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Scott Tichenor
Aug-05-2004, 5:26pm
When I was in Nashville at NAMM I dropped by the Gibson Retail store and test drove all of the varnish ferns with the intention of bringing one home. And so I did! In addition to this being a marvelous experience, you can't help but get caught up in the enthusiasm the Gibson employees have for their instruments and their craft. I am now going to hide in my bedroom and not come out until my fingers can no longer take it!

Scott Tichenor
Aug-05-2004, 5:27pm
Peghead detail. A really gorgeous MOP inlay.

Scott Tichenor
Aug-05-2004, 5:27pm
Had to use a shot with more detail to show off the color. Should have dusted off the headstock before photographing it. That's the admission this thing is out of the case alot. I also probably got carried away with the sharpen filter in Photoshop to bring out the color. Bottom line, a beautiful piece of work on that headstock.

Scott Tichenor
Aug-05-2004, 5:28pm
Back

Bradley
Aug-05-2004, 5:37pm
That thing is beautiful....The Back is awesome

And yes them boys are proud of their instruments....
That is why they are making great instruments,their Heart is in it.

JimW
Aug-05-2004, 5:43pm
Wow, certainly a nice mandolin Scott. The look of the varnish is beautiful. But, Gibson must really be cranking out the Ferns. Based on that Serial Number, that was the 22nd Fern signed on June 21, 2004?

Jim

Yellowmandolin
Aug-05-2004, 7:22pm
I was in Nashville the last few days and spent most of my time at the Showcase. The last day I was there(yesterday) there where two varnished ferns that they had just put out. Did you get one of thoes? By the way, they also had #4 distressed master model back there. I played that thing until they closed the store. Man does it sound good! Anyway, your Fern looks pretty nice, how does it compare to the laqured ones?

Jacob Hawkins

onlyagibsonisgoodenuff
Aug-05-2004, 7:36pm
Scott, I had Cumberland Acoustic make a pickguard for mine with ivoroid binding that matches the varnished Mandolin binding pretty close. makes mine look 80 years old! Wait till you hear that mando in 6-8 months. Can you stay in your bedroom that long?

Bob Sayers
Aug-05-2004, 7:42pm
This thread is very interesting. I recently purchased a Varnish Fern dated 22 May 2004 (sn 40522010). I ordered mine with a dark brown sunburst giving it something of the appearance of a Fern Loar. What I didn't anticipate is that the Gibson folks applied the dark varnish to the binding as well, turning it an antique yellow brown color. The binding on Scott's, by contrast, looks much lighter--which I think I prefer. Apart from that cosmetic detail, the thing sounds absolutely fantastic and plays like a dream.

Bob

onlyagibsonisgoodenuff
Aug-05-2004, 7:51pm
#What I didn't anticipate is that the Gibson folks applied the dark varnish to the binding as well, turning it an antique yellow brown color. #
Bob
I would think that could be lightened by rubbing it out a bit. I'm not sure of the process, but I know where my hand has played on the neck, the binding is white.

Bob Sayers
Aug-05-2004, 7:57pm
Thanks for the suggestion, Fred. I suspect that over time some of the varnish on the binding will wear away a bit. On the positive side, my new mandolin already looks as though it's 80 years old!

Bob

Scott Tichenor
Aug-05-2004, 9:01pm
This thread is very interesting. I recently purchased a Varnish Fern dated 22 May 2004 (sn 40522010). I ordered mine with a dark brown sunburst giving it something of the appearance of a Fern Loar. What I didn't anticipate is that the Gibson folks applied the dark varnish to the binding as well, turning it an antique yellow brown color. The binding on Scott's, by contrast, looks much lighter--which I think I prefer. Apart from that cosmetic detail, the thing sounds absolutely fantastic and plays like a dream.

Bob
Robert, mine is antiqued as well. I really blew that out on the close-up headstock picture but didn't realize how much until you pointed it out. I meddle with photographs alot in Photoshop and you can just about do anything. Unfortunately, with all that power you can also make things appear different than they should be. Our digital tends to shade things a bit so I mess with the color curves and levels a fair amount. In the shots that aren't close-up you get a better idea of the--your term: antiquing--which is sort of an off-white, almost yellow. I actually like it alot that way but can see both sides of that coin. The Brentrup, the other mandolin I purchased this month on the other hand is more white. BTW, I've *never* purchased two mandolins in one month in my life and will likely never do so again, I'm sure. I don't make that kind of money and tend to keep instruments I like. OK, that's the mid-life crisis out of the way, thanks in part to Charlie, Joe and Hans.

ShaneJ
Aug-05-2004, 9:09pm
OK, that's the mid-life crisis out of the way....
Sure beats a Harley and a new tattoo! Congratulations, Scott.

