Carup Mandolin A-Style

The Carup Mandolin A-Style brings the same quality construction philosophy that defines the Carup guitar range to the world’s most characterful small-bodied acoustic instrument — delivering a bright, focused, singing tone that serves bluegrass, folk, Celtic, classical, and acoustic ensemble playing with equal authenticity. The A-style teardrop body produces the rounded, warm tonal character associated with the instrument’s folk and old-time traditions — slightly mellower than the F-style mandolin but projecting with a clarity and sustain that makes it fully capable in ensemble performance and studio recording applications. Carup selects solid Sitka spruce for the top of this instrument — the same top material specified for the Carup acoustic guitar range. The spruce top on a mandolin serves the same function as on a guitar: it is the primary vibrating surface, and its stiffness, grain consistency, and freedom from defects determine whether the instrument produces a complex, responsive tone or a flat, one-dimensional one. Solid top construction is the single most important quality upgrade available on a mandolin at this price point, and Carup has made it the central construction specification of the A-Style. The mahogany back and sides provide warmth and sustain, preventing the natural brightness of the spruce top from producing a thin or harsh character. Carup’s internal ladder bracing for the mandolin is optimized for the specific string tension and tonal requirements of the mandolin’s eight strings in four pairs, tuned in fifths from G to E. The nut width and string spacing are set to Carup’s professional mandolin specification — adequate for comfortable plectrum technique without being so wide that quick position changes become laborious. Carup’s individual planetary-gear tuning machines for mandolin provide smooth, precise tuning with the mechanical stability required by the doubled strings that mandolin tuning demands.