When one would ask people what a mandolin looks like, in all likelihood they will not describe an A-style mandolin. Rather, when talking mandolin, one will think F-style, with its curl on the upper bass side of the body and frequent adornments on the headstock. These are most regularly used in bluegrass band because of their distinct “chuck” where the mandolin almost acts as a percussion instrument to provide the rhythmic foundation under a tune. Of course, Collings excels a building this version too. Appointments are much more ornate on an MF5 but here I will limit myself to the more austere MF. In terms of dimensions, there is no basic difference between a Collings A-style model and F-style model. Both have a body width of 12⅞”, body length of 195⁄16”, depth of 113⁄16”, and same 13⅞” scale length. An F-style is just a tad longer, 277⁄16“ vs. 26⅜“ for the A-style. The same similarity holds for the materials used. The Adirondack spruce top has tone bars bracing and 2 f-holes. The back and sides are made from figured maple. The body has tortoise (top) binding. As for the A-style, the ebony bridge has 2 adjustable posts for height adjustment and can be moved for proper intonation. The flame maple neck has the rounded-V profile and an ebony fingerboard with a 5½”-11⅝” compound radius, Mother-of-Pearl (MOP) dot position markers, and a 1⅛“ nut. In contrast to the MT, the headstock has a scroll shape but the same nickel Gotoh tuning machines with black buttons, ebony veneer with inlaid MOP Collings logo, and a matte black paint finish on the back. As of 2025, mandolins are still in regular production and more info on the MF can be found on their website:

https://www.collingsguitars.com/mandolins/mf/.