--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-ca/instrument/mandolin' title: Mandolin author: name: rajeevk url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-ca/user/4add8741a490747f' date: '2026-06-21T18:26:36+00:00' updated: '2026-11-06T00:26:48+00:00' type: product summary: 'The Carnatic mandolin is the electric instrument U. Srinivas established for South Indian raga: his five single strings or the Western eight in four courses,…' tags: - Chordophones - Mandolin image: 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/mcp-imported/mandolin-374.jpg?VersionId=4_zf58621fa0f456059ae110919_f113351cfde5d4035_d20261105_m213808_c003_v0312049_t0014_u01793914688396&h=00546c34&itok=hGY37oAA' published: true og: site_name: KalaSudha 'image:url': 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/mcp-imported/mandolin-374.jpg?VersionId=4_zf58621fa0f456059ae110919_f113351cfde5d4035_d20261105_m213808_c003_v0312049_t0014_u01793914688396&h=00546c34&itok=hGY37oAA' 'image:secure_url': 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/mcp-imported/mandolin-374.jpg?VersionId=4_zf58621fa0f456059ae110919_f113351cfde5d4035_d20261105_m213808_c003_v0312049_t0014_u01793914688396&h=00546c34&itok=hGY37oAA' 'image:type': image/jpeg 'image:width': '1200' 'image:height': '675' 'image:alt': 'Sunburst A-style mandolin on a light grey background' --- Western instrument · Electric lute # Mandolinमैंडोलिन The Carnatic mandolin is the five-string electric mandolin that U. Srinivas played, with single strings in place of the Western double courses. [Ask for a quote](/en-ca/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=374) [Learn the mandolin ](#learn) ## Buy from KalaSudha £350 to £2,500 - Sold by quote or made to order - Packed for shipping and delivered worldwide - Serviced and repaired by us, wherever you bought it FamilyPlucked lute Strings5 single (Srinivas-style) BodySolid-body or semi-hollow electric Adapted inSouth India, 20th century Buy from us ## Choose your mandolin [Ask about a custom order ](/en-ca/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=374) - Student ### Student mandolin From £350 Adapted Western electric mandolins suit learners. [Ask for a quote](/en-ca/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=374) - Carnatic setup ### Carnatic setup mandolin £700 to £1,200 These are built or modified for Carnatic technique, with the right scale and pickups. [Ask for a quote](/en-ca/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=374) - Bespoke ### Bespoke mandolin £1,200 to £2,500 Bespoke instruments come from specialist South Indian makers in Vijayawada. [Ask for a quote](/en-ca/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=374) ### What to look for When buying a mandolin for Carnatic music, start with the string layout. Srinivas-style instruments use five single strings, which differs from standard eight-string Western mandolins and from four-string single-course electrics. Standard mandolin scale length is about 330 mm, and Gibson-style American mandolins are about 350 mm. Instruments built or modified for Carnatic technique have the right scale and pickups. A scale of 330 to 360 mm suits string-bending gamaka, and two pickups, at the neck and the bridge, give a warmer tone for alap and a brighter one for fast kalpana swaras. Bending wears frets fast, so check them for grooves; we dress or replace worn frets. Ask us for a quote, or for a mandolin made to order. ### After you buy Delivered worldwideWe pack every instrument for international shipping; ask us about cases and insurance. Service and repairWe service and repair any mandolin, wherever you bought it, worldwide: ask us. Strings, parts and casesAsk us for strings, spare parts and cases, and about a size for a younger learner. Help with your instrumentAsk us through the chat on any page, or by email, for help with your instrument. Gifts, schools and travelAsk us about gift vouchers, class sets for schools, and flight cases and travel help. Read the mandolin care guide - Replace dull or kinked **strings**. On a double-strung instrument, change both strings of a course together, to the same gauge: mismatched gauges upset tuning and pick response. Tune each pair to an exact unison, and ask us which strings suit it. - Bending wears **frets** fast, and worn frets throw bent notes out of tune. Check for grooves every few months and send worn frets to us for dressing or replacement. - In the **electronics**, clean the pots every six months with contact cleaner, check the output jack for loose joints, which cut the signal, and store the instrument unplugged. - **Tune** every string on its own with a chromatic tuner; a slightly sour pair gives a chorus effect that muddies fast passages. - The **neck** shifts with humidity: check relief every few months with a straight edge, and adjust the truss rod if the action rises beyond comfortable bending. KalaSudha Academy ## Learn the mandolin with us [All courses ](/en-ca/courses) You can learn the Carnatic mandolin with KalaSudha online and in workshops, and every beginner starts at Foundation level. Foundation begins with your instrument's string layout and a stiff pick, striking each course cleanly before any melody. We teach children as well as adults: ask us about a starting age and about a mandolin size for a younger learner. If you are returning after a long break, our courses run in levels, so you start again where you left off. Your teacher reviews where you stand first. [Ask about learning the mandolin](/en-ca/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=374) ### Your route, stage by stage 1. 