• The 1978 Bob Givens Interview from The Guitars Friend

    An interview with legendary builder Bob Givens published over 40 years once again comes to light.

    R.L. Givens

    In order to understand the origins on this interview with R.L. "Bob" Givens it's necessary to take a step back into another time.

    A long defunct and now relatively obscure music catalog of the time, The Guitars Friend (no apostrophe), in publication between 1973 - 1983, was created by Laurence "Laury" Ostrow, an acquaintance of and seller of Givens' instruments. As part of the content of The Guitars Friend series Ostrow produced and published a short but meaningful interview with Givens, whose work is still highly respected. He preceded most of today's modern mandolin builders in turning out true world class A and F mandolins in the style of the 1920s Gibsons.

    Givens was clearly one of the earliest modern makers to closely study the best early Gibson Loar F mandolins and much of the interview explores his thoughts on the subject. Givens passed away in 1993 from cancer.

    The Guitars Friend was an ornately hand-lettered catalog with some typesetting, augmented with photos that combined instrument sales with commentary on "hippie" culture that included but was not limited to alternative, self-sustaining, country lifestyle and more. From the description offered in one issue (shown below), TGF began as a mail-order catalog offered by Ostrow after his time at the Detroit-based music store Music, Strings, and Things, founded by his brother.

    Ostrow left Detroit in 1973 to move to the country, first to Stockbridge, Mich., then to Sandpoint, Idaho in 1975.

    Based in California since 1982 and running a series of businesses not directly related to music, we made contact with Ostrow who granted permission to reproduce the interview and other bits of mandolin information from the publication. Guitars Friend — Songs of the 70's is a collection of highlights from ten years of the catalog and is available from Apple Books and Blurb Books and can be purchased as hard copy or download. To truly understand TGF it's a must own document and well worth the price in our opinion.

    The Guitars Friend statement of purpose, reproduced below. Click for larger version.

    The Guitars Friend


    NOTE: the interview has not been edited so all content is as it originally appeared.

    An Interview With Bob Givens

    Bob Givens is a master creator of Bluegrass instruments. He's been involved in instrument building and conversions since back in 1962. He's one of the most experienced mandolin builders around and his instruments have established his reputation world-wide. We give you exerpts from a talk with Bob.

    How has mandolin design changed since the twenties?

    Not much, with good mandolins. Nothing can beat a Lloyd Loar.

    Is your design just a take-off on a Lloyd Loar?

    I started with a Lloyd Loar I took apart in 1966. But when I put one together with the same dimensions, it didn't sound the same. I don't think that Loar's F-5s sound the same today as they did in 1927. And new F-5 copies made today won't sound the same as original F-5s. So I changed my designs over the years to experiment with the sounds.

    Is there much variance among different Lloyd Loar F-5's?

    That's hard to say because it's hard to find Lloyd Loars in original condition to compare. Most all of them I've seen have been at least sanded on if not carved out on the inside. I've only seen three with the original finish in real primo condition.

    What kind of wood did Gibson use on the F-5's?

    Well, they used some pretty highly flamed stuff for maple and a couple of kinds of spruce. The shaping was all done on a carving machine and they were finished up by hand.

    Do you get any difference in sound using plain, flamed or highly figured maple?

    Some people feel there's a real difference. But I've built lots and I don't really see any pattern. Often the ones with the plain or even marred wood sound the best.

    Gibson made a variety of models. Was the main difference ornamentation, or did they use different woods for different shapes and so on?

    Gibson has used maple as the standard for the F-5 necks, but they use mahogany on a lot of the A models and the old F-4's. All the F-4's have mahogany necks. Their F-models were all the same shape, but the predecessor to the F model was larger. It had a three point body. F models have a two point body. The original Gibson mandolin, the Florentine model, was a completely different shape from the F. It did have an ornate scroll-shaped body similar to the F, but I don't know of any F mandolins with a three point body.

    How do your mandolins compare to Gibson Lloyd Loars?

    I like the sound of mine better. But then I know there are a lot of guys that like the Lloyd Loars better than mine. I make my mandolins to sound the way I want them to sound. As far as being put together well, I do as well as I can... but I've seen some Lloyd Loars that are absolute perfection, and that's hard to beat!

    Do you feel that there have been any real mandolin building discoveries since the twenties?

    There haven't been any real improvements. The design, woods, construction methods and even machines are still pretty much the same today. The wood is probably worse today.

    How were the color and finish of the Lloyd Loar mandolins achieved?

    They used hand-rubbed stains, I use sprayed on colors. One thing you have to watch is the color of the light you're working under. Incandescent and fluorescent are very different.

    Do you put a maple plug in the scroll of the peg head for reinforcing strength?

    No. I don't feel that's necessary.

    Have you played many of the Martin mandolins?

    Oh, I've played a few but I haven't felt that the sound was that strong.

    Have you played many of the Ibanez mandolins?

    Yes, I have. Nearly every one seems to sound different. I guess they're okay, for the money.

    Do you always stick to putting dots down the fingerboard?

    No. Sometimes I've done custom inlays such as a vine twisting down the whole length and other fancy stuff. But I seem to keep going back to dots. I like dots a lot.

    I noticed the floral inlays you use on the pegheads. Didn't the original Lloyd Loar mandolins use the double flower pot inlay?

    As far as I know, they had two designs they used. One was the pretty common double flower pot; the other was the fern inlay I use. The design I use now was something I refined in 1968.

    Do people use A models for a certain type of music, or is it just that they can't afford an F model?

    The two mandolins just sound completely different. It seems to be just personal preference as to the sound somebody likes. The sound of an F really cuts through. You can hear it very clearly when an A and a F are played together. An A model has a fuller, rounder sound. When you're playing real high notes, you can hear how the power of the F comes through. It has more of a percussive sound when you hit it with a flat pick.

    Would you consider putting abalone around the edge of a mandolin body?

    Well, I have thought of it. But it would get pretty tricky around the scroll. It's even tricky just to get purfling to bend around it. I've always wanted to make a completely blonde mandolin with a clear finish over the pale maple, though. Some day I will.
    Additional The Guitars Friend Information


    The Guitars Friend

    PDF - The Guitars Friend Givens Guitar and Mandolin catalog/price list (11 pages)


    PDF - The Guitars Friend general mandolin information (14 pages) - Gibson, Givens, Kentucky, Flatiron, Andersen.
    Comments 45 Comments
    1. Greg Schochet's Avatar
      Greg Schochet -
      thanks for all this great Givens info!

      Scott, that was my F you played at Folk Alliance some years ago, a great memory for me, as well. Maybe all mandolins sound better in a stairwell at whatever in the morning it was! That one is #393 from '87.
      I've since gotten a Givens A6 five serial numbers from that one. It's very different and a great instrument, too.
      thanks again!
    1. MrMoe's Avatar
      MrMoe -
      I apprenticed with Nick Kukich. Nick and Bob were lifelong friends and close collaborators. Nick cared for Bob during his illness right up to Bob's passing. Mike Dulak and Bob were also friends and at one time room mates.
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Noting the anniversary of this one. Had a lot of fun getting this into digital for future readers.
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Nothing the anniversary of this feature interview.
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Noting the anniversary of this feature.