Gibson Opryland "Pancakes"

[allenhopkins]

Ran into a guy at the "Crooktop" festival in Bradford PA a couple weekends ago, who had purchased from a jobber, a bunch of the plywood "Army-Navy" type mandolins that Gibson used to offer at its Opryland facility, pre-flood. The mandolins were unfinished, and in some cases only partially assembled, so he assembled and finished them, and had a couple for sale at his booth.

He said that the instruments, though sold as "Gibsons," were Korean-made, and pretty dodgy as to quality. Some of them couldn't take being strung up to standard pitch, and others had neck curvatures, other flaws. I told him that what I'd read here on the Cafe, was that they were pretty much "souvenir" quality, not really intended to be serious instruments.

The seller's name is Don Gardner, and he basically builds Appalachian dulcimers, some other instruments as well. He had some nice vintage guitars and banjos in his booth. Here's a link to Gardner's Dulcimer (http://www.gardnersdulcimer.com) for anyone interested; NFI for me, of course.

[Bill Romansky]

What an unusual provenance. I used to work A/V at Opryland. Reminded me of how Tammy Faye Bakker’s bathroom must’ve looked.

[MikeEdgerton]

I bought one of those dogs in my horse trading days. Nothing, absolutely nothing redeeming about them. They used to put part of a truss rod cover on them (there wasn't a truss rod) that was labeled Gibson and a label inside. They didn't have the lifetime guarantee and whatever they charged for them was too much. Joe Vest can probably chime in on these. Mine was custom. It was red. Initially I thought they might have been old stock from the Flatiron purchase. As soon as I had it in my hands I realized that wasn't true. Lesson learned. They were not pretty.

[multidon]

I remember there being at least one thread about these, and Big Joe chimed in on them. Apparently, the tourists who came to the Bluegrass Showcase when it still existed wanted to be able to buy an instrument as a souvenir, but of course the regular stuff was way too pricey. Gibson thought it was a good idea, but to me selling an instrument that’s not meant to be actually played is just wrong. And I don’t think a lot of people understood that they were just supposed to be wall hangers. I think it’s actually hilarious that there was a truss rod cover, but no truss rod, and they came with a gig bag, even though you weren’t supposed to actually gig with them. I wonder if you could make them playable with ultra light strings, like a bowlback would use?

[allenhopkins]

Don G said that he got some of them playable with XLight strings. The one he had for sale -- as I recall, for around $125 -- he had nicely stained and finished, but when I played it, for about 30 seconds, it was very quiet. I'm used to "pancake" mandolins jumping up in your face, but this one was quite reticent.

He said he put quite a bit of work into getting maybe a half-dozen of them finished and playable. The one I saw didn't have a "Gibson" label.

While he didn't confide the details, I'd guess he might have bought ten or twelve of them, in various stages of completion, for maybe $25-50 each. They were probably either dragged out of the remains of the Opryland store, or were on their way to Nashville when G closed the store down.

Bit of a Gibson footnote.

[pheffernan]

Is this listing from the classifieds an iteration of the same?

https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/128680#128680

[multidon]

I think not. Those Opryland pieces of @#$& were cheap plywood. They would have never used wood that nicely figured.

[MikeEdgerton]

Is this listing from the classifieds an iteration of the same?

https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/128680#128680

No, I believe that is a real mandolin.

[fatt-dad]

I owned one. It wasn't a real thing. Glad it sold (locally, full-disclosure, face-to-face transaction)!

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[allenhopkins]

I have a really nice Gibson "pancake," labeled "A/N Custom," and signed by Steve Carlson, dated Dec. 16, 1987. Highly figured maple, MOP rosette, gold hardware, "The Gibson" headstock inlay with the curlicue you find on A-3 mandolins.

Bought it at Bernunzio's, and he said it was made for a Berlin NH Gibson dealer named Catello, who also signed the back, though the sound hole, with a Magic Marker. Apparently Catello & Son closed about five years ago. John B said at one point the store sold everything from fishing boats to chain saws, but was also an authorized Gibson dealership.

The A/N Custom looks a lot like the one up for sale in the classifieds. If that one's the same quality as mine, it's a heckuva mandolin.

[fatt-dad]

(just as an aside, I recently bought my '83 1N from Mr. Brown - refer to pheff's link - and it's a fine instrument.)

171110

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[pheffernan]

No, I believe that is a real mandolin.

I'm assuming that it's the same one from this craigslist ad:

https://bham.craigslist.org/msg/d/gibson-mandolin/6690023884.html

There are two pictures from that ad that I'd like to question.

171112171113

I ask only because a similar (possibly the same?) model sold through Picker's Supply:

http://pickerssupply.com/new-and-used/1990-gibson-grand-ole-opry-alrite-style-mandolin

That one featured the plaque seemingly mounted on the top:

171114

Do we think that such a plaque was removed (not necessarily by the seller) from the top and relocated inside the tonehole on the one in the classifieds, and do we see a ghost of it in the image from Craigslist?

[multidon]

Good catch, Patrick!

In my opinion, after comparing the pattern on the back of both pictures, I think they match up. If that’s true then the plaque was indeed moved.

[fatt-dad]

Here's my former Operyland pancake.

171131

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[Big Joe]

They were never sold by the factory as Gibson mandolins. They were cheap mandolins for tourists. It took me awhile, but I finally got that stopped. It was more of a pain for us than it was ever worth. It was a good idea, but too many expected them to work, play, and sound like a real Gibson. We even had people expect a lifetime warranty on them. Again, they were not sold or represented as a Gibson by us, but because they came out of the Gibson facility, a lot of people did not listen to that part. I was thrilled to see them go away.

[multidon]

Big Joe, if they were not “sold or represented as a Gibson by us”, why did they have “Gibson” engraved on the faux truss rod covers?

If I had been a tourist in Nashville during that period of time (I wasn’t) and plopped down $150 for one, I certainly wouldn’t have expected it to work, play, and sound like a high priced Gibson. But I would have expected it to function and play like a musical instrument of some sort. It was sold as being a mandolin, right? Not as wall art? If it was sold as wall art, why did it come with a gig bag? If an item is sold as a musical instrument, a buyer has a right to expect it will function as one. If it does not function as represented at the time of sale, that’s called fraud, I believe.

You say the sale of those instruments was “a good idea”. I’m just not seeing it. If it was “a good idea”, why did you want it stopped? Why were you thrilled to see them go away, if it was a good idea?

BTW, to my eyes they look like the old and now defunct Kentucky KM-100, plywood model. Same spray paint “sunburst”. I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that’s what they were. I played one once. Not a fan. I love a good pancake, but not that one.

[MikeEdgerton]

They were never sold by the factory as Gibson mandolins. They were cheap mandolins for tourists. It took me awhile, but I finally got that stopped. It was more of a pain for us than it was ever worth. It was a good idea, but too many expected them to work, play, and sound like a real Gibson. We even had people expect a lifetime warranty on them. Again, they were not sold or represented as a Gibson by us, but because they came out of the Gibson facility, a lot of people did not listen to that part. I was thrilled to see them go away.

Mine had Gibson on the fake truss rod cover.. I believe that cover started life as an Epiphone by Gibson cover and was cut down to just say Gibson.

[fatt-dad]

Pheff's example has the clamshell tailpiece. Mine had the rectangular tailpiece. Mine, for sure, was an Opryland mandolin. Not sure about the other one?

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