Weight of mandolin

[Gavin Baird]

Just came across an add for a Gibson F5 MM from a reputable dealer that stated that the weight of this Mandolin was 2.4#[1090gms]. Would this be the normal weight for an F5 Mandolin?..Gavin..Thanks John for the correct conversion..g

[Red Henry]

As long as the mandolin is genuine, I wouldn't worry about the weight. Two of my favorite mandolins are heavy, and two are very light! -- and you'll find very similar mandolins (in model, age, and appearance) that vary quite a bit. It's a one-mandolin-at-a-time question.

Red

[sunburst]

My recent F5s weigh between 800 and 900 grams. My 1920 F4 weighs 984.5 grams. I often weigh mandolins that come in here for repairs, and the heaviest one has been 1033 grams.

[JEStanek]

Wouldn't the wood choices impact the final weight? I guess I'm speaking more about non traditional back woods like rosewood, walnut, cocobolo, etc. compared to maples. What about different tailpiece masses, James or Orrico (or the lighter Hamlett) vs a Gibson style stamped one? Has anyone massed a representative selection of Loars? I bet how nice a mandolin sounds, has some to do with final mass but more to do with what the builder did to the plates and tone bars when building. Still, an interesting question.

Jamie

Jamie

[BlueMountain]

My 25 Ajr. : 825 grams
Vega Cylinder Back: 650 grams
20s Washburn shaped like Martin A: 675 grams
Cumberland Acoustic bridge: 17 grams
Red Henry style hard maple bridge: 6 grams
Waverly tuners, bottom of the line, from Gibson snakehead: 127 grams

[carlnut]

I have a Kentucky 380S. I don't know what it weighs, but it is very light. I mentioned it to a semi pro mandolin picker buddy of mine and he said it had just enough wood in it for one mandoiln.

[Glassweb]

As long as the mandolin is genuine, I wouldn't worry about the weight. Two of my favorite mandolins are heavy, and two are very light! -- and you'll find very similar mandolins (in model, age, and appearance) that vary quite a bit. It's a one-mandolin-at-a-time question.

Red

Listen to what Red has to tell ya'... all the great ones are different...

[sunburst]

Sugar maple is heavier than red maple and bigleaf maple, red spruce is heavier than engalmann, and usually heavier than sitka. Those are generalizations, and samples of the same species can vary quite a bit in weight. The type of tuners (The older Stewmac Waverly tuners were 169.5 grams per set as opposed to 138.5 grams for Gotohs, for example), the type of truss rod, the thickness of the (heavy) ebony fingerboard, thickness of the peghead, whether or not the peghead is tapered, presence or absence of a pick guard, what the pick guard is made of, I could go on, but the point is, lots of things affect the final weight, and wood species does make some difference. For example, I built an F5 with a sitka top, bigleaf back, and red maple sides and neck that weighs 809 grams. The one I just finished has a red spruce top and hard maple back sides and neck. It weighs 858 grams. The thicknesses and graduations are pretty close to the same in both, so most of the almost 50 gram difference is probably the wood itself.

[Geoff B]

you guys and your grams....


(looking up triple-beam-balance right now...).:p

[sunburst]

28.41 grams/oz.
454.545 grams/lb.

[Bill Halsey]

Just finished an F-5 that weighed in at 1 lb. 15 oz., complete with traditional fingerrest. Everything to mid-'23 Loar spec, except that the 24-fret f'bd FL ends at about Orlando. Also has a Ti trussrod, but that's mostly to improve balance.

[Bill Snyder]

Just to keep things constant 1lb. 15oz is about 881 grams.

[Bill Halsey]

Close. For the record, 1 oz. = 28.349523 grams, usually rounded to 28.35g. So, 31 oz. = approx. 879g.

Just for the record.

[Bill Snyder]

I have always just made quick calculations in my head using 28 grams to the ounce. I did the one above using John's number of 28.41 grams/oz. In looking it up I found it to be 28.3495 grams/oz.

[sunburst]

Yeah, I should have looked it up. Never trust math...

[sgarrity]

This is an interesting conversation. My Brentrup feels "heavy" to me. But it is extremely responsive and loud. It's Italian Spruce and Bosnian Maple. My former Red Diamond was Red Spruce and some kind of maple and it was light as a feather. I need to find a scale and weigh it I guess....

[BlueMountain]

Oh! I was thinking 26 grams to an ounce, but I guess it's 26 mm. to an inch.

I've been repairing a 10 string mandolin-sized cittern that has individual sealed tuners. My recollection is that I weighed one of them, and it was 37 grams. Times ten, that makes for a seriously head-heavy instrument.

[lmartnla]

My Vega Cylinder back, and Lyon & Healey A are quite light, but my Phoenix Neoclassical Europa II, is like a feather compared to all others.

[UnityGain]

Well I probably have the heaviest mandolin, once you hang an tonegard, armrest, violin style clamp jack, and clip on tuner to my michael kelly. #I don't have a pick guard though, so hopefully I could add a little more weight if I tried. #But I digress...

[sunburst]

Yeah, I always thought mandolins with arm rests, pickguards, clamp jacks, etc. sort of look like cars with fender skirts, visors, mud flaps etc...but I digress too...

[JHo]

Oh! I was thinking 26 grams to an ounce, but I guess it's 26 mm. to an inch.

Actually it's 25.4mm to 1".

[JEStanek]

Does anyone have the weight of a Rigel handy? I've only played one once at a tasting along with an Old Wave, Vintage Gibson, Eastman, and Phoenix. What I remember about the Rigel was it was comfy and nice but heavier than the rest, noticably so. The heaviest mando I've held was a National resonator one.... No shortage of volume there, though.

Jamie

[mandroid]

I ate well in those German Deli's by speaking Metric, there.

[Timbofood]

I guess I have never really given much weight to "weight." #If the mandolin sounds like an old tub I don't think I would care what it's weight is. #It is an interesting question though. #I'm with Billbows about the balance thing though, if an instrument does not "fight you" it tends to be much more pleasant. #My Alvarez is a touch headstock heavy but, I have gotten used to it.
So Bill, is that more or less than your prototype?
And do you feel the balance point difference?

[Bill Halsey]

It's an ounce or two lighter, and it does feel better balanced to me, even with the heavier Elite tuners. Sounds a little better, too.