JeffS
Aug-05-2004, 9:54pm
Very nice Scott. I was gonna be a troll and say the scroll looked funny but the thing is just too beautiful.

mandoJeremy
Aug-05-2004, 10:02pm
That scroll is perfect dude...just leave it to Charlie and the job will be done right! Also, those are the new Grover/Gibson tuners for those that are interested.

Charlie Derrington
Aug-05-2004, 10:25pm
No....

Thanks to you Scott, and all of the "mando-nuts" that make my job so easy.

Thought I'd post this last time for a couple of weeks because I am on my way to EMBA boot camp. Henry has decided to send me to Vanderbilt for the next couple of years (along with my regular job) to get my Masters in business. Who ever thought some lowly mandolin repairman would be going back to school to learn the other side of things.

Anyway, thanks to all on this board for the help and support and be aware I'm going to be partially absent from this site for a while.

Charlie

jasona
Aug-05-2004, 11:35pm
Scott: those are a couple of beauty mandolins. Gimme a shout if any in your stable get lonly--I can keep them busy for ya ;)

Charlie: good luck with the MBA. Nothing a little hard work can't achieve, and after fixing Old Bill's mando, it should be a push B)

Big Joe
Aug-06-2004, 8:54am
Hey Scott...
I hope you really enjoy your new mandolin! It is a beauty and I hope it brings you a lifetime of joy and pleasure. Thank you for your support and help and we at OAI appreciate you in every way! You are our hero!

Ted Eschliman
Aug-06-2004, 10:25am
OK, that's the mid-life crisis out of the way, thanks in part to Charlie, Joe and Hans.
Personally, I've been using Scott as the "Poster Boy" for the worse case M.A.S. scenario gone awry, in addition the whole mid-life "coulda been a Porshe or 26-year-old Coed" for the last six months in my own marriage.
Mrs. Mandohack isn't buying it though. Still sleeping on the couch from some recent acquisitions.

76547
Aug-06-2004, 10:53am
Scott,

Congrat's on your new purchases. #I saw what Dan went through in deciding to buy one. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif #I can't imagine the pressure etc involved in buying two, wow!
I would also like to support your comments about Charlie, Big Joe & all the folks at Gibson. #They are true professionals and take their tasks in life very seriously.

Jack

OlderThanWillie
Aug-06-2004, 12:22pm
From what Charlie D. and others have said here, from time to time, I thought that you had to purchase a Gibson from an authorized dealer. Is it possible to buy directly from the Gibson factory? Wouldn't that make their dealers somewhat unhappy?

mandoJeremy
Aug-06-2004, 1:02pm
Their retail store in the Opry Mills Mall is a Gibson authorized dealer and just happens to be where they make the mandos! You can go there yourself and buy one tomorrow if you wanted.

Big Joe
Aug-06-2004, 1:32pm
We'd happily welcome you to the Gibson Bluegrass Showcase. It is located in Opry Mills Mall in Nashville Tennessee. It is the single largest volume bluegrass store on the planet. We carry forty plus mandolins and fifty or more banjos and several hundred guitars at all times. I don't make any effort to sell on this website, but we do have one incredible store! Come on in and play till your hearts content or you can't live without one!

Yellowmandolin
Aug-06-2004, 2:07pm
I have to second what Big Joe said about the Showcase. #I was in town for a few days this week and spent most of my time there. #I clearly wasn't going to buy another Gibson
(although I was eyeing several), but that didn't stop the employees from letting me play what ever I wanted. #I talked with Dave, Kevin, and Mary Ann for a some time about the different signature models and about the distressed master behind the counter. #It was a great experence and I intend to go back.

Jacob Hawkins

JGWoods
Aug-06-2004, 5:27pm
OK, that's the mid-life crisis out of the way, thanks in part to Charlie, Joe and Hans.


"...Mrs. Mandohack isn't buying it though. Still sleeping on the couch from some recent acquisitions."
Perhaps if you didn't sleep with the mandolins you could find your way back into the master bedroom?
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

gw

Mark Normand
Aug-09-2004, 12:59pm
Hey Scott, I see from your pic on the other thread, the other mando does not have a pickguard, you obviously play these with/without pickguards interchangeably? What's the scoop on that, if any? Observations?
I play my Weber fern without, and I'm putting lots of light surface scratches by dragging my pinky. Getting kinda freaked out now http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Mando Mark
Aug-09-2004, 11:35pm
Scott,

I had no idea that the Fern model was available in varish? I know Charlie and Big Joe might chime in here, there must be an additional cost for that. I'll bet it sounds as great as it looks.

Mark

Big Joe
Aug-10-2004, 8:06am
We make them on occasion but they are not a regular production item. The current price is 12K and going to 14K the first of September. Better get it while its hot!!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif .