Mandolin

Everything you need to know about mandolins including the best mandolins to buy, where to order, how to maintain them, accessories & more.

Mandolin Quick Look

What type of Mandolin would you like to play?
On this page you’ll find everything you need to know about the Mandolin, including buyer’s guides for the best on the market, gear needed, tips and full tutorials on your favorite songs.

Latest Mandolin Posts

Below you’ll find a few of our latest posts about Mandolins , including buyer’s guides for the best on the market, gear needed, tips and full tutorials on your favorite songs.

Why Trust Us?

Our Mandolin reviews are always written by people who have had plenty of experience playing the instruments in question. Our buyer’s guides, reviews, blog posts and gear lists are all written by professionals who have vast knowledge about the instruments, their maintenance, history and how to play them. We always do the research so you don’t have to.

Our Mandolin Experts

The Mandolin experts who write for this blog are professional players, musical producers, performers and teachers. Every article written on this blog is written with the expertise that you’ll only find on IntoStrings.com and the quality of every post here reflects their knowledge and wisdom with the instruments that they play. If you want a professional opinion, you came to the right place.

Types of Mandolins

Below you’ll find all of the different types of Mandolins with links to the buyer’s guides on our site about each type and model of the instrument.

Best Mandolins Overall

In this ultimate buyer’s guide you’ll find the best s to purchase this year. We have done the research so you don’t have to!

From budget options to professional instruments, we list all of the best on the market for all different budgets and playing styles.

Don’t miss this full guide to the best overall. For the best instruments of individual types, scroll down.

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Bowlback Mandolin White Back

Bowlback

Also called the roundback mandolin, bowlbacks are the most popular kind of mandolin. This mandolin gets its name from the shape of its body.

The bowl form of the main body is created by gluing several pieces of curved wood strips together.

You can find many variations of the bowlback mandolin including Lombardic, Genoese, Neapolitan and Milanese.

Archtop

The archtop mandolin is another instrument named for its shape, but this time it’s the shape of the top of the instrument that lends it its name.

This instrument was made popular by the Gibson Company who first manufactured the unique design when inspired by the curved back and top of the violin.

You’ll find two variations of the Archtop Mandolin, the F-Style and the Florentine.

flatback Mandolin

Flatback

Tenor banjos were first developed in the early 20th century when jazz music started adding them into songs in place of the electric guitar.

These are 4 string banjos, but the overall length of the instrument is quite a bit shorter than 5 string banjos.

Double Top Mandolin

These are the most intricately designed and expensive mandolins you can buy. Normally you won’t order these online and you’ll be going direct with a custom builder.

The wood structure offers a much less metallic sound that started becoming popular in the 21st century. These have a beautiful, full sound… one that you’d expect from such an expensive instrument.

Bowlback Mandolin White Back

Electric

As the name suggests, the electric mandolin is simply a mandolin that has a pickup inside that can be hooked up to a speaker source to amplify the sound.

These mandolins are typically made by popular mandolin brands like Musoo and Valee.

Mandolin Banjo​

The Mandolin Banjo is a hybrid instrument that is becoming increasingly popular in modern music. It’s nice and small, making it very travel-friendly.

Like so many modern mandolins, these were made popular in the early 20th century. They have 4 nylon strings and an open back and are tuned in the same pattern as a standard ukulele.

mandolin Banjo
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A-Style Mandolin

A-style is probably the most popular shape for this instrument. Its smooth and clean sound, as well as the great affordability.

this mandolin an easy choice for any musician.

F-Style Mandolin

The F-style has the most sophisticated design compared to other mandolin types.

F-style mandolins are one of the two main types of archtop mandolins.

Best Mandolins By Price

When shopping for the best Mandolins most people will have a budget in mind. Below you can find different lists of the best instruments organized by their cost.

Best Mandolins Under $2000

This information will be coming soon to the website.

Best Mandolins Under $500

A list of the best mandolins on the market for under $500.

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Best Mandolins Under $1000

A list of the best mandolins on the market for under $1,000.

flatback Mandolin

Best Mandolins Under $200

This information will be coming soon to the website.

Mandolin Brands

Often mandolinists find a brand they love and simply stick with it. Here are our guides to all of the different Mandolin brands including a list of our favourite mandolins under each brand. If you want to shop by mandolin brands, this is where you can do it.

Best The Loar Mandolins

A list of the best The Loar mandolins.

the loar mandolins with a white background

Best Ibanez Mandolins

A list of the best Ibanez mandolins.