1 Pick hold, string layout and course striking This is Foundation, the stage where beginners start in KalaSudha's courses. Learn your instrument's layout first: a Srinivas-style mandolin carries five single strings, a Western one eight in four courses tuned G-D-A-E, so agree a tuning with your teacher. Hold a stiff 1.0–1.5 mm pick between thumb and index, strike each course cleanly and practise even alternating strokes before any melody. 2. 2 Scale patterns and fret navigation Learn the primary Carnatic scale patterns (melakarta scales) as fingering positions on the mandolin fingerboard. The short scale length concentrates positions across a compact range; develop the ability to move between positions fluently before adding bending technique. 3. 3 String-bending for gamaka Develop the sideways bend that gives kampita (oscillation) and jaru (glide) on the frets, learning gamaka by ear from Srinivas's recordings. Control each bend precisely: Carnatic gamaka needs half-tone and quarter-tone bends, far finer than blues or rock bends. 4. 4 Tremolo and sustained melodic phrases Develop tremolo picking, rapid alternating strokes on one string or course, to sustain a pitch through a long phrase, since a single stroke decays fast. Tremolo is the main tool for phrase length and dynamics in alapana; ask your teacher how much your style needs. 5. 5 Raga alapana, kritis and kalpana swaras Learn to elaborate a raga through alapana (free-time improvisation) using bending, tremolo and gamaka across the instrument's range. Study fixed Carnatic compositions (kritis, varnams) in structured tala cycles, then develop kalpana swaras (improvised solfa passages) and pallavi to reach full Carnatic performance practice. The instrument ## About the mandolin ### What makes a mandolin ### The Carnatic mandolin The **Carnatic mandolin** is the electric instrument that **U. Srinivas** (1969–2014) took onto the Carnatic stage from childhood, and ours, set up for Carnatic technique, suits the student and the stage player. Srinivas made a Western instrument a vehicle for South Indian raga. Before him the mandolin had been alien to South Indian classical music, and his students now teach and play it across South India and abroad. Srinivas played a custom instrument with **five single strings** and a contact microphone, tuned C-G-C-G-C; a Western mandolin carries **eight strings in four courses**, tuned G-D-A-E. ### How it plays raga The player strikes with a plectrum and shapes **gamaka**, the ornaments of Carnatic melody, by bending each fretted note sideways and stretching the string towards the next note rather than lifting the finger. Fast alternating strokes, tremolo, sustain long phrases, and pick angle and weight shape tone and dynamics. The electric form's sustain, touch sensitivity and compact scale suit this technique better than the acoustic mandolin. ### Choosing one Check the string layout first: five single strings, eight in four courses, or four single strings on some electrics. Makers in Vijayawada and Chennai build instruments adapted for Carnatic playing, with scale length, gauges and pickups developed with Srinivas over decades. Start on one of our [Carnatic mandolin](/en-ca/instrumental/carnatic-classical/mandolin) study paths, or compare the [veena](/en-ca/instrument/veena). ### History The mandolin grew from the European lute family; the Neapolitan form is tuned like a [violin](/en-ca/instrument/violin). It reached South India through colonial trade and missions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and lived in folk and popular music in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. **U. Srinivas** (Uppalapu Srinivas), born in Palakollu, Andhra Pradesh, in 1969, began on his father's acoustic mandolin. He played on All India Radio by about age 11 and moved to the electric instrument for sustain and touch. Within a few years he played solo on the Carnatic circuit beside senior musicians. He recorded *Dream* (1995) with Michael Brook, worked with L. Subramaniam and joined John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain in Remember Shakti from 1997. His more than 137 albums, across Carnatic recitals, jugalbandis and crossover, carried the mandolin to jazz and world audiences new to Carnatic music. He received the Padma Shri in 1998 and later the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Since his death in 2014, his students teach and play it in South India and abroad, and Vijayawada makers build to his specifications. In one generation a Western instrument became part of Carnatic music, through his lineage and on the concert circuit. How a mandolin is made A Carnatic mandolin is a **solid-body or semi-hollow electric mandolin** built on the Western bowl-back or flat-back model and adapted for Indian use. Most have a mahogany or alder body with a flat top and an upper cutaway for the high frets. The neck, set at a shallow angle, carries a rosewood or maple fingerboard with standard **metal frets**, at a scale of 330–360 mm that suits string-bending gamaka. **Two pickups**, single-coil or humbucker, sit at the neck and bridge, each with its own volume control and a shared tone control: the neck is warmer for alap, the bridge brighter for fast