1936 Gibson F-5 for sale!

[Bernie Daniel]

This is cool! 1936 F-5 (http://cgi.ebay.com/1936-Gibson-Fern-F-5-Mandolin-Exceptionally-Rare_W0QQitemZ130276521225QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item130276521225&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318)

It seems to be in lovely shape.

I find it very interesting because the serial number is less than 100 from my 1936 K-1 and also the tuners plates are the same style -- but mine are A-style and do not have the screw through the tuner knobs.

I wonder how those mandolins -- 12 years after Loar -- sounded?

[allenhopkins]

This listing -- and its evil scam "twin," which has since been removed -- kicked off this adjacent thread. (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46445)

Gibson F-5 "Ferns" are second only to Loars in prestige, from what I've been able to gather.

[f5loar]

This is one of the finer sounding and looking 30's Ferns.
'36 would be the last year of the Fern as the '37(aka Hoss) had the redesigned fatter flowerpot. If you want that real Fern sound but can't go the $100,000 for a 20's Fern this is the one to get at half the price.

[Bernie Daniel]

Thanks for the info.

One thing I noticed is that the fern inlay on the headstock of the 1936 in relation to the tuners and the truss rod cover is different -- as compared to my 2002 model.

The pic on the right is my 2002 -- its not as sharp as it could be because I have an ablone truss rod cover -- but that fist set of fern leaves nearly touches the bottom of the 2nd set of tuners on the '36 model but is midway between the 2nd and 3rd on the '02.

[f5loar]

When you study the history of the making of the Gibson F5 you find out quickly there was no set pattern for inlays and drill hole placement in relation as to how the tuners of the day would fit. They inlayed the Fern, then drilled the holes to fit the tuners, not drill to miss the inlay. Add to that not all Fern patterns are created equal and you get various looks to the final headstock. Seems around 1928 is when they didn't care if it lined up or not.

[Christian]

There's a great series of pictures in the F5 Journal documenting the evolution of the peghead on the F5. Darryl explains that around 1928 when they switched to modern style tuners with the buttons above the string posts, and they positioned the overlay higher, they started drilling right through the Fern pattern.