Played around with a teens Gibson Cello (OM really) tonight !

**Dobe** · Feb-11-2012, 9:30pm

A/B comparison with one of my conversions. Hope you find it interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edi...id=k4nZ_3wtNAQ

**JEStanek** · Feb-11-2012, 9:56pm

The link doesn't work for me.
Jamie

**Dobe** · Feb-12-2012, 7:50am

Take 2

**CelticDude** · Feb-12-2012, 9:31am

A local musician plays a Gibson mandocello, also tuned as an OM (causing all sorts of useless debates over what to call thing...) Not sure of the year of his. These Gibsons are the nicest sounding CBOM's, IMHO; wonderful deep tone, with a bit of "growl".

Also reminds me of the "one that got away". In my early twenty's I was banging around not so seriously on a Trinity College OM, and I saw a Gibson mandocello/OM in a folk music store for around $800. I was seriously tempted, but decided to wait until it wasn't such a stretch financially. Of course it was gone when I went back for it. If I'd known then what I know now about the value, musical and financial, of such an instrument I would have grabbed it and eaten Ramen noodles for a month.

**allenhopkins** · Feb-13-2012, 12:25am

Kept waiting for that low-C "boom" from the K-1... The Yamaha sounds like a guitar, even in mandocello tuning, and the Gibson sounds like it wants to go deeper, but it can't in GDAE.

Nice playing, very agile, and gives a good overall comparison of their sounds. Just an ol' stick-in-the-mud here, but that Gibson was built for CGDA, and IMHO loses a bit trying to be an OM. That "thunder" 4th string course...!

**Tavy** · Feb-13-2012, 3:34am

There's some mighty nice playing there!

I liked the sound of both, though the Yamaha maybe sounded a little loose on the low C, and frankly the Gibby is the much better instrument - it might not have been voiced for that tuning, but still sounds pretty fine to me...

**Ken_P** · Feb-13-2012, 10:17am

I have to agree with Allen here - very nice playing, but I wanted so much more out of the Gibson. You can tell it's in there, it just needs to be strung up the way it was meant to be. That Yamaha looks like fun - I did something very similar with my dad's old Yamaha. I didn't do any actual work on it, I just strung it up with 5 singles (left the 6th post empty) to mess around with. It sounded pretty good, but it only made me want a real cello that much more!

**Bernie Daniel** · Feb-13-2012, 6:49pm

Both sound great to me. Great conversion and equally great playing.

The main factor in the different sounds is clearly the fact that the Gibson is carved and the Yamaha is of course a flat top. So that is why it reminds some of a guitar. The Yamaha sounds like a 12 string guitar in a different range to me. Of course that is essentially what it is.

For Celtic music the punchy crisp sound of the Gibson wins hands down (IMO) but I think folks playing other types of music might be more at home with the Yamaha?

One other thing, it is just my opinion but I think that scale is much on the long side for supporting an octave mandolin tone range? That flat top would sound like a monster at CGDA and it would have sustain to forever also.

**lucho** · May-29-2012, 6:38am

I am about to get an old K2 mandocello from 1914.... and it worries me if the top has sunken more than a bit or the neck might be warped....since it was stored in an attic for many many years..... so my questions.... I guess restringing as an OM requires less tension..... if so I will be missing more than the low C or perhaps it would be more advisable restringing with mandocello strings and tune with a smaller gauge the low C up to D.... is there any available video anywhere?..... thank you....

**lucho** · May-29-2012, 2:17pm

I forgot to add photos.... and also another question it would fit a standard banjo case?

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any help with options or suggestions for stringing (see above) are welcome. Thank you

**Bernie Daniel** · May-29-2012, 5:29pm

Great find! Really nice to get a K-2 -- K-1's are MUCH more common. It looks to be in beautiful shape. How did you find it and if you are willing what did to cost you?

I doubt it will fit in any banjo case -- too big the body measures over 14" across. Maybe a cello banjo case -- but you don't see those around every day either.

If you have serious top sag the first thing is to get the transverse brace re-glued --it has probably broken loose. That might fix it and it might not.

If it does you are golden for either CGDA or GDAE. If it does not fix the sag then you have to decide on a more costly way to strengthen the top if you want to use it as a mandocello.

The octave string set would put less pressure on the top and might work as a fall back.

**lucho** · May-29-2012, 6:20pm

It was a grand grand dad toy (bank manager in Chile) around the time of the great war that was offered to me to buy by one of his grandsons after requesting info to play it and repair it.... the initial tag 2k... that will kept me in debt for a while....Still I will have to travel a few hundred miles to pick it up.... and hopefully I hope not to find loose internal braces, a sunken top or a warped neck.... I don´t trust the original cheapo case it has.... so I am looking for options..... just crossing my fingers....

**mrmando** · May-30-2012, 12:34am

Well, there's a hardshell Gibson cello-case for sale in the Classifieds right now. There might be cheaper options, though.

My K1 lived in a custom-made Blue Heron gig bag for its entire tenure in my custody.

**allenhopkins** · May-31-2012, 8:06pm

Originally Posted by Bernie Daniel

...I doubt it will fit in any banjo case -- too big the body measures over 14" across. Maybe a cello banjo case -- but you don't see those around every day either...

Since I own both a Gibson K-1 and a Gold Tone cello banjo, I tried the Gibson in the banjo case, and it doesn't fit. The "shoulders" on the 'cello extend beyond the circular body allowance of the banjo case.

**lucho** · Jun-01-2012, 6:24am

Then.... what size of any adapted guitar case would fit a gibson mandocello? besides banjo and bouzouki cases I have standard classical and the larger jumbo cases.... some of my bouzoukis are carried in adapted standard guitar cases.... it woud fit a Gibson mandocello?

**Bernie Daniel** · Jun-01-2012, 1:30pm

Originally Posted by lucho

Then.... what size of any adapted guitar case would fit a gibson mandocello? besides banjo and bouzouki cases I have standard classical and the larger jumbo cases.... some of my bouzoukis are carried in adapted standard guitar cases.... it woud fit a Gibson mandocello?

It would fit in a dreadnought guitar case (Martin D-18/ Gibson J-45) or a jumbo guitar case (Gibson J-200/Guild F-50) but it would be loose. Most classical guitar cases might be a bit too narrow I am afraid.

Maybe this image will help you to judge the size. It is a Gibson K-1 mandocello next to a Jumbo guitar (with a 16" lower bout)