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Best Eastman Mandolins

A list of the best Eastman mandolins.

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Best Kentucky Mandolins

A list of the best Kentucky mandolins.

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Mandolin Reviews

Below we will list all of the posts on our site of Mandolin Review. These are hands-on reviews of individual mandolins done by our mandolin expert.

Eastman MD815 Review

A hands-on review of an Eastman MD815.

Eastman MD815 Mandolin on a white background.

The Loar LM520 Review

A hands-on review of The Loat LM520.

Kentucky KM-855 Review

A hands-on review of the Kentucky KM-855.

Eastman MD505 Review

A hands-on review of an Eastman MD505.

Eastman MD505 Mandolin on a white background.

Gretsch G9350 Park Avenue Review

A hands-on review of the Gretsch G9350 Park Avenue.

Gretsch G9350 Park Avenue Mandolin with a white background.

Rogue RM-100A Review

A hands-on review of the Rogue RM-100A.

Rogue RM-100A mandolin with a white background.

Gretsch G9310 New Yorker Review

A hands-on review of the Gretsch G9310 New Yorker.

Kentucky KM-150 Review

A hands-on review of the Kentucky KM-150.

Kentucky KM-150 mandolin with a white background.

Rover RM50 Review

A hands-on review of the Rover RM50.

Loar LM 220 Review

A hands-on review of The Loar 220.

Loar LM 220 Mandolin with a white background.

Ibanez M510 Review

A hands-on review of the Ibanez M510.

Ibanez M510 Mandolin with a white background.

J Bovier F5-T Review

A hands-on review of the J Bovier F5-T.

The Loar LM-520-VS Review

A hands-on review of the The Loar LM-520-VS.

The Loar LM-520-VS Mandolin white a white background.

Gretsch G9350 Review

A hands-on review of the Gretsch G9350.

Washburn Bowl Back Review

A hands-on review of the Washburn Bowl Back.

Washburn Bowl Back Mandolin with a white background.

Big Muddy M-11 Review

A hands-on review of the Big Muddy M-11.

Mandolin Strings

Below are our posts about different Mandolin strings that you can purchase. We have full lists and buyer’s guides for all different types of strings for all budgets.

Strings For Beginners

This information will be coming soon to the website.

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Best Strings For Strumming

A guide to the best mandolin strings for strumming on the market today!

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Best Strings For Fingerpicking

This information will be coming soon to the website.

Violin Strings

Best Strings For Bluegrass

A guide to the best mandolin strings for bluegrass on the market today!

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Other Mandolin Gear

There is more gear for your mandolin than just the instrument and strings. Below we’ve included buyer’s guides to all of the important equipment and accessories that you might want to purchase to complete your set-up.

Best Mandolin Straps

This information will be coming soon to the website.

Ukulele Strap

Best Mandolin Amps

This information will be coming soon to the website.

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Best Mandolin Tuners

A list of the best mandolin tuners on the market today.

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Best Mandolin Pickups

A list of the best mandolin pickups on the market today.

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Best Capos For Mandolins

This information will be coming soon to the website.

Ukulele Capo

Best Mandolin Cases

This information will be coming soon to the website.

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Best Mandolin Picks

A list of the best mandolin picks on the market 
today.

The best mandolin picks with a white background.

Best Mandolin Armrests

This information will be coming soon to the website.

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Mandolin Lessons

If you want to learn how to play the Mandolin, you can check out the wonderful lessons below for free on YouTube. This will give you the foundation you need to be able to play your new instrument and help you moving forward.

Beginner Lesson 1

Step-By-Step Tutorial

A quick and easy tutorial that will teach you the different parts of the Mandolin, a couple of the easiest chords you can learn and some basic info to get you started playing.
Play Video
Playing Mandolin
Play Video

Beginner Lesson 2

Step-By-Step Tutorial

A quick and easy tutorial that will teach you the different parts of the Mandolin, a couple of the easiest chords you can learn and some basic info to get you started playing.

Beginner Lesson 3

Step-By-Step Tutorial

A quick and easy tutorial that will teach you the different parts of the Mandolin, a couple of the easiest chords you can learn and some basic info to get you started playing.
Playing Mandolin 2
Play Video
Play Video

Beginner Lesson 4

Step-By-Step Tutorial

A quick and easy tutorial that will teach you the different parts of the Mandolin, a couple of the easiest chords you can learn and some basic info to get you started playing.