Flatiron serial no. question

[mando_dan]

With all the talk about new Flatirons I figured I'd try to learn a bit more about the old one I just bought. Strangely enough, it that arrived the day the news "broke" that the Flatiron name was being resurrected. That topic aside, it's a beautiful blackface A-model with a very sweet voice that doesn't seem to have been played all that much over the last several years. I'm hoping to change that.

The SN is 87070761. From what I've read on other threads, this, I think, translates into a birth date of July 1987 and represents the 761st mandolin built to date in 1987.

Question 1- Can anyone verify if I'm reading this correctly?

Question 2- Was this mandolin built while Flatiron was an independent company or after the buyout? Just curious. If it was indeed built in the pre-Gibson era, I'd be more than happy to send in some photos or other info to the Flatiron archive project.

Question 3- I don't have a dental mirror so I can't see who, if anyone, signed the instrument. Any likely candidates at this time?

Question 4- I'm speculating, but was a blackface typically built with tone wood of high acoutsic value but low aesthetic value?

Thanks for your help!

[cooper4205]

as far as i have been told you are reading the SN correctly. i think your Flatiron is right when everything was switching to Gibson ownership, but not sure which side of the buyout it is on (i don't know if Gibson changed the SN's as soon as they took over, or a little later). My Flatty is from '87 also, but was made in March so it is a few months clear of the buy out date.


anyway, welcome to the Flatiron club http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif , hope you enjoy it

here are some old threads on the matter

Thread 1 (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=13;t=34340;hl=flatiron+and+ dating)

Thread 2 (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=13;t=41583;hl=flatiron+and+ dating)

[fatt-dad]

Dear mando-dan,

There's only so many hours in the day and I can't keep all these serial numbers straight - ha. The grass-roots flatironarchive project is intended to document the pre-Gibson Flatirons, but I don't know what was the last pre-Gibson and the first Flatson serial number so I'm just listing all with serial numbers of 1987 or lower.

Maybe you can stick a finger into the f-hole and feel whether the tone bars are parellel or not (i.e., making an x). My 1984 is x-braced.

I have no clue about the quality of the tone wood. I'm not even sure I know what "quality" tonewood looks like. Don't get me wrong there's lots of cool looking tonewood, I just don't know how "cool-looking" translates to tone-wood. Some folks want a blackface mandolin (look at the cool Collings-Nuggett Tim O'Brian mandolin). Some folks wonder whether the builder didn't like something about the "look" and decided to make that one in black. I would suspect there's much more to the carving than the "look" of the tonewood.

I'd love to record your mandolin. Provide serial number and photos and any other information you want to provide (i.e., if you figure it's tone bar or x-braced).

Hope you love your mandolin. I played mine tonight!

f-d

[mando_dan]

Thanks everyone. I do love the mandolin and it sounds sweeter every day, especially after being clobbered with some aggressive rhythm playing. A good set-up should make it even better as will replacing the strange curved plastic nut that's on it now. Pictures and a description will be arriving shortly.

If anyone ever does find out the exact date when Gibson acquired Flatiron, please post it. We can sort of have a New Year's Baby competition.

Thanks again!

[Bill Van Liere]

Dan, I believe there were some blackface A5-JRs made about that time. The label should be easy read through the bass side F hole. Or does this have a roundsoundhole?

[mando_dan]

F holes. The label reads:

Flatiron Mandolin & Banjo Company
THIS INSTRUMENT
Model Festival A No. 87070761
IS GUARANTEED TO
the original owner against faulty workmanship
and defective materials
PERFORMER SERIES
Handmade in Bozeman, Montana
U.S.A.

So, not an A-JR I assume?