ID my old Gibson

[2Dip]

What is the model, year, etc. of this old Gibson? It sounds great even though it has had a rough life, got stepped on at a church meeting, as you may be able to see several cracks.
This all happened before the previous owner bought it in 1939 (he says). I had new tuner peg knobs installed, replacing the old, crumbled ones. There is a stamped number (60) you may be able to see under the E strings, no label, and a penciled #412 below the hole.
Thanks for your help.

[William Smith]

What is the model, year, etc. of this old Gibson? It sounds great even though it has had a rough life, got stepped on at a church meeting, as you may be able to see several cracks.
This all happened before the previous owner bought it in 1939 (he says). I had new tuner peg knobs installed, replacing the old, crumbled ones. There is a stamped number (60) you may be able to see under the E strings, no label, and a penciled #412 below the hole.
Thanks for your help.

I'd say its a 1934, It has a 35 Gibson A name inlay! early 30's A-4 the fretboard doesn't look elevated is it-meaning not glued to the top? Yours looks elevated can we see a side view? Yours has a 3 piece neck so throwing me for a loop but depression era Gibson, anything is possible!

[2Dip]

Thanks, bluegrasser78. I have added a side picture. Is this an A-4, and was 1935 the only year the name inlay was only "Gibson?" It seems most of them have "The Gibson." You have given me more info than I have been able to find in the 40 years I've had it.

[William Smith]

Thanks, bluegrasser78. I have added a side picture. Is this an A-4, and was 1935 the only year the name inlay was only "Gibson?" It seems most of them have "The Gibson." You have given me more info than I have been able to find in the 40 years I've had it.

Well since yours is an elevated fretboard I'd say its a 34 A-50 cause the 35's were f-hole models with the elevated board! I'd get them top cracks fixed though!

[2Dip]

Could someone tell me the model, date, etc of this old Gibson? I have had it for about 40 years and just recently got serious about playing it. Sounds great, even though it looks like it had a rough ride before I got it. You may be able to see a stamped "60" under the E strings and there is a penciled "#412" under the oval hole but no label. Thanks for any help.

[William Smith]

No one else chimed in? I know this is pre 35 so without getting a book out its 33-34 based on style/burst..I'd stake my rep on it! Someone prove me wrong...

[Walt]

There are more qualified people here to answer this, but here's my best guess: it looks like a 1930's Gibson A-0 that has had some hardware updates at some point in its life. The pickguard, tuners, and bridge look non-original to me. Here is a 1935 Gibson A-0 mandolin that looks a lot like yours. It has a similar headstock, rosette, and elevated fingerboard.

Also, I don't know if you have noticed, but there are two cracks running along the top of the instrument. I would get them repaired before you tighten the strings (or loosen the strings if they are already tight). If you can tell us what city you are in, maybe a Cafe member can suggest a good repair person. It's relatively inexpensive to fix and you could run into much bigger problems if left unattended.

[pops1]

By the logo it would be mid thirties, but not an A-0. The back binding would indicate a higher model. Just looked at your pic Walt, I could be wrong, but I thought lower models have not back binding.

[Walt]

By the logo it would be mid thirties, but not an A-0. The back binding would indicate a higher model. Just looked at your pic Walt, I could be wrong, but I thought lower models have not back binding.

I'm definitely just guessing on the model number. I'm not familiar with specs after the 1920s. I would have originally said A-4 because it's similar to a teens/20s A4 (sunburst with top and back binding). But I wasn't sure whether they still called it an A-4 in the 30s.

[allenhopkins]

Could it be the first year (1933) of the A-50, when it was still an oval-hole? Gibson made the A-50 an f-hole model in 1934.

Here's the Vintage Guitars description of the 1933 A-50:

1933 A-50 specs:
Symmetrical body, oval sound hole, bound top, back, fingerboard, fingerboard raised off of top, dot inlays, "Gibson" logo, dark red mahogany sunburst finish.


Seems like a pretty good fit for the pics as I see them, allows for the bound back. However, fingerboard's not bound, is it?

[pops1]

I think you are right Allen, but an A-1 in '33 would also fit. That era A-1 had back binding, went to the larger body in '34.

[William Smith]

Wasn't there another thread with this exact mando just like a few days ago?, I said it was an early 33-34 A-50, so I agree with Allen also, It's a nice one for sure!

[Capt. E]

My first thought was also an A-1 as early as 1929 though up to 1933. These were Gibson high-end A body instruments at the time. The first A-50's were a bit later and they had f holes.

[pops1]

This is definitely an A-1 1933. The only difference between the 1 and the 50 in 33 was fingerboard binding on the 50. In 34 they both got ff holes.

[pheffernan]

Wasn't there another thread with this exact mando just like a few days ago?, I said it was an early 33-34 A-50, so I agree with Allen also, It's a nice one for sure!

There was: https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...-my-old-Gibson

[pops1]

The A50 had fingerboard binding in '33, the A-1 did not. No other differences that I can find so I would say a '33 A-1.

[JEStanek]

I merged these threads.

Jamie

[f5loar]

My educated guess with the pearl small script logo, the unbound fingerboard and bound back with dark brown sunburst and the low FON of 60, is this is an early 1937 A1 before the change to the wide body. What is throwing me is the 3 piece neck. So that might indicated a much earlier model A2 that was redone by factory in mid to late 30's which would have added the pearl logo. Possible the original label was removed upon refinish or just fell out leaving the pencil number and a stamped number. A 60 FON also used in 1931 but not a 3 piece neck. I just smell a factory redo at some point by the time they used that pearl logo for a short time from 1935 to 1945. Most common for the small pearl logo is the 1944 A50 which had the little pearl diamond in the center. Those were originally thought to be from 1942, but records show none made until 1944 for the redesigned back to smaller body A50.

[Capt. E]

This is definitely an A-1 1933. The only difference between the 1 and the 50 in 33 was fingerboard binding on the 50. In 34 they both got ff holes.

Right...I forgot about the 33 A-50 with oval hole.