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F5G WIZ
Mar-25-2007, 7:12pm
Found this on Ebay, says it is a Gibson but I don't think so. Joe would know for sure. Auction #150105582430

Jim Broyles
Mar-25-2007, 7:30pm
Kind of like an F9, stained like a Goldrush.

ronlane3
Mar-25-2007, 7:37pm
That scroll doesn't look right. Also, I find it hard to believe that it has had no label on it. Just doesn't look right to me at all.

John M. Riley
Mar-25-2007, 7:42pm
i dont know, could be a proto-type

John M. Riley
Mar-25-2007, 7:43pm
ive seen some f-9's that had scrolls that didnt look right either

carleshicks
Mar-25-2007, 8:46pm
I don't know. It has the Gibson Grovers and the fingerboard is right but the head stock inlay looks like it is at a weird angle I will have to look at a few pics of some F-9's to compare. They want to much money though. I would say $1500 for a non labeled Gibson with a patch job on the scroll.

Loren Bailey
Mar-25-2007, 9:17pm
I'll be interested to hear from Big Joe or some other Gibson experts on this one. I am with ya, too much money for what you're getting even if it is bonafide.

Loren

P.S. checking this mando out may be costly for me, I ended up bidding on something else, damn eb@y!!

F5G WIZ
Mar-25-2007, 11:33pm
Yeah the red lights started flashing when I saw this one. Thought I would check with the "experts".

Loren.. what did you bid on? I seen Newfound road's Mando player is trying to unload his Gibson on Ebay. I have heard it in person it is killer.

J.Albert
Mar-26-2007, 12:09am
Interesting mandolin, even if it's 'way overpriced.

The Gibson/Grover tuners (assuming they are not replacements, but originally installed) would date it from '04 or later? If so, that's too recent to be an F-9 prototype.

My takes (probably wrong):

1. This was intended to be a production F-9, but got seriously damaged in #production. Rather than destroy it, an employee repaired and finished it off as his personal mandolin, thus the unusual, but not unattractive, color. Also would explain the lack of a label and serial number.

2. This may have been an F-9 that was damaged in production, but was then salvaged to become an experimental prototype for the Goldrush (or perhaps for something in the upcoming "Flatiron re-issue" line). Hence the amber finish (looks glossy or semi-glossy to me) with no label or serial number. Might also explain the gold-colored tailpiece (although it may in fact be a nickel TP "tinted" by the flash).

In any case, it's actually a nice-looking piece. If one could live with the patch on the scroll, it might be a decent buy for 1,400+, particularly if it sounds good.

- John

mythicfish
Mar-26-2007, 6:27am
Kinda like a Gibson ... wooden construction, eight strings ...

Curt

jim simpson
Mar-26-2007, 8:11am
"I am told it is a prototype, possibly a one off employee piece. I am told it has a few features, like the fingerboard extension, that are not standard for a F model. Has not had any labels in it but it is a Gibson".

It seems a stretch to say "I am told it is a prototype" and state ".. but it is a Gibson" without anything to substantiate it.

I would think the poor scroll work would have prevented it from ever leaving Gibson's premises.

Ray(T)
Mar-26-2007, 11:32am
Must be a Gibson - it says so on the headstock - http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Other than that there's little evidence that its anything other than a mandolin.

Darryl Wolfe
Mar-26-2007, 11:39am
Unquestionably factory Gibson. CNC doesn't lie. How it got this way ??

Big Joe
Mar-26-2007, 1:07pm
As best we can tell from the photo, this is a Gibson product. It is not a prototype. It is an F9 and it appears as if it has been refinished from original. We have no idea who owned it without the serial number. It is not likely built by an employee, but just a stock F9 that someone reworked. That is as best as I can tell you.

F5G WIZ
Mar-26-2007, 7:06pm
Hum. Wonder why they would remove the label? Stolen Maybe? Remove the serial number so it can't be traced, perhaps. Who knows. Thanks Joe.

Jerry Byers
Mar-26-2007, 7:23pm
It certainly doesn't look refinished, but with an original finish. At the inside of the scrolls, there is no indication of any other staining or finish.

Is it possible that a F-9 got out in the white?

Greenmando
Mar-27-2007, 9:02pm
My F9 and A9 can look much lighter in photos with the right lighting.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/ferretkona/Mandolins/Gibson004.jpg