Switching from Weber to Gibson

[tomlouky]

I recently replaced my 3-year old Weber Bitteroot Custom with a new Gibson Fern and I'm having trouble adjusting to the change. #This has nothing to do with the sound (the Weber opened well and the Fern will too after some time.). #The Weber seemed to have a more rounded neck and the Fern a more V-shaped. #Tunes that I played smoothly on the Weber are now difficult and my hand hurts after playing it for a while. #Triplets and double stops more difficult. #I'm hoping that I get used to the Fern..SOON!!!

Has anyone else experienced this problem or is it totally in my head?

[onlyagibsonisgoodenuff]

Did your Weber have a radiused fingerboard? I know that the Fern has a flat finger board and many players have a hard time going from radiused to flat. I had a Gibson Sam Bush which had a round neck, and when I traded for the Fern it took a while to get used to it, but eventually it happened. I just kept admiring the good looks and ignored my clumsiness!

[Steven Stone]

I would strongly suggest taking the Fern to a good local luthier who regularly works on mandolins. If it is anything like my 2002 Fern he should be able to lower the factory set-up at the nut or replace the nut with a new nut cut so the action will work better for you.You may also want to adjust the string spacing.

My Fern sounds great, but is hands down the most difficult of my mandolins to play. At first I thought it was just me, but when I showed it to an far more experienced friend who owns a Loar and handles high end mandos for a living, he played it for ten seconds and handed it back to me saying "You really need to get this set up right."

He was right.

After a new set-up (and replacment of the first five frets I'd grooved from pushing down way too hard) it plays as well as any mando I've got. My luthier used my friend's Loar as his set up model. You might want to find a mando whose action feels right to you as a template for your set-up.

Gibson does not send out their mandos with a final optimum set up but rather with a set up that is playable, but far from ideal. Any new Gibson needs to be fine-tuned and optimized by a local luthier to get to an ideal set-up.

From my conversations with Gibson, I gather they expect their dealers to do a final set-up based on the buyer's tastes, but my impression is that few dealers follow through. Given the average dealer's profit from selling a high-end Gibson, the SHOULD do a final set-up since that is part of what they are making their margin for.
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[MandoA5]

Do you have any idea how much a dealer makes if the mandolin is sold at the MAP price? It's not much. I sell them and we offer set-ups as well, but there's not much margin in those sales. And there are dealers who even sell below MAP, that's what I love, when customer's come in with those prices. I tell them, Do they get setup and service? Most customers will beat you up over a nickel.

[Trip]

It took about 2 weeks before I got comfy with the slender Vshape Gibson neck, because I had learned on a wide round neck.....now I love the Vshape

[tomlouky]

Thanks folks for the encouragement. I plan on having the fingerboard extension "scooped" in the near future and will let my favorite luthier set it up as close to my Weber as possible.

[GTison]

I hesitate to wade in but I will. I have a new fern. I like it but it is not the easiest to play. I let the action down quite a bit at first.
I have a left index finger problem and it is hard to press down strings in the first fret. I plan to get it adjusted by someone competent or take it back to the factory when I can get back over there.

I originally switched from a '84 KM1000 which I had played for 15 years. I bought a 96 F5L. That started my problem I think. It had worn frets and a different neck shape. rounder shallower. I thought I'd get used to it but instead I pressed down harder and developed a REAL problem with my finger. SOOOOO be careful don't over play, and as quick as you can GET THAT THING ADJUSTED! And If that still doesn't work I would find another mandolin that fits my hand better. I sold my F5L and bought the new Fern for the sound and the NECK shape (V by the way). I looked at alot of mandolins though. good luck and be careful. You can get a new mandolin but It's more expensive to buy new joints, tendons,etc. parts are hard to come by.