Best Mandolins of 2026
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Mandolins are stringed musical instruments that belong to the lute family. They are known for their distinctive sound and are often used in folk, bluegrass, and classical music. Mandolins come in various shapes and sizes, with the most common being the bowl-backed mandolin and the flat-backed mandolin. They are typically made of wood and have four pairs of strings that are tuned in unison. Mandolins are versatile instruments that can be played solo or as part of an ensemble, making them a great addition to any musician's collection.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 9 Mandolins
Vangoa A Style Acoustic Electric Mandolin
The Vangoa A Style Mandolin is a beautifully crafted instrument featuring an 8-string design in a glossy red sunburst finish, making it suitable for a variety of music styles. You can enjoy a warm and bright sound thanks to its mahogany body and solid wood bridge. This electric acoustic mandolin is perfect for both intimate acoustic sessions and amplified performances, with a built-in pickup for seamless sound. Tuning is effortless with the chrome plated closed gear tuners and a convenient clip-on tuner, ensuring you stay in tune with ease.
Vangoa A-Style Sunburst Acoustic Mandolin
The Vangoa Mandolin is designed for both beginners and experienced players. With its great craftsmanship, it features quality tonewood that produces a crisp and ethereal sound while remaining lightweight. Its easy playability allows you to use picks, eliminating finger pain, and offers a wider range of 20 frets to explore. Additionally, the included tuner simplifies tuning, ensuring your mandolin stays in tune effortlessly, so you can focus on creating beautiful music.
Sunsmile A-Style 8 String Acoustic-Electric Mandolin
The Sunsmile A-Style Mandolin offers a vintage look with its teardrop design and gloss brown finish, making it stylish and eye-catching. Its magnetic pickup and tone controls allow you to amplify your mandolin’s bright sound, perfect for any venue. Made with a sapele top and okoume neck, it produces a wide range of tones while remaining lightweight for easy handling. The adjustable walnut bridge and 8-string setup let you customise string height and sound, ensuring comfortable playability and crisp, ethereal notes.
Chord Electro-Acoustic Mandolin with Tobacco Sunburst Finish
The Chord Electro-Acoustic Mandolin features a stunning Tobacco Sunburst gloss finish that not only enhances its aesthetic appeal but also makes it a standout instrument. With a single coil pickup, you can easily amplify your sound, ensuring your music reaches a wider audience. Individual volume and tone controls allow you to personalise your sound, giving you the freedom to experiment and create the perfect tone for your style. This mandolin is perfect for those looking to blend traditional craftsmanship with modern convenience.
GEWA Mandolin F-2 Premium Sunburst with Case
The GEWA Mandolin F-2 offers a solid spruce top, which enhances the instrument's resonance and projection, making it perfect for rich sound quality. Its flamed maple back and sides not only provide durability but also contribute to a visually stunning appearance. The fingerboard and bridge are made of Purpleheart, ensuring excellent playability and comfort while you perform. With 24 nickel silver frets and snowflake inlays, you will find it easy to navigate the fingerboard, allowing for precise playing and effortless transitions between notes.
KNA MP-2 Portable Piezo Mandolin Pickup
The KNA MP-2 Pickup offers a remarkable way to amplify your mandolin's natural sound without the hassle of batteries. With its convenient volume output control knob located on the output jack housing, adjusting your sound becomes effortless. The lightweight, wood-encased sensor installs easily in the bridge opening, ensuring no modifications to your instrument. Additionally, the solid ebony, cork-lined Carpenter jack holds securely in place, providing peace of mind during performances while allowing for detachment when not in use.
Stagg 25012996 Bluegrass Mandolin with Basswood Top
The Stagg Bluegrass Mandolin features a basswood top, back, and sides, offering a balanced tone and lightweight design that suits both beginners and experienced players. Its violinburst colour gives it a classic and attractive look, perfect for performances or practice. The nato neck provides durability and comfort, making it easier for you to play for extended periods. With a rosewood fingerboard, you’ll enjoy a smooth playing surface that enhances your finger movements and overall playing experience.
Stagg M50E Electro-acoustic Bluegrass Mandolin
The Stagg M50E Mandolin features a nato top, back, and sides, ensuring a warm, resonant sound ideal for bluegrass music. The rosewood fingerboard offers a smooth playing experience, enhancing your comfort as you play. With an adjustable black-stained maple bridge, you can easily fine-tune your instrument for optimal sound quality. The engraved nickel tailpiece not only adds a touch of elegance but also secures the strings effectively, ensuring durability and reliability during performances.
Vangoa 29-Fret F-Style Acoustic Mandolin
The Vangoa F-Style Mandolin is a beautifully crafted instrument that combines stunning aesthetics with exceptional sound quality. Its F-style design, complete with an arch back body and elegant sunburst finish, not only looks great but also enhances resonance and tone. You will appreciate the clear, bright sound that is rich and warm, making it perfect for both beginners and experienced players. The quality tonewood and manual craftsmanship ensure durability, while the pre-installed pickguard protects against scratches, allowing you to play with confidence and ease.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are the best mandolins to buy?
Up Front Best Mandolins. Kentucky KM-150 A-style Mandolin: Best Overall.Rogue RM-100A A-style Mandolin: Best Budget Friendly.Ibanez M510 A-style Mandolin: Best Quality.Ibanez M522 F-style Mandolin: Best Volume and Tone.Rogue RM-100F F-style Mandolin: Most Attractive.
2. What does a decent mandolin cost?
Most of the players may need to reduce the price range more due to their budget. There is nothing to worry about great quality mandolins can be found at almost every budget level. We expect you to pay a minimum of $300 for a decent mandolin. However, this doesn't mean that each $300 instrument is good in quality.
3. Is mandolin hard to learn?
Fortunately, the mandolin is not a difficult instrument to learn. It's lightweight and compact so you can practice anywhere. It also has less strings than many other instruments, like the guitar, which makes reading tablature much easier.
4. Is mandolin harder than guitar?
When comparing the guitar to the mandolin, the guitar is much more difficult to learn than the mandolin because it has more strings.
During our mandolin research, we found 113 mandolin products and shortlisted 9 quality products. We collected and analyzed 11,862 customer reviews through our big data system to write the mandolins list. We found that most customers choose mandolins with an average price of £108.50.
The mandolins are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of mandolins, including vangoa, sunsmile, Chord, Gewa, KNA.
Hayden was born in Liverpool, and he never left his hometown until university. In his freshman year at the University of Manchester, Hayden was the group leader of a popular music group. Hayden is responsible for the popularity of his music, and this is because of his natural ability to play with keys and strings. He graduated with BFA in 2016 and returned in 2018 as a lecturing staff in the School of Music.