Early Birthday Present To Myself - Wondering ...

[journeybear]

I pulled the trigger on this, a 1910 A-1 if the serial number list is correct. I saw it this morning, and since it seemed to be in my wheelhouse - decent but not perfect, a player not a museum piece, BIN consistent with my notion of its worth (perhaps even a bit of a bargain at $840 incl. shipping) - I went for it. I had some reservations, particularly the crack in the back which seems at an odd angle (hard to tell from the photo, #9), but I was swayed by the pineapple tailpiece cover and tortoise shell pickguard. Also, the top looks solid, the soundhole decoration is charming, and while I've been ambivalent about paddleheads, I'm willing to give it a chance.

I thought of running this past the eyes of the experts here first, but I knew what would happen - someone would snap it up. I was able to talk myself into it because my birthday is coming up, and it's one of the big ones, and a friend of mine was talking with me just yesterday about buying a mandolin. I might be able to sell him one of my others, which would about cover this purchase. In fact, I was looking to see what was out there for him when I saw this, and thought it would be better for me - funny how this stuff works. But now that the deal is done, I still wonder whether that crack is anything to worry about. This isn't buyer's remorse - I think it's a keeper, though I won't know till it gets here - I'm just wondering ...

[F-2 Dave]

You deserve a pineapple. My A-4 is serial no. 9041. I've always considered it to be a 1909 model. I couldn't see a good shot of the peg head on your's. Does it by chance have the super cool silkscreen logo? Congratulations, and Happy Birthday. I'm pretty sure you're gonna like your new (old) mandolin.

[JEStanek]

Enjoy! It's lovely.

Jamie

[journeybear]

You deserve a pineapple. My A-4 is serial no. 9041. I've always considered it to be a 1909 model. I couldn't see a good shot of the peg head on your's. Does it by chance have the super cool silkscreen logo? Congratulations, and Happy Birthday. I'm pretty sure you're gonna like your new (old) mandolin.

Exactly! And furthermore, after suffering for so long without a logo on my plain As, it'll be nice to be able to display proudly the name, "Gibson."

As so often happens, a considerable discrepancy between my two sources for SNs. According to the Blue Book at http://www.gibson.com/Files/download...ics.pdf‏ it's a 1907, and yours is a 1908.

APPROX. LAST # YEAR

1500 1903
2500 1904
3500 1905
5500 1906
8300 1907
9700 1908
10100 1909
10600 1910

According to The Guitar Attic, http://www.guitarattic.com/Gibson%20...%20Numbers.htm it's a 1910, and yours is a 1911

1904 1151 1850
1905 1851 2550
1906 2551 3350
1907 3351 4250
1908 4251 5450
1909 5451 6950
1910 6951 8750
1911 8751 10850

The Vintage Guitar description ( http://www.guitarhq.com/gibson8.html#a1) puts it at after 1908:

Model: A-1 Mandolin
Available: 1902 to 1943

1902 A-1 specs:
Symmetrical body, bound oval soundhole with 2 wood inlaid rings, pickguard inlaid into top, single bound top, bound ebony fingerboard, dot inlays, large rounded paddle shape peghead, golden orange top finish, reddish back and sides.
1905 A-1 specs:
Smaller non-paddle peghead, "The Gibson" peghead logo.
1908 A-1 specs:
Elevated pickguard.
A-1 discontinued 1918.

The logo looks like inlay to me.


My favorite photo is #3 - nice tight join. Here are the problem areas, which I hope aren't too troublesome:

[F-2 Dave]

The crack doesn't bother me. Just keep an eye on it. The back seems to fit kinda funky. Guess you'll just need to wait til you have it in your hands to determine what action, if any, to take. I thought the silkscreen logo was a long shot, but it still wears the Gibson inlay loud and proud. Do you plan to put it into the archive? I went to put mine in only to find that it had already been entered by a previous owner. Does it come with a period case?

[houseworker]

Spann has 1909 starting at #7650 and 1910 starting at #9100, which would date both your instruments to 1909.

[journeybear]

I checked the archive. They have #8138, real close: "1908 Gibson A1 Mandolin #8138, 1908 manufacture date (traditional estimates)." They also have #8064, another A1 with the same dates. These are the two nearest A1s with photos. There are other instruments in the vicinity, with dates that vary a year each way. I like 1908 numerologically. I think I'll go with that.

Imay indeed present this to the Archive. It looks pretty nice, a good example from the period. I may offer my 1916 H-2 mandola as well, a centennial present to that lovely instrument. :D

There was no mention of a case in the ad. I asked the seller about it when I sent payment, but have heard nothing from him. There is a notice it's shipped, and promptness there is usually a good sign. I intend to put it to work, which usually means installing a Fishman bridge connected to a 1/4" endpin jack. I am considering using a less invasive approach this time. The glue job on the back probably has already compromised its collector status, but I'm reluctant to modify it beyond the point of no return, just yet.

[Mandoplumb]

Watch this early birthday stuff, I think I'm up to 103rd birthday in early birthday gifts to myself. Enjoy you early gift.

[journeybear]

Thanks! My birthday is three weeks away, so there's time to gift wrap it, even plan a surprise party.

[mrmando]

It appears to be refinished, so there's no fuss about collector status anyhow. Set it up the way you want and let us know how it sounds.

I played a mandolin trio gig last week. We were being hosted by a violinist who also has a no-name postwar flatback factory mandolin that he showed us. My man Al, our first mandolinist, took this thing and played a little on it into his microphone, during sound check. And boom! All of a sudden that little crackerbox had tone and depth and clarity and presence. Al deserves a lot of the credit, of course, but that mandolin sounded like it was born to be amplified.

[journeybear]

She arrived yesterday, a day ahead of the original schedule. Packed decently, in a cheap cardboard case (taped shut with packing tape, which was overkill, and removing the tape removed a fair amount of the case's finish.),with the strings slacked. bubble wrap around the instrument in the case, plenty of peanuts around the case in the box.

She is pretty, all right. The action is nice, the neck is straight, the frets are hardly worn. The crack in the back is longitudinal, so it doesn't worry me too much. But it sounds rather thin. That could be the result of the strings, which are Gibson Mona-Steel nickel wound, if the extra E string in its wrapper is an indication. It's good that was included, as one of the E strings popped while tuning it up. The intonation is a bit off, too. I'll have to fiddle with that a bit. But the biggest concern is the back, and how it was glued. Both sides had spread out a bit, and this issue was not dealt with before gluing. She's a fine playing instrument, just not a fine-sounding one - yet. I am going to contact my old pal George Youngblood and see about putting this in his care. It might take a few months and a few bucks. but hopefully it will be worth it when he's done.

You are probably right about the refinish. There's a bit of gooberage on the bass side of the fret board at the join. Hate sloppy work, when it doesn't work in my favor. This may be affecting the sound, too.