kalpana swaras. Srinivas's own instrument used a contact microphone. A fixed, compensated saddle of bone or synthetic material sets intonation. Western courses use plain steel above and wound strings below, gauges chosen to balance tension for bending and drone; Srinivas-style instruments carry five single strings. Players use a **small, stiff pick**, 1.0–1.5 mm, of tortoiseshell substitute or nylon: thicker for clean tremolo and even courses, thinner for speed at some cost to clarity. They play through a clean amplifier with moderate reverb and sometimes light compression, the instrument across the thigh or upright at about 45 degrees. ### At a glance TraditionCarnatic classical music; established by U. Srinivas from the late 1970s onwards String systemWestern: 8 strings in 4 double courses, tuned G-D-A-E in fifths; Srinivas-style: 5 single strings Body typeSolid-body or semi-hollow electric with an upper cutaway; a contact microphone on Srinivas's own Gamaka techniqueString-bending on the frets for kampita and jaru; tremolo picking for sustained phrases Scale length330–360 mm; shorter than a guitar, longer than the acoustic bowl-back mandolin Key maker regionVijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) and Chennai, built to Carnatic specifications; Srinivas's own were custom-made Full specifications #### Physical dimensions Total instrument length55–65 cm Scale length330–360 mm Body width (max)25–30 cm Body depth3–5 cm (solid-body) or 5–8 cm (semi-hollow) Weight1.5–2.5 kg #### Body & construction Body materialMahogany or alder (solid-body); laminate maple (semi-hollow) Neck materialMaple or mahogany with rosewood or maple fingerboard FretsStandard Western mandolin frets; 20–24 frets on neck and body PickupsTwo single-coil or humbucker pickups, neck and bridge; a contact microphone on Srinivas's instrument ControlsVolume (per pickup) and tone; 3-way pickup selector #### String system Total strings8 (in 4 double courses); 5 single on Srinivas-style instruments TuningG–D–A–E (low to high, in fifths, courses doubled); Srinivas: C-G-C-G-C String materialPlain steel (upper courses); wound steel (lower courses) Typical gauges0.009–0.034 (adjusted for Carnatic bending technique) RangeApproximately 3 octaves across 4 courses; 5-string electrics add a low C #### Playing equipment PlectrumStiff pick, 1.0–1.5 mm; tortoiseshell substitute or nylon AmplificationClean-channel electric guitar amplifier; moderate reverb, optional compression Playing positionSeated; instrument across thigh or held upright at 45-degree angle Primary gamakaString-bending (kampita), tremolo picking, jaru (slide bend) Pickup selectionNeck pickup for alapana; bridge pickup for faster kalpana swara passages #### Acoustic characteristics Tonal characterBright and articulate; neck pickup adds warmth for sustained melodic passages SustainModerate, with a short natural decay extended by tremolo picking and compression Dynamic rangeWide; controlled by pick attack, volume pot, and amplifier settings Optimal useCarnatic alapana, kritis, kalpana swaras; solo and ensemble with mridangam and violin ProjectionHigh (amplified); suited to large sabha halls and outdoor concert settings Explore the music ## Hear the mandolin Hear KalaSudha's [recordings](/en-ca/releases) and [concert videos](/en-ca/videos). ### Players Ask us to book a mandolin player for a concert, event or recording. [Book a mandolin player ](/en-ca/book-indian-classical-musicians) Keep exploring ## More around the mandolin - [ Discipline Mandolin The five-string electric mandolin that U. Srinivas brought to Carnatic concerts ](/en-ca/instrumental/carnatic-classical/mandolin) Questions ## Mandolin: common questions Buying, learning, care and the instrument itself. ### What is the Carnatic mandolin? The Carnatic **[mandolin](/en-ca/instrument/mandolin)** is the electric mandolin as U. Srinivas (1969 to 2014) played it in South Indian classical music. He began on his father's acoustic mandolin at about five or six, and later played a five-string electric instrument with single strings in place of the Western four double courses. Real World Records describes it as resembling the Western mandolin but fitted with a contact microphone. Other Carnatic mandolin players include U. Rajesh. ### How do I start learning the Carnatic mandolin? You can learn the Carnatic [mandolin](/en-ca/instrumental/carnatic-classical/mandolin) with KalaSudha online and in workshops, and every beginner starts at **Foundation** level. Foundation begins with your instrument's string layout and a stiff pick, striking each course cleanly before any melody. We teach children as well as adults: ask us about a starting age and about a mandolin size for a younger learner. If you are returning after a long break, our [courses](/en-ca/courses) run in levels, so you start again where you left off. Your teacher reviews where you stand first. ### How many strings does a Carnatic mandolin have? A Srinivas-style Carnatic **[mandolin](/en-ca/instrument/mandolin)** has five single strings, and sources differ on how Srinivas tuned them. The standard Western mandolin has eight strings in four courses, each pair tuned in unison, in fifths G-D-A-E like a violin. Check the string layout before you buy an instrument for Carnatic music. ### Where does the mandolin come from? The **[mandolin](/en-ca/instrument/mandolin)** evolved in Italy from earlier lutes, with the gittern and the