Antonio Stradivari the famous and greatest violin maker of all trimes even made mandolinos, which is otherwise know as the Italian word for mandolin. Antonio had modelled or designed about 6 different body patterns for the mandolinos Over the past five years popularity for the mandolin is on the increase where people are showing more interest.

Some folks have said it is a first coming of an old time musical instrument. When actually, this is the mandolins second coming in this century

The mandolin, when played as a backup instrument, has a fabulous sound that is described as a chop.  The chop we speak of in the music world of the mandolin is the stroke between bass notes.  It is an off beat that is deadened after it has been played so that each chop can be notable separately. Differences are where some pick with an up stroke for this and others use the downward stroke

A question raised by people who wish to know more about this instrument is What is the difference between a mandolin and a mandola?   Well a mandolin has two "F" shaped holes in the top and the mandola has one big hole in the middle and is slightly bigger.  Mandolas are a rarity today.

Bluegrass music and the types of mandolin used to play these sounds come in two types the F-5 and the A-5.  The F-5 is more of a fancy and the A-5 is similar looking to being pear shaped.  Although both sorts sound basically the same, it is the F-5 which is preferred mainly because of its Bill Monroe look.  This instrument is small but can be very expensive.