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Thread: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

  1. #1

    Default Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    this mandolin has had some damage. the neck was repaired and it has been refinished so the serial number sticker is missing. i was hoping that someone can tell me about what year it was made or what century based on the photos that i am posting. i purchased it at an estate sale so i don't know the history. some of the hardware is not original.
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  2. #2
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    The serial number sticker, if it had one, would have been inside the mandolin. It most likely wouldn't have been removed. Look inside the mandolin with a flashlight towards the headblock. Is there a number stamped there on the wood?

  3. #3
    Mike Parks woodwizard's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    From those pics I'm not sure it was even made by Gibson. Binding looks funny to me. Extra inlays on the fretboard look odd to me. Pickguard looks to not be original. Tailpiece looks like maybe a 50's or 60's newer Gibson logo style. I'm no expert but I'm sure some of our cafe experts will weigh in with some good info for you.
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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    Everything's a little off here. Length of the body compared to the scale length; shape of the headstock; cut & inlay of the fretboard, etc. Notice that the 19th fret is seriously out of whack ... the distance between 18 and 19 is much shorter than the distance between 19 and 20. Sloppy logo inlay and headstock binding. Terrible bridge-fitting job: the bridge is not only too far south of the pickguard, it's also cranked way over to the treble side of the instrument, making the strings run crooked. Not a Gibson at all, but a mediocre copy.
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    Registered User Vernon Hughes's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    I agree..bad copy.
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  6. #6

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton View Post
    The serial number sticker, if it had one, would have been inside the mandolin. It most likely wouldn't have been removed. Look inside the mandolin with a flashlight towards the headblock. Is there a number stamped there on the wood?
    thank you for your reply. i took it to 3 different shops in my local area and was told that it is a Gibson and not a reproduction but when the neck was repaired that it was dipped and the label with serial number either came off or was taken off and never put back on. i looked inside with a flashlight and don't see any numbers.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    Quote Originally Posted by woodwizard View Post
    From those pics I'm not sure it was even made by Gibson. Binding looks funny to me. Extra inlays on the fretboard look odd to me. Pickguard looks to not be original. Tailpiece looks like maybe a 50's or 60's newer Gibson logo style. I'm no expert but I'm sure some of our cafe experts will weigh in with some good info for you.
    thank you for your reply. i took it to 3 different shops in my local area and was told that it is a Gibson and not a reproduction but when the neck was repaired that it was dipped and the label with serial number either came off or was taken off and never put back on. i was also told that the pickguard is original buy the tail piece is not and that the tail piece looked like it was taken off an older model.

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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    "Dipped"? You dip milkshakes. You don't dip mandolins. I'm guessing none of the shops you went to was a Gibson mandolin dealer.

    What kind of neck repair was done on this instrument? I don't see it in the photos.
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  9. #9

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    no they were not Gibson mandolin dealers and the repair i'm sure wasn't done by Gibson either. they said that the neck was taken off and put back on (no one knows why) - you can see where they drilled through the back to reattach it and the seam between the neck and body is not perfect. it was dipped to take the original finish off. maybe my photos aren't very good or taken at a bad angle but no one said anything to me about the bridge being on wrong or the strings crooked. any help you can give me is greatly appreciated.

  10. #10

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    Definitely not a Gibson
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    Registered User Cary Fagan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    I'm not an expert but still I can tell by the headstock, points, binding, heel etc. that it's not a Gibson. Some anonymous luthier made it. If you like the instrument, then enjoy it.
    Cary Fagan

  12. #12

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    Way more off than just a neck repair. Note that the peghead binding is wbw and the body is just white.

  13. #13
    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    The filled hole on the back doesn't necessarily indicate a neck repair at all. If you assume that this is a Gibson then yes, you need an explanation for that hole, because Gibsons aren't made that way. But since it isn't a Gibson, the simplest explanation for the hole is that it was built like that originally ... either the neck is bolted on or the builder chose to tack the back to the neck block.

    As for a refinish, again, the only reason to assume it's refinished is that it isn't the right color for a Gibson. But it's not a Gibson, so it very well could have the original finish. I still don't know what "dipping" has to do with anything. Removing a finish entails a little sandpaper, a little solvent and some elbow grease AFAIK ... no "dipping" involved.

