Fern years?

[Mandomaiden]

I've seen a couple of 2003 Ferns in the classifieds. Are there any years of this model that stand out...either good or bad? Trying to keep track of even an abbreviated history of all the Gibson models leaves me dazed and confused, even with all of Big Joe's posts....

[John M. Riley]

i really dont know too much, but all the charlie derrington signed ferns and danny roberts signed ferns always seemed good

[Gary S]

I had tried a 2005 Varnished Fern that was exceptional.

[fredfrank]

When I talked to Danny Roberts at Huck Finn this past summer, he said there was something special about the '03 Ferns. He just didn't say what it was.

Me too, Wallflower!----see below

[wallflower]

I have an '03 Varnish Fern that's outstanding.

[LeoR]

So what is it that is special about '03 Ferns - anyone know? All of them or just varnished ones??

I do know of a few people that have '03 Ferns and tell me they are F-5's on steroids.

[wallflower]

In regards to my '03 Varnish Fern, I can say it sounds a lot different now than it did when I first got it. #I've had a proper fitting and adjustment done to the bridge and that made a huge difference to the tone from when it was new. #Plus I've played it a lot! #

This Fern has a very deep bottom end that has a texture to it which is kind of hard to describe. #It has a depth that sort of sounds thick and dark. #When played it doesn't sound so much like the tone comes off the strings as it sounds like it comes from the body. #It's very, very woody sounding. #To me it has a charateristic of dry woodiness similar to one of Mike Compton's earlier Gilchrists. #It's very loud and it can have a sweet or growling sound depending upon how you hit it. #It also has what I would describe as screaming E strings. #And it has that piano like tone on the E strings up to the 24th fret.

It is louder and projects much better than any of the three master models I owned. #I think this varnish Fern sounds a lot different than the lacquer Ferns I've played. #All in all it's a great mandolin and I think Gibson did a fantastic job with it.

Hope that description helps.

[fredfrank]

I would say wallflower sums up my experience with my '03 varnish Fern exactly. I have played a couple of lacquer Ferns, and they're just not the same.

[Mikey G]

I have a 2001 Fern that's an absolute hoss, and it's a lacquer finish. Gene Horner told me once that he didn't know "what all the fuss was with people wanting a varnish finish." He said a laquer finish would sound as good when it opened up, and was much more durable. He's a respected luthier around these parts, so I figured he knew what he was talking about. For my own information, are varnish finishes really worth the extra price, and more importantly, will a laquer finished mandolin that's several years old sound about the same as a new varnish mando of the same model?

[fredfrank]

Yes.

[fredfrank]

I don't think that the varnish finish is completely responsible for how well a mandolin sounds, but it doesn't hurt. I'd say it sort of speeds up the process of allowing the instrument to open up. Maybe we're just paying for a shortcut to maturity.

I had a lacquer finished Collings MF5 which I had played a lot over a couple of years and when I got my varnished Collings, it wasn't near as good as the older MF5 lacquer. But it didn't take long for it to come around.

I will say that a varnished mandolin is a lot easier to distress than a lacquered one!

[sgarrity]

I used to own an '03 Fern and asked this same question. There were some slight changes made to the model this year. Big Joe posted what they were but I can't seem to find the post.

Shaun

[fredfrank]

Just in case anyone wants a 2003 varnished Fern, I believe Intermountain Guitar and Banjo in Salt Lake City still has the running mate to mine (brand new-old stock).

No financial interest, but the price is very reasonable.

[mikeyes]

Just to renew this thread a little, what were the changes that occurred in the 2003 Ferns? I have a Danny Roberts signed 2003 Fern-V that I bought simply because it was by far the best new mandolin I had heard in a long time. It continues to improve and once it (or I) warms up, it has outstanding tone and response just as the other owners of this year's instruments describe.

Does anyone else have any information on these mandolins?


See my personal page at www.mikekeyes.com (http://www.mikekeyes.com)