A models

[bobrem]

I used to feel sorry for A model owners as the poor cousins of we F model owners (see cartoon), until I got a killer Gilchrist model 3.

[Pittsburgh Bill]

I'm glad you are over your sadness for us poor deprived A style owners.

Enjoy your new Gilcrist!

[bobrem]

I'm glad you are over your sadness for us poor deprived A style owners.

Enjoy your new Gilcrist!

I actually love A models. I just wanted an excuse to post the cartoon.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I prefer "F" styles,but,i've also played anough "A" styles to understand that between one & the other (by the same maker),there's not a great deal of difference,if any at all,other than that of any single mandolin F or A style to any other. Any of you lucky folk in the US who've maybe had a chance to see & hear Joe Walsh in person,will have heard one of the finest sounding mandolins doing the rounds today (IMHO),his Gil. "A" style :-

Ivan

[sgarrity]

My main mando for the last 8 years has been a Heiden A5. It takes a back seat to no scroll!

Congrats on the Model 3. I've played several I wish I'd bought!

[DataNick]

My main mando for the last 8 years has been a Heiden A5. It takes a back seat to no scroll!

Congrats on the Model 3. I've played several I wish I'd bought!

What he said about his Heiden...you better believe it! An A-model MAS killer!

[JEStanek]

Funny comic. I love my A styles.

Jamie

[mandobassman]

I used to feel sorry for A model owners as the poor cousins of we F model owners (see cartoon), until I got a killer Gilchrist model 3.

Funny, I've always felt a little sorry for the poor F style owners who paid twice as much for their mando. Actually, I'm just kidding. I love them all, but I have always been partial to A styles.

[John Adrihan]

I prefer "F" styles,but,i've also played anough "A" styles to understand that between one & the other (by the same maker),there's not a great deal of difference,if any at all,other than that of any single mandolin F or A style to any other. Any of you lucky folk in the US who've maybe had a chance to see & hear Joe Walsh in person,will have heard one of the finest sounding mandolins doing the rounds today (IMHO),his Gil. "A" style :-

Ivan

Joe is from Duluth and when I still lived there back in 2012 or 13 he came back for Christmas and showed up at our local jam. This jam has been going on since some time in the 70's. the guy that actually taught joe was there and is a founding member of the jam, any way he was standing next to me while we played and I think I lost some hearing that night due to that mandolin. it is awesome.

[AlanN]

I dig Joe. A nice relaxed, gentle style, with hipness and panache. The mandolin surely fits his thing. I wish he had talked a bit more about the appointments - frets, fingerboard, bracing.... you know, the geeky stuff

I did notice a scooped florida.

[Astro]

I prefer "F" styles,but,i've also played anough "A" styles to understand that between one & the other (by the same maker),there's not a great deal of difference,if any at all,other than that of any single mandolin F or A style to any other. Any of you lucky folk in the US who've maybe had a chance to see & hear Joe Walsh in person,will have heard one of the finest sounding mandolins doing the rounds today (IMHO),his Gil. "A" style :-

Ivan

Gosh Ivan, is that you admiring a mandolin that has been disfigured by the placement of a strap button on the neck heel? That guy playing it must not know any better than to play on such an abomination. And its just one of those Gilchrist jobs (OK , I'm just poking fun because I love the button I installed on my a style and I remember how much you loathed the thought so now that I see one of the worlds best players playing one of the worlds best mandolins with the infamous neck button, well I had to be a snoot about it)

[Ron McMillan]

Gosh Ivan, is that you admiring a mandolin that has been disfigured by the placement of a strap button on the neck heel? That guy playing it must not know any better than to play on such an abomination.

Whatsmore, there's no sign of a Red Snark anywhere! I think Ivan might be mellowing

[lukmanohnz]

After several years playing a Capek F style mandolin I was looking to upgrade to an instrument with better tone (not that the Capek was bad - just wanted something more complex and refined) and a radiused fretboard - and specifically an A style. My Northfield Model M fits the bill - it's un-put-down-able.

[Spruce]

I used to feel sorry for A model owners as the poor cousins of we F model owners (see cartoon), until I got a killer Gilchrist model 3.

I used to feel sorry for A model owners as the poor cousins of we F model owners, until I played #74003.

[bobrem]

I used to feel sorry for A model owners as the poor cousins of we F model owners, until I played #74003.

Ah, yes. The Holy Grail of A models.

[Mike Snyder]

A shout out to Mike Black for the awesomeness of my A4- #27. Vintage snake-head looks, modern playability, volume and tone I used to think I'd never get out of an A-style mandolin. Stands up to Irish sessions, gets the delicate under-stated finesse of singer-songwriter stuff. It'll do bluegrass,too, but I have an F5 warhorse for that. I wanted one for years, have known Mike for years and am a happy picker.

[JeffD]

Back way back there, my first mandolin was an A style my father got me. I was kind of disappointed because in reality I wanted a bowlback. But I did very quickly learn to love that thing.

I saw my first F style body in the Mandolin World News - (which was a sort of inefficient paper version of the café we had back before they invented... much of anything I guess) - and I remember being kind of shocked. Especially at the headstock.

I have since appreciated the F style body; its context and the historical roots of that kind of design; and I love them. From a personal taste point of view I still think the design is over the top, but I like that kind of exuberance, and how it has become a "cast in stone" exuberance. The body scroll is objectively ridiculous, and lovely, and iconic. Not any kind of swirly extrusion will do.

Sticking with arch tops for now, my favorite design has become the two point. It has the form follows function austerity of the A style, with a slight exception to prove we are more than functional beings. Among two pointers, my favorite is the asymmetrical two point, because it is even a step more whimsical, without going untethered crazy.

[Perry]

Another fan of A models. Here is my Kimble

[ferrousgeek]

I prefer "F" styles,but,i've also played anough "A" styles to understand that between one & the other (by the same maker),there's not a great deal of difference,if any at all,other than that of any single mandolin F or A style to any other. Any of you lucky folk in the US who've maybe had a chance to see & hear Joe Walsh in person,will have heard one of the finest sounding mandolins doing the rounds today (IMHO),his Gil. "A" style :-

Ivan

Joe acquired a Nugget "F" style a few months back and has definitely been playing it in public.

[bobrem]

Joe acquired a Nugget "F" style a few months back and has definitely been playing it in public.

Traitor! Heresey!

[doc holiday]

I had heard it was going to be a Nugget A.... Here's a recent photo.... not the blacktop Gilchrist

[nickster]

I've owned 4 different F5's over the past 10 years. Now I'm just playing an Ellis A5 that I like tone wise.

[Mark Christensen]

You can tell I like A style Mandolins!

[nickster]

Very nice selection Mark.

[pelone]

Mark----nice to see that you have that MAS under control. I feel a fever coming on.