Gibson's 120th Anniversary F5 mandolin

[mtucker]

Speaking of scroll perfection (or imperfections), its hard to beat this...

or this…

[Andrew B. Carlson]

I imagine these will be a limited run. 20ish. I doubt they'd match the anniversary number of 120. But seeing that they busted out the torch and wire inlay with handel tuners is certainly a encouraging move. Those options on a an F5 or even a new F4 would be pretty neat. Might I request a 3 point torch and wire?

[Tom C]

Cant seem to delete pic. I was thinking double flower pot.

[DataNick]

Thread Bump:

David Harvey released pics of the first batch of these mandos that are finished today on Facebook.

Drool & Enjoy!

[Michael Bridges]

Yowsa! Some serious eye-candy.

[Jim Garber]

I wonder if they will make any oval holes. Nice work on these tho my taste runs a little less ornate, they do seem well done. I bet the prices are in the stratosphere. BTW where does the year 1894 as the starting year come from? Is that when Gibson firs started building? I see in the archives that the earliest listed there is 1900. Has anyone seen an instrument from 1894 by Gibson?

[LongBlackVeil]

Gibson always goes over the top with their special edition, anniversaries etc.. That fretboard inlay is terrible imo and do we really need "gibson" Inlayed on the Florida? I bet it sounds great though! and I do like the flowerpot headstock inlay in the fern style

[Timbofood]

LBV, I agree about the "billboard in Florida", not sure that's the nicest attribute. The peghead is more "Torch and wire" really. The dime on the back of the peghead is interesting too.
I was wondering about the 1894 reference too.

[LongBlackVeil]

LBV, I agree about the "billboard in Florida", not sure that's the nicest attribute. The peghead is more "Torch and wire" really. The dime on the back of the peghead is interesting too.
I was wondering about the 1894 reference too.

Yea there you go, torch and wire that's the term I was looking for. It's a little more bold than the old ones though, very cool imo

And the inlayed tuners are a nice touch too

[cayuga red]

Yowsa! Some serious eye-candy.

Serious eye-candy indeed! Very tasteful, very beautiful (though some won't agree).

[f5loar]

Can someone post the price here?

[Astro]

Can someone post the price here?

It wont fit on the page.

[LongBlackVeil]

Serious eye-candy indeed! Very tasteful, very beautiful (though some won't agree).

About as tasteful as liberachi

[allenhopkins]

Did you catch the old "5¢ A Day Buys A Gibson" advt.? How long would you have to live to pay off one of those at a nickel a day?

[Clef]

Can someone post the price here?

I think these are going to The Mandolin Store in AZ. Give them a call if you want details.

When I was there last week Brian showed me a few photos of a set of three Gibson mandolins that David Harvey was making. I believe they are $20k each, but don't quote me on the price because it might be higher. Even though we chatted about this set of mandolins, my focus was what was hanging on the wall in my price range so I don't remember the price details.

It's great to see them finished. The pics I saw was just a work in progress.

Fantastic work by David and the Gibson team.

[HoGo]

IMHO, they should hire someone else to do their scrolls on such promotional pieces. Downright ugly. No flowing curves and completely lacks elegance. Even the worst Loars had at least kind of elegance and proportion in their scrolls if not perfect lines. The guy who programmed the CNC had NO idea about the scroll aesthetics. Mandolins in this category deserve more.
Now you can start throwing stones at me...

[Timbofood]

I thought it was just me, the scrolls are not "pleasing" visually, I agree. They could have at least looked at your plans! I had a chat with a friend about some of the aesthetics on "F" models and, though the design is not in the least symmetrical, the eye makes everything balance in a very interesting manner. The heaviness of the scroll is offset with the "Florida", so to speak, to provide an appealing look. Now I am just rambling. I am sure there will be those who will disagree but, that was what we talked about.

[carleshicks]

I thought it was just me, the scrolls are not "pleasing" visually, I agree. They could have at least looked at your plans! I had a chat with a friend about some of the aesthetics on "F" models and, though the design is not in the least symmetrical, the eye makes everything balance in a very interesting manner. The heaviness of the scroll is offset with the "Florida", so to speak, to provide an appealing look. Now I am just rambling. I am sure there will be those who will disagree but, that was what we talked about.

Your friend sounds like mr. Halsey.

[Gregory Tidwell]

They always put a lot of fru-fru on these anniversary instruments. Not my cup of tea, but I'm sure others will really love it.

[Timbofood]

Gee, Carles how'd you guess!? We should all get together for a cocktail and chat sometime!
I don't mind frou-frou, I play an "F" (one more thing "F" might stand for) but, make it, as Adrian so kindly put, elegant. They kind of made it, dare I say, gaudy.
There is a haunting elegance in Loars which is so much about the least obvious things, the little "tumble home" on the treble point, the visual harmony between "spit curl and swirly ear", etc. I have been looking at them for years and the builders who "get it" really do. Some make very close designs but they are interpretations, no?
Just to be clear, I have no issue with the builders who interpret them at all, it's builder prerogative when they put their name on it to make it the way they see it. It's all good!

[carleshicks]

We should. I don't live very far from Kalamazoo, about 35 minutes away.

[Timbofood]

Things are a little up in the air around here right now but we will do that soon!

[dustyamps]

I attended a seminar that Harvey spoke at recently and saw a black prototype. I got the impression that a dealer has to buy the set of 3 (with $75,000 mentioned) and the mandolins will not be sold individually.

[pheffernan]

Can someone post the price here?

$19,999 http://www.themandolinstore.com/scripts/aboutus.asp

[yankees1]

I realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but to my eye these mandolins are ugly !