Tiny Moore's Gibson

[mrmando]

Fans of Tiny Moore know about his 5-string Bigsby, but he didn't obtain it until after leaving the Texas Playboys. Tiny told Mandolin World News that his sides with Bob Wills were played on a Gibson electric mandolin, but he didn't specify the model.

I always assumed it was an EM150, until I took a closer look at this photo:


(Don'tcha love how Bob has two extra cigars and a book of matches in his shirt pocket?)

This is unmistakably a Gibson-made mandolin, but it doesn't match any configuration of the EM150, in the following respects:

• Pickup. This is a blade pickup with rounded ends.
• Pickguard. Cutout matches the pickup; bigger than the guards used on EM150s.
• F-holes. More angular cut than EM150.
• Headstock. "Rooftop" shape(?). Appears to have a steeper angle than an EM150 heastock.

In fact, it looks almost exactly like one of the "store brand" mandolins Gibson made in the '30s, such as Cromwell and Capital. I didn't know there were any electrics among those store brand instruments, until this Capital showed up. Not an exact match; Tiny's instrument has a white knob and what appears to be a standard Gibson "long" tailpiece. It may also have black tuners. But in other respects it looks a lot like the Capital:


However, from 1940 to 1943, Gibson made a mandolin that looked almost exactly like this Capital but said "Gibson" on the headstock. This was initially called the EM100, then renamed the EM125, then dropped from the catalog:


I doubt this one has the original tailpiece, BTW. It has a mustache headstock, not a rooftop headstock, but the steep angle looks about right (again, it's steeper than an EM150 headstock). Photo of Tiny isn't quite clear enough for me to to say that his headstock ends in a point and not a mustache.

[Jim Garber]

Interesting, Martin. You can see all that in that photo? Impressive!

[mrmando]

It's mostly the big droop at the end of the pickguard that gives it away. I was watching the Johnny Gimble film linked in another thread, and it includes a closeup of this photo.

[Charlieshafer]

Very interesting... So what it the pecking order, date-wise of the early electrics? Did Gibson (and, I assume, Vivi-tone) pretty much have the whole market to themselves?

[mrmando]

Did Gibson (and, I assume, Vivi-tone) pretty much have the whole market to themselves?

Nope.

[Charlieshafer]

Nope.

I should have known to check out your site first.....

Thanks for the link!

[mrmando]

Deke Dickerson has a nice long essay on Tiny's mandolins at his blog, which includes the following photo:

That's an EM150, not an EM125. Trouble is, however, that Tiny joined the Playboys in 1946 and Gibson didn't use that logo until 1948. So that is clearly not the instrument he played with the Playboys, at least not for the first two years. It also clearly doesn't match the photo of Tiny playing with Wills.

[mikeomando]

All the above photos brought me joy today. Thanks for posting! I wonder where each of these emandos is right now...

[mrmando]

Well, the three on the couch are at Skip Maggiora's guitar shop in Sacramento. The EM125 is the one I'm curious about.

[mikeomando]

Just read the wonderful article you linked to, and came back to correct my post, and you beat me to it. Yes, the EM125 is a mystery.

[djweiss]

Martin, Intermountain Guitar and Banjo has a Gibson they've labeled as "EM-150 'Charlie Christian"...Looks similar to what you've posted above.

http://guitarandbanjo.com/

-Darren

[mrmando]

No, the one currently at Intermountain is indeed an EM150 with a Charlie Christian. (I have one much like it.) Intermountain had an EM125 a few years ago, so they definitely know the difference. Note that on the EM150 the pickup mount is an elongated hexagon, whereas on the EM125 it's an ellipse.

BTW, I did get a nice email back from Deke Dickerson after pointing all this out to him. He said Skip just presented the EM150 to him as "the Gibson that Tiny played with Bob Wills," and, not having geeked out on Tiny's Gibson to the extent that I have, he just took Skip at his word. And Tiny could well have played that EM150 with Wills, but not before 1948.

[fatt-dad]

I just want to add, my style is one in the mouth and two in the pocket too. I'm just more likely to have a Bic in the pocket.

f-d

[Jerry Turberville]

Martin, I should have finished reading the thread before I sent you and email. A friend may have some old photos of Tiny' from that era. I'll contact them and ask.

[mrmando]

That would be fantastic, Jerry, particularly if the photos are dated. I don't know of too many photos of Tiny with the Playboys, and the one I posted above has the most detail. More photos might help answer some questions.

[Jerry Turberville]

Hi Martin,
Kim said she would look, but she doesn't have that much. She told me Sis has most of the old photos, so it could be a while. If she does have something I'll ask her permission to post it.

[mrmando]

Here is a photo of Tiny I'd never seen before. He's with Billy Jack Wills' band here, but pre-Bigsby. Note post-1948 headstock logo; this is obviously an EM-150, different from the instrument he played with Bob and probably the same one now at Skip's Music. Note also that he doesn't seem to be using a strap!

[AlanN]

Awesome photo.

[redrector]

looks like a early 1950s fender tweed amp or possibly late 1940s nice amps.