part of my eccentricities. I have many.
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    That is the reason why Gibson built the famous A-5 Loar Mandolin for Mrs. Griffith.

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    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    Quote Originally Posted by Pittsburgh Bill View Post
    Are there others that find F Style mandolins uncomfortable to hold and handle or is it just me? I have owned only one, but have played many F styles, and have found that they do not rest well for me when playing from a setting position. I also suspect that the points, scroll, and ornately carved headstocks are more vulnerable to damage.
    Perhaps this is just part of my eccentricities. I have many.
    You are not alone, although we are not common. I have never bonded with those long-scale high string tension archtop instruments and prefer lightly strung short scale Italian/European style instruments.

    But like I say, we are a minority.

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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    Joe Walsh seems to only play A style mandolins.

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    Gummy Bears and Scotch BrianWilliam's Avatar
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    My points are chipped

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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    When I sit down to play I raise the headstock up just a bit so the points don`t dig into my leg, and I also find that is a nice way to hold the mandolin even when standing...Buzz Busby used to raise it up by his ear and play it but he never owned an f model either...

    Willie

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    Registered User LastMohican's Avatar
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    I am completely comfortable with my playing position while sitting but I struggle mightily with trying to play while standing and strapped up. I just can't figure it out. I know a contributing factor for this is that I'm on the rotund side!!

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    Dave Sheets
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    I've had this happen with guitars, I had a really nice Gibson ES-335 that sounded great, but I have never been physically comfortable playing it. I just didn't fit my body. A-body mandos are great for me, teles are effortless...
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Another Buzz Busby style option. See the cover of the recently released John Duffey tribute album for the same positioning of an F style.

  10. #10
    Fatally Flawed Bill Kammerzell's Avatar
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    Quote Originally Posted by LastMohican View Post
    I am completely comfortable with my playing position while sitting but I struggle mightily with trying to play while standing and strapped up. I just can't figure it out. I know a contributing factor for this is that I'm on the rotund side!!
    David Grisman holds his mandolin higher than anyone I've seen in some time. Chest high, not quite at his shoulders, but still pretty high. At least that was where he held it when I saw him with Del McCoury at Ryman, in Nashville. I need to look at a video from when he was the younger, skinny, pre-rotund Grisman, to see where he held it then. I was wondering if his girth had anything to do with his positioning when playing.

    Well I just took a look at a clip of Grisman with Stephane Grapelli and he held his mandolin much lower. Waist high.
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    I prefer A’s for the same reason. I have never found a strap that has made an F style as comfortable to play as an A.
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    Quote Originally Posted by LastMohican View Post
    I am completely comfortable with my playing position while sitting but I struggle mightily with trying to play while standing and strapped up. I just can't figure it out. I know a contributing factor for this is that I'm on the rotund side!!
    I used to be rounder but loosing weight has not increased my comfort level playing a F style. I continued to find an A style more comfortable to play and handle seated or standing but much more noticeable while seated.
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    While I have owned an F years ago, it was A's before and after for me.
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    Mandolin User Andy Miller's Avatar
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    At last year's Marshall Mandolin Summit, Mike Marshall advised the F-players to put their left foot on a footrest like a classical guitarist so the leg is elevated for the mandolin to rest on. Or to do like Chris Thile and use your right foot as a footrest for your left! Apparently that's how the instrument was designed to be held, way back when people got together in large groups and sat up straight and played lots of mandolins together.

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    Registered User Roger Moss's Avatar
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    Quote Originally Posted by willkamm View Post
    David Grisman holds his mandolin higher than anyone I've seen in some time. Chest high, not quite at his shoulders, but still pretty high...I was wondering if his girth had anything to do with his positioning when playing.

    I've always held instruments pretty high when playing (I've always played seated). Now that I'm more...err...physically robust, I play with my mando up around diaphragm high with it (by necessity) looking up at me.Totally comfortable to me that way now.
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    Registered User T.D.Nydn's Avatar
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    I'm on the side for the F model,,I don't have any problems sitting or standing,as a matter of fact,I kind of love them....

  17. #17
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    I'm an A fan myself, not necessarily just for comfort, but I've played very few F's that I liked, 1 of which was a Gil... if I can't afford a Collings, I definitely can't afford Gil.

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  18. #18
    Barn Cat Mandolins Bob Clark's Avatar
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    I'm an 'A' or two-point player, or an A/N flat-top. I know that F's have their fans and that's great, but overall they just don't do it for me. I like that we have multiple styles to select from.
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    I prefer A’s as well.

  20. #20
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    I find no difference in playing a F or an A as far as comfort. Although I stand and sit while playing I prefer sitting.

  21. #21

    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    When I first learned on a A, and tried the F, it was not comfortable; but then I spent more time with an F, made adjustments, and now like the F better.

    What I have found is that the F wants to balance about 4 inches to the left on the lap, compared to the A (while seated). So it makes sense that people might find one or the other more comfortable. I have come to appreciate utilizing the points to keep the instrument stable in my lap.

  22. #22
    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    I use a strap all the time,sitting or standing. I have the mandolin so that the lower point,is above my belt height,so that there's no chance of the buckle scratching the back. It is a tad higher than most players seem to use,but it suits me fine,& i'm a little closer to all the notes i'm playing,
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ivan Kelsall View Post
    ... so that there's no chance of the buckle scratching the back. ...
    Hmmm, I wish I still had to worry about that. Over the last 20 years or so, I seem to have grown in my mid section enough that my belt buckle is never a problem anymore. I remember having to wrap a square of leather over the belt buckle. Things change.

    I also wear the strap all the time, sitting or standing. And for me, the strap goes over my neck and right shoulder, pretty solidly positioning the mandolin. When sitting the points of my F-style mandolins seem to all be in the right place, and the scroll provides a nicely balanced place to anchor the strap.

    I also wear the strap over my neck and right shoulder with my other main playing instruments, although I have to sit while playing my more heavy banjos or my Dobro, due to balance and lower back issues. Happily, my classic banjo is light enough for me to stand with.
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  26. #24
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    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    I haven’t played an F much, partly because when I’ve tried, the neck just wants to drop so bad I have to hold it up and my left hand becomes captive to that. I understand you can lock it into position in your lap but that doesn’t work standing up (for me). My A just stays at the angle I put it.

  27. #25

    Default Re: F Styles uncomfortable?

    Add me to the 'A' list. I don't like that huge chunk of excess wood (the scroll) getting in between me and the fretboard. An A is so nice and symmetrical. I also like the two-point shape which can be symmetrical or slightly asymmetrical (e.g., Sorensen Sprite).

    But that chunk of wood = ugly.
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