Always been curious about the pronunciation. Gibe or Geeb?
Always been curious about the pronunciation. Gibe or Geeb?
2020 Custom Weber Yellowstone F-20-F octave mandolin
2019 Weber Yellowstone F-17 mandola
2019 Custom Weber Diamondback F14-F
2018 Custom Weber Yellowstone F14-0
2016 Weber Octar
www.webermandolins.com/mandolin-artists/michael-eck
the brown/pink case like that one first appeared with the F5 in 1949 and continued until 1963. Monroe's case was from 1963.
You could also order them with the F12 and later on the A5 and EM200. Only the first few years had the GEIB tag on the inside.
There's a couple up for sale on eBay at the moment. NFI
Darryl G. Wolfe, The F5 Journal
www.f5journal.com
Right you are Darryl the bottom pocket got longer towards the end of the brown/tan cases around mid 1963. Monroe's was still the short one. And then around early 1964 there were a few rare transition cases that had black exterior and the hot pink interior and then they went to the black with yellow/orange until the end of 1969. It would be easier to write a book about the changes in Loars than the changes Gibson did to their F5 cases from 1922 to 2012.
I think that 750 price on those for sale might be a stretch. I listed mine here for less that half of that and didn't get much action.
For those that may not understand what Darryl and I was talking about the longer pocket here is a good example from 1965 showing the black/yellow/orange case with the longer pocket on ebay with a really nice A5 in it:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Gibson-...item20c6758fb1
I think the $750 is a high end price but he does entertain reasonable offers. I would think half that would move pretty quick if in that good of condition. These cases are more of a "cool" factor than a really good case for a vintage F5. They don't offer that much protection, wear out pretty easy and the mandolin flops around inside it.
Hi Steve,
Great article! I just bought an electric violin that came in a Geib case and found your article in a google search. Would you be interested in some pictures of it for your documentation efforts? It also has some slight damage to one corner so you can see the burlap under the skin and might be of interest to anyone wanting to know more about the Durabilt process.
Michael, I also found out that it is pronounced "Gibe" (Guy-B) according to one source.
Visit www.fox-guitars.com - cool Gibson & Epiphone history and more. Vintage replacement mandolin pickguards
Thanks for the comments, Django Fret. Yes, I'd be interested in pixs of your case. My email is at the bottom of the Geib History webpage.
The construction method is actually the "Kant Krack" process, and was used on Durabilt brand cases, which were a lower-price version of Kank Krack cases.
Steve
haven't finished yet - taking a break. I did laugh at this quote (as if mandolins and guitars were not "musical instruments"):
"The province of the enterprise at the start was confined to manufacturing of canvas cases for guitars and mandolins, and before the expiration of six months the scope of the business was expanded to include also the manufacturing of leather cases for musical instruments."
f-d
o.k. now I'm done. That was very interesting! I need to go check my Gibson guitar case (1930) and see if it has that diamond!
¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
Sorry to revive such a long-dead thread, but I have a few questions for you, Steve, if you happen to come across this.
I recently purchased an old fiddle in a Durabilt case. I haven't taken photos of the case by itself, but here's a photo of the fiddle in the case (small resolution, sorry). It's a black case with purple cotton(?) interior. One interior storage compartment (no diamond on the lid) and one original bow holder in the lid. The bottom is marked with "Geib Inc. Durabilt" in an oval, and it does seem to have the Kant Krack construction with the burlap showing through a worn spot. No evidence of an interior Geib medallion.
I can post detailed photos if needed. But my question is on the year range that this case would have been built. From the info on your site, it looks like Durabilt cases started in 1928, but the "Geib Inc." brand wasn't used until 1937. So it's safe to assume this is post-1937. But do you know how long after that black cases would have been made in the Durabilt line, under "Geib Inc."? Did it end with WWII?
It does look very similar to the violin cases in the 1939 Montgomery Wards catalog on your site, though I can't read the descriptions well enough to tell if this case would be one of them.
Hi Tobin,
Your thinking on the age of your case is correct. I don't know exactly when Geib discontinued the Kant Krack or Durabilt cases but it was apparently in the early to mid 1940's. In early 1942 the government instituted restrictions on materials in manufacturing. Geib also began working on military contract items sewn out of canvas. They continued to build cases throughout the war but probably cut back production, and it's possible they closed the Kant Krack department during that time.
I also have a Facebook group on Vintage Instrument Cases where we discuss all sort of topics related to old cases. https://www.facebook.com/groups/vint...strumentcases/
Steve
I think the original pronunciation was with a hard G and close to rhyming with "pipe".
Phil
“Sharps/Flats” ≠ “Accidentals”
Yes, as said earlier Geib is pronounced "Gybe". I've interviewed several members of the Geib family, so there's no disputing the correct pronunciation.
Steve
http://www.stevekirtley.org/geib.htm
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vint...strumentcases/
extremely interesting article, thanks for bringing it back to the top T.
d
This Geib Inc. Masterkraft case houses my Kalamazoo mandolin banjo.
These 2 cases are identical on the outside but have a different purple material and design inside.
Here is a beautiful Geib red line case from the 1930's.
The interior color is described in Gibson catalogs as "American Beauty." No doubt the name was derived from the famous American Beauty Rose.Here is a beautiful Geib red line case from the 1930's.
Steve
I need to reattach a piece of covering to the underside of the handle on the (original?) case for my '21 A and I'm wondering which adhesive would be appropriate?
The handle itself is metal (steel) and the covering is thin, probably not real leather, but I don't know what sort of synthetic material it is.
I understand I should clean both surfaces well, the steel is no problem. I may just lightly abrade the glue surface of the covering material to remove traces of old adhesive.
Would a very thin coat of something like Shoe Goo work, or should I mix a tiny batch of epoxy?
Clark Beavans
Clark,
Epoxy isn't the right stuff and Shoe Goo is too thick. Contact cement is what you want. You can buy a small bottle of solvent-based contact cement. Normally I recommend latex-based contact cement for cases as the solvent can be damaging to an instrument's finish but this is a small repair and actually outside of the case.
On a prewar case the covering and handles like this are Keratol or other brand of imitation leather. Learn more about the history of this material half way down this page: http://www.stevekirtley.org/other.htm
You could repair with Tolex, which is the modern equivalent. You might find some Naugahyde type vinyl at your local fabric store that would work. I wouldn't recommend this stuff to cover an entire case, but it may be fine for a handle. Better yet, you could use genuine leather. (Small pieces are available at a local Tandy Leather or maybe a hobby shop.) Your handle probably looks like the picture below. It's made of two metal parts, an inside and an outside that are each wrapped with covering then riveted together near the ends. You could remove the rivets, use contact cement to glue covering onto both parts, then reassemble and replace the rivets. I've done this procedure and it's not complicated. Any leather/Tolex/vinyl you use would need to be thin.
Hope that helps,
Steve
Just a question Steve, do you think "Barge" cement is too thick too? I understand the contact cement use but, I'm simply curious.
Timothy F. Lewis
"If brains was lard, that boy couldn't grease a very big skillet" J.D. Clampett
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