    And if no one said anything about the bad bridge fit ... well, they think it's a Gibson and they think it was "dipped," so perhaps it stands to reason that they can't spot an improper bridge alignment.
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  14. #14

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    thank you so much for all your input. i emailed the auction house where it was purchased and asked them to forward the contact info for the guy who previously owned it to see if he can give me any further info. he moved to a nursing home but i was told that he owned it for the last 60 years.

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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    I don't think anyone owned this for the last 60 years. I do not believe it's that old.
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  16. #16

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    so now i just don't know what to think. everyone on here is so negative about it and is telling me that the auctioneer and the owners of 3 different music shops are all lying to me and or don't know a thing about Gibson mandolins.

  17. #17
    Registered User Sandy Beckler's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    vlincoln....don't be disappointed that it won't be worth what you expected....just enjoy it for unique instrument that it is.

    Sandy

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    Registered User Bill Snyder's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    Vlincoln, I am by no means an expert on Gibson mandolins, but my first thought is that this is a copy. It may have been stripped with a chemical stripper at some time but looking at the back through the f hole I seriously doubt it was dipped. I have stripped both furniture and instruments and I doubt that anyone would dip a mandolin. It would only make an incredible mess inside that you would not be able to clean up well without taking the instrument apart.
    Some of the previous posters are knowledgeable about Gibson MANDOLINS and there will probably be some come along that are amongst the most knowledgeable anywhere. Hopefully f5loar, Daryl Wolfe or Big Joe Vest (and a few others) will come along and tell you it is a Gibson or not because they are the kind of Gibson experts that dealers and insurance companies turn to.
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  19. #19

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    thank you sandy. i am enjoying it and never expected it to be worth alot especially with the apparent damage that i has. i was just hoping to get some history and basically the age of it for my own knowledge. one of the owners of the music shops offered to buy it but it is not for sale.

  20. #20

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    thank you bill for the nice reply. it may be a copy - i am by all means no expert. i am just going on what i was told by 4 different people who saw it in person and it doesn't matter if it is or not i would just like to know one way or the other and get some history on it for my own personal project. hopefully i do hear from one of the guys that you are referring to.

  21. #21
    In The Van Ben Milne's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    I gotta say that the people posting on this site are THE people that will be able to pick a copy, and can confirm or deny the authenticity of a Gibson mandolin.
    I'm no Gibson afficionado or historian, but I can see that this is a tribute. Not as well executed as some others that have been discussed in the past, so somewhat more obvious. Plenty of red flags already mentioned throughout this thread.
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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    Not lying, just lack of sufficient attention to detail. It's not as if they didn't know anything. They recognized the tailpiece, knew it was the wrong color, knew it was missing a serial number, knew there shouldn't be a plugged hole on the neck joint ... they just drew the wrong conclusions from these facts.
    Last edited by mrmando; Apr-30-2012 at 2:08am.
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    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    Quote Originally Posted by vlincoln View Post
    so now i just don't know what to think. everyone on here is so negative about it and is telling me that the auctioneer and the owners of 3 different music shops are all lying to me and or don't know a thing about Gibson mandolins.
    People assume that it's a Gibson because it says Gibson, there are other things to check. I had asked if there was a number stamped on the headblock inside. Did you ever look for that? Use a flashlight and look inside towards the neck. What you are getting locally is bad information not lies. You are asking this forum for their collective thoughts on something they deal with daily.

    If you want an expert opinion from a store it would need to be from Gruhn's in Nashville, Mandolin Brothers in Staten Island, NY, Elderly in Lansing, MI or a few other specialty stores. The local Guitar Center or mom and pop music store isn't going to have the expertise with few very exceptions.

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    Registered User mtucker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    here's pics of a good 'fake' Gibson.. for example, take a look at the curls on headstock and body of yours then the good fake...notice any difference?
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  25. #25
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Can anyone tell me any thing about this mandolin?

    The OP already said that the neck was changed. Comparing the headstock, fingerboard, and inlay is a moot point. They are all obviously not from Gibson. What he needs is proof that the body isn't a Gibson. Beyond that, someone told him that the tailpiece is off an "older model" Gibson. As that Tailpiece appears to be a 60's or 70's tailpiece (and I could be wrong about that, it might be back in the 50's), somebody thinks it's newer than that. f5loar should pop in at some time to identify what it isn't. I'd still like to know if there is a Factory Order Number stamped inside. Unfortunately the untrained eye isn't going to see a difference in the scroll, they are just going to see that it has a scroll.

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