This makes me wish I had more mystery mandolins to post.
Printable View
This makes me wish I had more mystery mandolins to post.
It's not that unusual for us to have this sort of thread. My favorites are the Frankenmando genre.
Mike, I agree with you and in looking at the inlay again it is very unlikely that the inlay was salvaged from the original A4 neck. It was probably made by the luthier or hobbiest that replaced the neck. I have four A4’s in the collection including the one with the same FON as Chris’. Here are some photos of the inlays to compare.
Attachment 187156
Attachment 187157
Attachment 187158
Attachment 187159
Attachment 187160
Even the logo is wrong, I don't think Gibson did the work.
I notice that the tuners and TRC have all been fixed with cross head screws whereas originally they would have been slot head.
Interestingly enough, there was a "1918 A-1" with similar finish and bridge that was sold through Music Go Round in Woodbury, MN over the past weekend. I did not see the instrument in person and the photo is from the Music Go Round Woodbury Facebook page.
Attachment 187162
Of course, it is near impossible to compare the two but the OP's looks more yellow and actually more tastefully done than the Music Go Round one IMHO. That is why I thought the refinish was done more by a pro than the inlay. The refinisher may not have tried to match what the original would have been but the quality of the refinish looks to me to be pretty decent. The inlay is waaaaaaaaaaay off in many respects.
Would you guys feel comfortable putting 11-40 strings on it? It has 10-34 at the moment, which feel and sound like rubber bands.
That should be fine. Vintage Gibsons take that gauge of string.
Chris, before you install new strings please check to see if the transverse top brace is secure, you can see it just below the soundhole. I would say that on 30% of the collection the brace was loose on one or both ends. Please have this checked!
As far as strings, D’Addario J-73 or J-74 gauge strings are fine. The new Monel strings can sound pretty good on the old Gibson’s.
Were you able to remove the cover and check for the existence of a truss rod?
Mark
Yes on the truss rod.
The brace does not seem to be loose. I’m grabbing at it as best as I can, and knocking on the top. No signs of play.
EDIT- Re-strung it with a GHS set that was probably over 10 years old. It sounds better, but needs setup. I'm going to let it sit at least overnight before I start trying to mess with the truss rod. Not expecting this thing to steal me away from my F-5s, but I'm not into having meh-playing junk laying around.
D'Addario J74 is the absolute heaviest string I would use on an oval hole Gibson.
I make up my own sets. 10 1/2 - 14 - 24 or 25 - 38 or 40.
Push upwards on each end of the brace while the strings are loose and see if the top moves.
If the top moves, the brace is probably loose at one end.
If in doubt, let someone with lots of experience with old instruments check it for you.