Odd A-12 oval hole on Reverb.

[Macabre]

https://reverb.com/item/8001366-gibs...roll-with-ohsc

This one is an odd duck for sure. Anyone seen anything like this before?

[LadysSolo]

Not sure I would call that "good" condition - maybe "fair" condition. And no, I've not seen one like this before.

[Zach Wilson]

Different strokes for different folks... oddly enough, I'm actually a fan of the lump.

[Timbofood]

I don’t see anything “odd” homely maybe but not odd, this is a pretty normal looking example of the (strange) direction the company took for the A model in those odd days.

[MikeZito]

As my son and I like to say . . . 'It's cool, but I'm not sure that it's $1,300 cool.'

[MikeEdgerton]

Not so odd, not so old (Old is relative I guess)

Some past discussions can be found here and here. There will be some duplication of threads on those searches. The first Gibson lump scroll mandolin was built in a very limited run in the 30's and wasn't labeled Gibson.

[Jim Garber]

"The gear of your dreams is just a click away."

[Zach Wilson]

The more snickers it gets the closer I get to finding one in my price range.

[Macabre]

The more snickers it gets the closer I get to finding one in my price range.

Different stroke I suppose. I would consider picking one up for 500 as a beater.

[Zach Wilson]

$500 for sure. I pull the trigger at $850.

[mandocaster]

I see its freakish appeal. Also when there is a pack reaction against something, I’m drawn to it. It’s like 70s Fenders. There is so much hate, but I’ve played quite a few lovely teles. Through high school I played a 73 tele that I got new. I certainly wish I still had it. You mention a 70s Gibson mandolin and a pack of folks will rise up against it, often. A few of them have actually had their hands on some. I find them strangely similar to Japanese products of the same period. I’m sure they vary a bit though.

[MikeEdgerton]

And that is why they continue to sell. There's magic in those feelings. Everyone likes an underdog. I certainly do. My problem is that over the years I've bought way too many things that other people thought were foolish and it has cost me money.

[MikeZito]

Everyone likes an underdog. I certainly do. My problem is that over the years I've bought way too many things that other people thought were foolish . . .

Ditto.

As a kid growing up in the 70's, and even into the 80's and early 90's, I heard nothing but words of total contempt for any guitar not made in America. Words like 'junk', 'firewood', 'awful', etc. were the common descriptive vernacular. Then one day in 1993 I stumbled upon an electric guitar that was a foreign-made gem . . . and in the 30+ years since then, my little arsenal of instruments have always been dominated by inexpensive 'junk' that would still cause many 'purists' to turn up their noses.

[Timbofood]

Living in Kalamazoo where the back door of the factory seemed to not have a lock or much inventory control on parts (either second, third, or scrap quality) there were tops for these working their way into lunchboxes and “interesting projects” were built from them.
There is the “it’s so ugly it’s cute” thing about them though, for the right price, I’d have some fun with one.

[Macabre]

Living in Kalamazoo where the back door of the factory seemed to not have a lock or much inventory control on parts (either second, third, or scrap quality) there were tops for these working their way into lunchboxes and “interesting projects” were built from them.
There is the “it’s so ugly it’s cute” thing about them though, for the right price, I’d have some fun with one.

A lump only a mother could love.