Authentic mandolin chop is recognizable from the first strum and can only be found in an instrument with a true hand-carved spruce top. The Loar hand-carved the tops of the LM-310F to provide that real 1920 s sound but with enough vibration to still cut through in today s ensemble playing. The thin V profile of the maple neck fits comfortably in the player s hand and our removal of the fretboard extension beyond the 20th fret allows for easy strumming without getting hung up on the extended upper frets. Combine the graceful curves of an authentic F-style body and D Addario strings and you ve got an instrument that not only sounds great out of the box but will be handed down to the next generation when the time comes. Case sold separately.