mandore or mandola named as predecessors. The Neapolitan mandolin, tuned like a violin and played with a pick, was developed in Naples around 1750; its bent soundboard probably derived from the chitarra battente. The Vinaccia family of Naples made sought-after mandolins in the 18th century. ### What should I look for when buying a mandolin for Carnatic music? When buying a **[mandolin](/en-ca/instrument/mandolin)** for Carnatic music, start with the string layout. Srinivas-style instruments use five single strings, which differs from standard eight-string Western mandolins and from four-string single-course electrics. Standard mandolin scale length is about 330 mm, and Gibson-style American mandolins are about 350 mm. ### Where can I buy a mandolin set up for Carnatic music? You can buy a mandolin set up for Carnatic music from KalaSudha, by quote or made to order, and we deliver worldwide. Choose the string layout first: five single strings, or eight in four courses. We pack every instrument for international shipping; ask us about cases and insurance. We service and repair any mandolin worldwide, wherever you bought it, and supply strings and spare parts. For help after the sale, use the chat on any page or email . Gift vouchers, class sets for schools and a flight case for travel are worth asking us about as well. ### What is the difference between the mandolin and the veena? The European **[mandolin](/en-ca/instrument/mandolin)** is fretted, with four double courses of wire strings, tuned like a violin and played with a pick, as a 1772 Neapolitan example at the V&A shows. The Saraswati veena of Carnatic music is a long-necked lute whose 24 frets sit in a ridge of beeswax. For Carnatic music U. Srinivas played a five-string electric mandolin with single strings in place of the double courses. ### What is the difference between a Milanese and a Neapolitan mandolin? The Milanese **[mandolin](/en-ca/instrument/mandolin)** is the earlier type: a 1757 example at the V&A has five or six pairs of strings tuned more like a guitar, tied to the bridge and played with the fingertips. The Neapolitan mandolin has four double courses of wire strings, tuned like a violin and played with a pick. The V&A notes that Vivaldi wrote his mandolin concertos for the Milanese type. ### How is a Neapolitan mandolin built? A Neapolitan **[mandolin](/en-ca/instrument/mandolin)** by Antonio Vinaccia, made in Naples in 1772 and now at the V&A, shows the classic build. Its rounded body is made of 21 fluted maple ribs, and the belly bends inwards at the level of the bridge. The neck carries 10 silver frets, and eight rear pegs hold four double courses of wire strings: two steel, one brass and one overspun. ### How is the mandolin played? The Neapolitan **[mandolin](/en-ca/instrument/mandolin)** is tuned like a violin and played with a pick, as the V&A describes its 1772 Vinaccia example. The older Milanese type was played with the fingertips instead. In Carnatic music U. Srinivas played a five-string electric mandolin, which Real World Records describes as resembling the Western mandolin but fitted with a contact microphone. ### Can I book a Carnatic mandolin player for a concert, event or recording? You can book a Carnatic mandolin player through KalaSudha for a concert, event or recording. Ask us through our page to [book Indian classical musicians](/en-ca/book-indian-classical-musicians). Before you choose, hear our artists in KalaSudha's [recordings](/en-ca/releases) and watch our [concert videos](/en-ca/videos). ### Who are the best-known Carnatic mandolin players? Well-known Carnatic **mandolin** players include U. Srinivas (1969 to 2014), who took the electric mandolin onto the Carnatic stage as a child. He gave his first Chennai concert in 1981, aged 11, and joined John McLaughlin's Remember Shakti from 1997. His younger brother U. Rajesh studied with him for about 27 years, accompanied him on stage and plays a similar electric mandolin. Srinivas's students teach and play it in South India and abroad. ### How is a mandolin for Carnatic music different from an ordinary mandolin? A Carnatic **mandolin** is a solid-body or semi-hollow electric instrument, whose sustain and touch sensitivity suit Carnatic technique better than the acoustic mandolin. U. Srinivas played a custom electric instrument fitted with a contact microphone. The technique differs too. Carnatic players bend each fretted note sideways for gamaka and use fast tremolo strokes to sustain long phrases. Makers in Vijayawada and Chennai build instruments to Carnatic specifications. ### Still have questions? Our support team can help you find the right answer. [Contact support](/en-ca/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=374) Talk to us ## Tell us about the mandolin you want Ask for a quote on an instrument made to order, or about learning to play it with our teachers. [Ask for a quote](/en-ca/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=374) [Ask about learning](/en-ca/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=374) Stay close ## Keep KalaSudha close. Receive news of concerts, learning opportunities, recordings and the work taking shape at KalaSudha. - Concert news - ·Learning opportunities - ·Recordings and stories We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. Buy a mandolin from KalaSudha [Ask for a quote](/en-ca/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=374)