Who signed this Gibson F5-L?

[Terry Anderson]

Do any of the Gibson experts recognize this signature?

[FLATROCK HILL]

I think (I stress THINK) that is Charlie Derrington's signature. I've seen Derrington signed labels that are quite different from that though.
I believe that along with a change in the labels themselves, Mr. Derrington changed his signature somewhat during those years.

[Jeff Mando]

+1 for Derrington. His signature changed over time, but the C and the D (which looks more like an O) were somewhat consistent.

[almeriastrings]

Yes, Charlie Derrington.

[barry]

Actually, that may very well be one of the legendary Cletus Ortiz signed models.

[DataNick]

Actually, that may very well be one of the legendary Cletus Ortiz signed models.

Haha! if that's a joke...otherwise if you're sincere, there's clearly an 'l' cursive character before the 'D' cursive. With a Dec 30,1998 date, it could very well be one of those Bozeman-Nashville "transitional" models as well...

I wouldn't mind seeing more pics if possible as I'm always interested in Gibson geeking...

[MikeEdgerton]

Two examples of Charlie's signature. It's in the Derrington years (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?110412-Gibson-head-luthiers/page4).

[Terry Anderson]

DataNick, here are a couple of pics. I'm in the middle of redoing the nut and bridge to change the string spacing and reduce relief from .012 to .006. The neck is a bolt-on so you're likely right about this being a transition model.

[DataNick]

Terry,

Thanks for the picks! Yup the mortise-tenon neck joint with screw(s) is the "tell" on a Bozeman started, Nashville completed Gibson. Did you change the tuners? I believe they were still using the gold-colored Schaller tuners still at that time. Those ebony tuner buttons look nice btw...good luck with your project, looks like a fine instrument there!

[Ivan Kelsall]

That's a beautiful mandolin Terry. I really like the black tuner buttons which accentuate the 'fern' inlay. Re.the neck relief,Weber told me that they send their mandolins out wih a flat neck,but some folks do like some relief,so .006" should be fine.I'm looking forward to the 'finished' pics. - terrific !!,
Ivan;)

[lenf12]

Terry, Did you change the tuners? I believe they were still using the gold-colored Schaller tuners still at that time. Those ebony tuner buttons look nice btw...

Looks like Gotoh tuners on this mandolin rather than Schaller. Very nice indeed!!

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[MikeEdgerton]

Those are Waverly tuners.

[lenf12]

That would make more sense. Worm under gear Waverly's. Good call Mike!!

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Terry Anderson]

Yep...those are Waverly tuners. The relief was adjusted (improperly IMO, knowing what I know now) by the salesman to fix a fret buzz...he just cranked back on the truss rod nut until the buzz disappeared. Thanks to mandolincafe and frets.com, I eventually found a high fret. Over the years, I've become more attuned to setup issues. This quest began when I started making measurements on my Gibson A40 "beater" to figure out why I liked playing it more than the F5-L. Discovered huge differences in fingerboard flatness, string spacing, and spacing from outer G and E to edge of the fingerboard. Also, the G course spacing to edge of the fingerboard on the A40 increases as it runs up the neck, which I THINK is apparent in a very well-filmed Thile video on YouTube...the Bach E Major Prelude. Not sure what it says when you're looking at YouTube videos for setup clues except this obsession has yet to run it's course.

[FLATROCK HILL]

...he just cranked back on the truss rod nut until the buzz disappeared.

If you ever run across that 'salesman' again, you might want to subtly suggest he try turning the nut the other way.