Gibson G-F5M?

[Andrew B. Carlson]

They have these right next to the F-5 Master Model. What's the difference? JD always seems to have everything in the way of Gibson, but I've never heard of this particular model before. Is it maybe a lacquer master model?

[jjboone101]

I think if I'm not mistaken one is lacquer and one is varnish...

[P.D. Kirby]

On the description of the F-5 Master Model it says : "Finish: Hand-brushed Original Style Varnish"
On the G-F5M Master Model it says : "Lacquer Burst Finish with Aged toner for a vintage look and feel"

Considering Gibsons numbering convention for their serial numbers over the years, the G = Lacquer and the absence of the G means Varnish somehow makes perfect sense to me...

[Big Joe]

The letter and number designation of Gibson instruments really don't mean much of anything. We often had discussions at Gibson as to what the "G" stood for and what the "L" stood for in the Gibson nomenclature for mandolins. The funny thing was that NO ONE knew what they meant or where they came from. Charlie would freely admit in private that he had no idea but he was certain the "L" did not stand for Loar. Just like Martin chose a number system to determine what kind of trim a particular guitar would have and the letter determined the body size, this is much more likely the case with Gibson. The letters are determinate of the trim rather than anything else.

Even the term "Master Model" is a bit of a puzzle. Many models are labeled as Master Model. However, the model we call the Master Model is actually an F5V. The Master Model is actually the body shape and trim rather than anything else. While we called the high end varnish version the Master Model, basically because it is closest to what the Loar designed mandolins were and that was his designation. Ultimately Gibson has used the term Master Model for just about anything mandolin. Even some A models had a Master Model label inside, and that seems totally backwards to what Loar had intended.

Even with the letter system designed to designate a particular trim level to the instruments, there are anomalies. The one thing that is consistent with Gibson is the inconsistency. If a dealer orders enough of a product the company may make a particular model with trim or other features that are different from the standard model, but still be called that model. There were some F5G's that were made in the mid 00's for a dealer that no longer exists. He ordered a good number of them and they were built to his specs that were a bit different from standard. Hope this helps a bit.