Having owned only one F style mandolin several years ago I have never tried putting an A style in a F style fitted hard case. Does this usually work with a decent fit? I sometimes see cases advertised as accommodating both.
Having owned only one F style mandolin several years ago I have never tried putting an A style in a F style fitted hard case. Does this usually work with a decent fit? I sometimes see cases advertised as accommodating both.
Big Muddy EM8 solid body (Mike Dulak's final EM8 build)
Kentucky KM-950
Weber Gallatin A Mandola "D hole"
Rogue 100A (current campfire tool & emergency canoe paddle)
The answer is yes; probably - assuming that the body dimensions of the A are the same as the F the case was designed for. Trouble is that there are large bodied As/Fs and small bodied As/Fs. Older Gibsons, Eastmans and my Kimbles have large bodies but many modern As/Fs have smaller bodies.
It’s largely a matter of try it and see and to some extent a matter of how tight a fit you like.
The Calton case that my F5G sits in fits a modern A style perfectly.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
I had a Calton F case that I used for both a modern A style and a 2-point -- both fit perfectly, BUT as Ray(T) mentioned, my old Gib A4 did not fit.
Too many instruments...too little time
I had one of those Eastman fibreglass F cases and the Mike Black A2Z that I had fit in it just fine.
2018 Girouard Concert oval A
2015 JP "Whitechapel" tenor banjo
2018 Frank Tate tenor guitar
1969 Martin 00-18
my Youtube channel
I recently got one of the Gator poly foam cases advertised to fit both styles and all my A's fit fine in it.
aka: Spencer
Silverangel Econo A #429
Soliver #001 Hand Crafted Pancake
Soliver Hand Crafted Mandolins and Mandolin Armrests
Armrests Here -- Mandolins Here
"You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage
to lose sight of the shore, ...and also a boat with no holes in it.” -anonymous
Travelite holds some "modern" size A mandolins nicely. There are so many sizes, though, that I think it is trial an error.
You'll have extra space .. inside .. now Eastman fiberglass cases fit F 4 & 5 & A 4 & 5..
( I have an A5 only Eastman FG Case for my Mix A5.. they quit making them )
F is just added Blocks of wood A's leave out..
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
Yep. I actually prefer to keep my As in a F case because I like the extra scroll room...perfect place to roll up a strap without removing it ...
Chuck
I have a tweed, Canadian F style case that fits my 1919 A2 and my Epiphone A. I have another F case that was probably made in China that neither of those mandolins fit in. Go figure...
"it's not in bad taste, if it's funny" - john waters
I recently got a Crossrock case that is intended to fit both A and F style mandolins. My Collings MT fits nicely. The case came with one pad, maybe 8 inches long, 1/2 inch or so thick, and the same width as the instrument cavity in the case, covered in the same material that lines the case, that one could use to fill in any area of concern. I'm pleased with the fit.
I could add that I'm also pleased with the overall fit and finish of the case, the quality of the hardware, and all the other details.
Phoebe, my 2021 Collings MT mandolin
Dolly, my 2021 Ibanez M522 mandolin
Louise, my 193x SS Maxwell mandolin
Fiona, My 2021 GSM guitar-bodied octave resonator mandolin
Charlotte, my 2016 Eastman MDO 305 octave mandolin
And Giuliana, my 2002 Hans Schuster 505 violin, Nehenehe, my 2021 Aklot concert ukulele,
Annie, my 2022 Guild M-140 guitar, Joni, my 1963 Harmony 1215 Archtone archtop guitar,
Yoko, my ca. 1963 Yamaha Dynamic No.15 guitar, and Rich, my 1959 husband.
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