Gibson H2 mods

[Jim Bevan]

My wife plays Irish Trad whistle professionally, and I play Irish Trad mandolin for fun. We (well, she) got a gig, just the two of us, so I got a chance to really play some chords. I used an old Sobell 10-string, and I had a great time. The Sobell was loud enough to keep up with her Goldie whistle, but, well, it was kind of hard to lay into it satisfactorily – it has light strings, it has no pickguard, it has a cedar top, and the whole instrument feels a little too fragile for the rockin-out chord-strumming style that the gig was asking for.

So, I started looking for a mandola, a serious strumming, busking-quality mando, just cuz, well, cuz it would be fun. (That’s the way MAS works, as you all know – a new niche need, a new mando.)

Last week, on ebay, I found and won a more-or-less-1921 Gibson H2 mandola.
The instrument has undergone a “serious repair”, and, because of this, in the opinion of the previous owner, it has lost its vintage value, and it has become open season on modifications. He went ahead and radiussed the neck, and put on larger frets (both of which I’m very happy about).

I don’t have the mandola yet, and I won’t get it until I get back to the states in January (I’m on tour in Europe). I’ll be in Seattle for a week, so, I’ll have a week to do any other mods I might decide to do, but – what mods do I want? What would you do? I’m thinking, tuners and a pickup, but do I stop there? I don’t have much experience with Gibsons (just an EM120 back in the day) – what would you experienced Gibson owners change if the vintage value wasn’t an issue? The bridge, maybe? The tailpiece?

Thanks for your opinions!

[jmp]

Pickup would be the place to start if you want to rock out, 'dolas can be quieter compared to their mando and bouzuki counter parts. Tuners if the vintage won't get into / hold tune. Bridge if you have issues with the action / intonation.

[Tobin]

If vintage value were no longer part of the equation, I'd do exactly what the previous owner did to yours. Upgrade to a radiused board with larger frets. Sounds like you're all set on that count.

Other than that, I can't think of anything I'd do to change my Gibson mandola. I like it for what it is. But you'll likely want to change over to an adjustable bridge (Cumberland Acoustics makes a mandola bridge). Aside from that, I really think you should 'get to know' the instrument for a while before considering other bubbafications to it.

[mrmando]

I'd do an internal piezo, but with a Tapastring jack. Just cuz it's not vintage is no reason to be putting a bigger hole in the tailblock. An Allen or James tailpiece will save some string-changing fuss, and will pay for itself if you sell the original tailpiece to a collector. Adjustable bridge is a good idea. If the original tuners are working I would keep them; prices on vintage ones took a dive when StewMac introduced the Golden Age set. If they don't work so well, you can sell them for $50 to $75 and replace them with Golden Ages. That was a pretty nice-looking H2, even with the repairs around the neck block.

Hope we can get together again while you're in Seattle. Maybe you can have the mandola shipped to me and let me babysit it till you get here.

[Jim Bevan]

Hi Martin

Ya, I knew you'd pick up on this thread, I knew you'd have seen the instrument on ebay, and I knew you'd have some good advice.

It's probably already shipped to my daughter's in Lynnwood (that's where I'll be), so, sorry, you'll have to wait til I'm there to see it. (I'll have the Sobell with me too, and that's worth hearing, so yes, let's get together one evening.)

Know of a good place in the area to get these mods done? I could pre-order the parts, but having the bridge and the pickup professionally installed is a good idea.

Thanks again!

[mrmando]

I would take it to either Paul Stroh or Gary Wagner. Both are a fur piece from Lynnwood, and both will probably require more than a week to git 'er done. Maybe you can pre-order your parts and have them sent to your daughter, and I can put her in touch with Paul or Gary and get the work started, so you'll have the mandola ready by January.

[Jim Bevan]

Thanks Martin, I'm on it, and I'll be in touch if I need help.

See you!