Thinking old Gibson A

[pheffernan]

So, I bought a modern mandolin made by a luthier very dedicated to doing it the old way. My Black A4 as near to a relic as I care to get. No worries about aged tuners or loose braces or tiny little worn-out frets. Warranted for the lifetime of the luthier. He's younger than me by far and lives a fairly healthy lifestyle. They show up in the cafe classifieds fairly often at prices comparable to a ready to go paddle head with good sound. Much less than an A2Z or A4 snake. Check out the Black mandolin website.

One of Mike's A2-z's is posted at Fiddler's Green: http://www.fiddlersgreenmusicshop.co...k-mandolin-a2z

[GreenMTBoy]

looks like a nice one at fiddlers green

[ollaimh]

IMHO '21 even without a truss rod is the sleeper year. I have played quite a few from that year and with the exception of any that was under a truck wheel, they are all wonderfully sounding. So, slightly before Loar era but with the perfection but not the higher price.

Aside from that I think the unflashy A-Juniors sound as good as many of the higher priced ones with less flash.

yeah the 1921 paddle heads seem almost a good a sound as 22 to 25. i have found 1919 1920 are also good years, and also a bit cheaper. those before that are individual choices. ya gotta try them. none are terrible but some aren't quite up there for tone.

there;s a sheriden brown face from 1921 one state over from me that calls me. long drive though.

ahop around. if you aren;t hung up on repairs and flaws then there are deals out there. some appear in the classifieds here, a temp de temp. some on ebay, and look on your local kijiji or craigslist. and if you need advice take pictures and post them here. there are a lot of amazingly knowledgeable people on mandolin cafe. they can spot problems in a mandolin from the international space station

[Capt. E]

I own a 1919 (sold Jan 1920) A-2 that I will never sell. Wonderful instrument in the best condition I have ever seen (see my album). There seems to be something special about the A-2's made from 1919-1922, just before truss rods and the introduction of the snakehead. It may be the wood or that the factory was simply producing at a high level.

[pops1]

I agree, I have a '22 paddlehead, but with the truss rod and Loar improvements. It is the best Gibson I have ever played, even with the truss rod.