Let's talk a bit about the Army/Navy - Campfire - Pancake style of Mandolin. What is the history, Gibson dates (Produced between x & x) and current makers. Also, styles, cool factor, and who here has & plays one...Fill me in please, because the holidays are coming up and this just may fix my MAS...for the time being, thanx, dy.
I used to have all the specifics of that, but I can't find it. What I remember is: The Army/Navy was first manufactured in the late teens to be sold to the troops overseas in Europe in WWI. They were also sold stateside and after the war, Gibson made a "deluxe" model called the C-1. Later, the "frying pan" design was marketed under the Kalamozoo brand. More recently, Flatiron made a similar design and they are really nice mandos. Today, Stewmac makes a kit and some custom builders, like Peter Sawchyn, make some really nice ones.
These mandos are very light weight and they can be very loud. They do not typically have a great chop and the tone is not very complex. My second mando is an "evolution" of the design made by Will Parsons and it is a lot of fun to play.
Knowing nothing about the history, but I have a pre-Gibson Flatiron 1N and a Kalamazoo (can't remember the model number but here's the link). The Kalamazoo is for sale. I like playing either of them.
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¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
I am glad to see someone has started another thread on the army-navy style. I actually have two Flatirons, 1N and 1CH. The "N" of course stands for natural color and the "ch" is for chocolate brown. The N is not for sale but I have been trying to sell the "CH". You may view it here:
Flatiron 1CH
I recently sold a Flatiron 2MC, which is like the 1N except it had some binding and little different wood on the back and sides. It was very nice too. While I have been trying to sell the 1CH, I have had some thoughts about keeping it. I recently used it at a gig, an outdoor gig, and wow what a sound. This mandolin really puts out the sound. It is loud and really has a nice sweet sound. And really you can get a decent chop out of it. And I haven't even changed the strings since I bought it a few months ago. I remember when I bought my first Flatiron it was the loud,crisp sound that sold me on them.
The first in the Gibson line was the Alrite, made only in 1917. When the US entered WW1 it became the AY Army and Navy model. Alrite is rarer.
The Flatiron and Mid Missouri versions came later. Will Parsons makes a flat top, as does Peter Sawchyn and others.
I actually bought a 1917 Gibson Alrite on ebay once. It was in ok shape. I think it had been hanging on someone's wall as a decoration and had some sort of glaze or something sprayed on it. I ended up selling it, on ebay, to a luthier/instrument dealer who was planning to restore it.
An Alrite just sold the other day on Ebay for (I think) about $350. It had center line separations on both the top and bottom, but I think that they could have been repaired. I already have a pre-Gibson Flatiron 1N, so I idn't need another flat top or I would have bid on it. I am still wondering if I passed up a real bargain though.
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