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Pinegrove Leather

How To Choose A Mandolin Strap

We offer a number of choices for mandolin straps, and sometimes choosing between them can be tricky.  We've put together this guide to help.

 

WHY DO I NEED A STRAP?

The job of a mandolin strap is…

 

    1. To prevent your precious instrument from falling on the ground.


    2. To hold your mandolin in a comfortable position so that your hands and arms are free to focus on playing.

 

These jobs are important whether you are playing whilst sitting or standing.

All Pinegrove straps fulfil both of these roles perfectly.  In fact, if you really wanted, you could attach one of our 4 inch wide (100mm) bass guitar straps to a mandolin and it would do a great job. However, mandolins are lightweight instruments that don't put much pressure on your shoulder, so you don't need a big strap.

WHAT KIND OF MANDOLIN DO YOU HAVE?

The first thing to do is to check the type of mandolin you have.  There are two main types used in folk, bluegrass and country music today, known as the A-shape and the F-shape.

mando strap Ivan Kelsall 2.jpg

In this picture, an A-shape is flanked by two F-shape mandolins.  The A-shape has a teardrop shaped body, while the F-shape has a peculiar "scroll" at the top corner of the body.

 

FOR F-SHAPE MANDOLINS...

Many players like to fit one end of a strap into this scroll.   The Pinegrove MS50 strap is designed for this purpose. 

Pinegrove MS50 strap

The cord loop fits into the scroll. The other end of the strap fits onto the strap pin  at the lower end of the body. This is the style preferred by David Benedict and many other great players.


Although designed for the F-shape mandolin, the MS50 strap can be fitted on any mandolin. The cord can either be threaded around the headstock (where the tuning pegs are),or around the top of the body. 

MS50 tan annotated sat copy.jpg

 

FOR A-SHAPE MANDOLINS...

We have these straps for A-shape mandolins:

  • MS86: 3/4" wide (18mm)
  • GS88: 1" wide (25mm)
  • GS55: 1 1/4" wide (30mm)

The wider the strap, the more comfortable it is.  A mandolin is very light though, so choose the one you like the look of best.

Pinegrove Leather mandolin straps in green

 

FITTING A MANDOLIN STRAP

Most of our other mandolin straps are designed primarily for fitting to strap buttons. If you don't have a strap button at the heel of your mandolin (where the neck meets the body),you can attach it to the headstock with one of our free headstock loops.

Pinegrove headstock loop on mandolin

For more help, go to https://www.pinegroveleather.com/pages/how-to-use-a-headstock-loop

 

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

There is one strap we haven't mentioned yet - the custom-made MS37.  This is a very compact strap with a fixed length.  This is the type often used by bluegrass musicians such as Bill Monroe.  We only make it to order, and it can be made for any kind of mandolin.  Check out the listing for more info.

MS37 F mandolin brown landscape.jpg

You can see all of our straps for mandolin athttps://www.pinegroveleather.com/pages/mandolin  Need more advice? Just contact Rod using the Get In Touch page or email info@pinegroveleather.com