Gibson f5g

[bluegrassjack2]

Are there certain model years to stay away from on the Gibson F5G?
Jack

[Danny Clark]

I have had several ,seems most all of the F-5Gs i have played have been good,i think the newer Nashville ones may be a little better.than the older bolt necks.

[bluegrassjack2]

Does anyone know when Gibson quit making the bolt on necks?

[pickinNgrinnin]

To be clear, they were not bolt on necks. Montana Gibsons have a Mortise and Tenon neck joint. A very small bolt was inserted to secure the joint when it was glued together. When they moved to Nashville in 96, they went back to the Dovetail. There are a few transition Gibson's out there where the parts were made in Montana and assembled in Nashville.

[bluegrassdan]

Stupid question maybe but would an f5g of recent years blow away my eastman 515 or would it be just a little improvement that wouldnt be worth the extra 2000 dollars to an amateur talent wise but really fussy with sound?

[mikeyes]

bluegrassdan,

There are a couple of ways you can look at value when you compare the Eastman 515 and a Gibson F5G. The first, the one you are interested in, is whether or not the sound difference is worth the extra cash. This is a matter of taste to some extent, but I would say yes. All of the modern (recent later than, say 2000) Gibsons have that Gibson sound while the Eastman has a more balanced modern sound. I (unfairly) put my Fern V against the 515 of a friend of mine and there is no comparison in the quality appeal of the sound.

Again this is subjective because I am comparing a Gibson vs. Eastman to see which one sounds more like a Gibson. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif But when I compare the F5G against my Fern V I find that the Gibson sound is there in both instruments and that the F5G (which belongs to another friend in a far away galaxy so I can't do an A/B with the Eastman) has many of the same qualities. I think that the varnish finish makes the difference in this comparison.

I like the Eastman a lot. It has a hybrid varnish/lacquer finish, is well made, and very playable. It is also good looking. So far the ones I know have not matured as well as my friend's F5G or another local F9. Big Joe tells us that all Gibsons start out about the same and the difference is often in the materials and the final tuning, not the the basic design or care. I believe him and saw it happening at Opry Mills when I made my pilgrimage there. One thumb up to Gibson.

The second way one could look at value is dollar amount. The Gibson is a lot more expensive and you should expect more value from the instrument. I will restrict this to the concept of resale value and all you have to do is look at the Classified section to see if that appeals to you. Unless you want the life-time guarantee or have found the perfect instrument in a music store, you should buy a used F5G just on economic principles. Gibson will work with you if you have a mandolin that exhudes lemonade, there are plenty of examples of this on the cafe, but usually there is nothing a good setup will not fix. Even if you don't like the final result, you can sell the instrument for what you have in it if you buy it used (or even more if the gods are smiling.)

In this analysis value is based on the price used and the consistency of the instrument. Eastman mandolins vary more than Gibsons in sound quality and volume. But Eastmans are cheaper initially and are available widely used since they are a transitional instrument for many while the Gibson is more likely to be an end use instrument. You can probably sell a used Eastman for about what you put in it, but the Gibson has a better chance of gaining value in the long run because fewer are made and more players will want a Gibson as their final instrument. A little pinky for Gibson.

(As an aside, the most consistent instruments are Collings. Everyone that I have played has been wonderful in all aspects of playability, finish, volume, and sound. I just don't like the more modern Collings sound, even in the varnish finish versions.)

The third way to value the instrument has to do with your investment in the music. If you are obsessive (like me) and have to have the best instrument you can buy no matter what your skill/talent level is or if your playing is at the level that you want the best to both compliment and enhance then you should get the best. This means that you should play every instrument you are interested in for a long time over several sessions (unless you find a Loar in a barbershop, of course) and be prepared to sell a (figurative) baby to get it if you need to. This means taking a huge risk, one that you will inevitably regret at some point, but usually well worth it because you will bond with this instrument even while looking at others.

In my case it is my Fern V. I have played mandolins that are more expensive and better (MM, Nugget - I passed on buyng a Nugget at a point when I could have had one for $1000 more than the instrument I had and regretted that, Gilchrist, Kimble and others) but I am learning to value the postives of my instrument and they are many.

If you are not at that level but are intrigued by the F5G over your 515, strongly consider it. If you ask, you will find a number of readers of this thread who will tell you about the Loar they could have had for $7500 in 1985 that they put off to buy a car or furniture (guess what the furniture or that car is worth now.) It was affordable then but in the "I can buy anything, just not everything" mode of affordable.

In the end, the third type of value may be the one you eventually prize.

Overall, Gibson is a better value than an Eastman unless you either find one that is superb (they exist and most mandolins vary in quality/sound from instrument to instrument so there are some Eastman mandolins that are in the tail of the curve) then you really need to get it. You are the final arbiter of this issue and the best advice is to play both instruments and decide based on your priorities. You may regret your choice in the long run, but that is part of playing instruments. I wish I had everyone that I owned (not really, but the 1916 F4, the 1955 D-28, the 1934 TB-3, the 1966 OO-18, and the 1963 RB-250 come to mind), but they are gone forever. I love the instruments I have now and am reluctant to give them up much to my wife's consternation.

Hope this helps.

[MikeEdgerton]

I had an Eastman 615 that was picked from a pile of Eastman's as the best sounding of the bunch. The Eastman was a nice little instrument, nice tone, well built, nice finish. The F5G I replaced it with was far and a way a better sounding instrument. The volume, the bark, heck the growl was just deeper and louder. You really noticed it as you went up the neck. The right F5G in my mind is probably one of the better values out there. I bought mine at Mandolin Brothers. They had a wall full of Gibson's from the F9 all the way up through the various signature models. They also have most of the other manufacturers represented. I played them all and kept going back to this F5G. It just sounded better to me than the rest of them did. You need to go someplace and play a few.