Two Master Models or One Gil?

[JAK]

Generalizing that a pre-owned Gibson Master Model F5 (think Charlie Derrington signed) is going for around 11K, and a pre-owned Gilchrist F5 is going for around 22K, would you rather have two Master Models or one Gilchrist?

[samlyman]

None of the above, just one Collings MF5V Deluxe. Sounds even better to my ears...

Whatever you do - play before buying. All instruments vary, even high-end ones.

Best wishes whatever you choose! Just remember, you cannot buy love, happiness or health - or - radically improve your playing with a more expensive instrument.

[sgarrity]

I wouldn't pay much more than $18k for a used Gil F5. But to answer your question....both are equally fine mandolins. Maybe get a MM and a Gil Model 1 for the best of both worlds!

[AlanN]

or - radically improve your playing with a more expensive instrument.

Jeez, now you tell me....

[darrylicshon]

Well being i've had a problem with buying too many instruments, ofcourse i would buy one master and maybe two others at around $5-6k lots of great mandolins at that price used , then i get three

[yankees1]

One Ellis F5 and go on a cruise !

[T.D.Nydn]

Money can't buy you love...but it can come darn close!...I'll take the two mastermodels myself...

[DataNick]

Why have 2 of the same model mandolin?...That's what I'm trying to understand about your hypothetical situation.

I'd lean towards a Master Model and a McClanahan F5...YMMV

[f5joe]

Master Models are going for a good bit more than $11k.

[Denny Gies]

I'm sorta with samlyman, I just want my one Randy Wood.

[8strings]

I would acquire a Gilchrist mandolin (and I have), rather than spending a number of weeks on a cramped cruise liner, if that is the difference between a lower cost mandolin and the price of this vacation. The Gilchrist will give you pleasure for years on end, whilst the memories of the cruise will be somewhat fleeting. That is not to say that Ellis mandolins are in any way inferior instruments.

[Phil Goodson]

MM + Duff + Cruise

[Jeff Mando]

Best wishes whatever you choose! Just remember, you cannot ............radically improve your playing with a more expensive instrument.

You can, however, play just as poorly, but have much nicer tone...............

[re simmers]

In July I played a 2003 Derrington Master Model at $12,500 that I liked better than the $22,000 Gil - both at Gruhn's. To me, the MM played easier and had more volume and more of that bell tone. That's the only time i ever played those models.

[grassrootphilosopher]

I played a couple of DMM (which go for more than 13 k - probably -; I think that a MM is indeed around 12 k). A used Gil is ... maybe ... around 17 k. I played a couple from different years (late 70ies, early 90ies and two from arould 2000).

The DMMs were very similar in feel and tone. I found that they lacked a little bit of something. To paraphrase, it felt like you had to peel off something in order to get "the real tone". That sort of kept me from really liking the DMMs. I played a Harvey period varnished Fern that was different in a good way.

The Gils were interesting. They had their similarities. But there was a wide variation from the early Gil up to the 2000s Gils. I would also put different prices on instruments from different periods. While the early Gil was nice ("The Gilchrist" logo) it was neither as complex and as powerful as later Gils. The early 90ies Gils were very nice yet compared to contemporary builders (Ellis etc.) they were on par yet not above them. The 2000 Gils were from a different breed. They were very powerful and complex (some might say that they were too heavy on the bass, but that´s a matter of taste).

Which would I like...? Maybe a post 2000 Gil A-5 (for around 14 k) and a ... well I don´t know.

[grassrootphilosopher]

None of the above, just one Collings MF5V Deluxe. Sounds even better to my ears...

Best wishes ...you cannot ...radically improve your playing with a more expensive instrument.

I beg to differ. While I think it has nothing to do with being "expensive", more expensive instruments are generally better as a rule of thumb. Is a Collings better than an Eastman? Most would agree it is. Will the better instrument increase your playing abilities? While the car will not the driver make it is for certain that a driver drives more easily with a better vehicle. When I "upgraded" an instrument (most significantly noticed when I changed from my first guitar to my 90 Martin D-16M and then to my vintage Southerner Jumbo) my playing kicked up twenty notches or so...

So as a rule I would say: Buy the best instrument you can afford to play the best you can.

[Ivan Kelsall]

If i had say $20k to spare (£15,300 UK),i'd be visiting as many 'good' mandolin stores as i could manage, & playing as many mandolins as i could of ALL price ranges & makes. Only then would / could i make a choice.

There are so many terrific builders building today, that actually choosing just one mandolin is something of a task & i wouldn't rule out any of them until i'd played one of their instruments. Also - we have such mandolins as those produced by Northfield,not mega-buck mandolins,but certainly instruments to be take very seriously.

I only wish that i was lucky enough to have such a task in front of me & the cash to back it up !,
Ivan

[Teak]

I would choose neither set but put that $22k into savings so that I don't have to eat cat food during retirement.

I can see professionals spending a ton of money on a very good instrument since that is their "bulldozer" for producing income, but for my average skills I get by fine with my $650 and $2,600 mandolins.

If it is truly a choice that you are considering (I doubt that you would buy two of the same model), I would suggest spending only $11k on one Master Model and saving the other $11k.

[9lbShellhamer]

$22k to spend on Mandolins... Can buy a lot of wood and wire.


1. Gibson F5 Custom from TMS
2. Collings MT2
3. Heiden A5
4. Pava Player Oval Hole
5. Ellis A5.
6. Kentucky KM150

A mix of the new and used market could buy all of these for $22k.


Personally, If I had unlimited funds I'd probably just want the nicest F I could get, the nicest A I could get, the nicest oval hole I could get, and a good beater to camp with.

[JeffD]

So as a rule I would say: Buy the best instrument you can afford to .

This is what I think. The differences between the two DMMs is likely to be minimal and I don't see a whole lot of reason for owning both. The Gil is likely to be amazing.

Now a signed Loar worth 150,000 or more, that's a different story. I would rather not have that, just because of the immense responsibility - both fiscally and historically. In that case I would take the money and go a little crazy.

Still, I like to get mandolins that are different from each other, different feel, different sound, different applications, etc. So I would not buy two DMMs anyway.

[Hendrik Ahrend]

John, Gibson and Gilchrist approaches are very different - generally speaking. I'd expect Gibsons to sound brighter with more mid range. Gils on the other hand are very loud, more bassy (some may say "tubby" or "boomy", others "woody") and "modern" sounding, especially the earlier Gils. (As opposed to the screaming - high lonesome - e-string of Monroe's Loar.)
Most of these earlier mandos were not at all intended to sound like old Loar F5s, and they don't. They are Steve Gilchrist's own idea of what a mandolin should sound like, and what modern players might prefer. (A lot of those mandos have x-bracing.) Ronnie McCoury's (# 128 1981) seems to be a favorite among enthusiasts.
As for Steve's latest mandos, he wrote the following (in a private email; BTW Steve is a super nice fellow and shares a lot of his knowledge):

"For a long time I was building an X braced sound I had developed back in the 80's with more emphasis on the bottom end response. Mike's #536 is a good example of the // braced sound that I have worked hard on developing more recently. This sound has more emphasis on the mid-range frequencies and produces more "crunch", projection and clarity but still retains good bass response.
It takes a little longer to develop and play-in, but when doing so produces more of the sound I think Monroe's July 9 would have had live. A lot of Mike's sound is Mike of course, but he does mention in conversations that he is hearing more and more the sound of old #73987 the more he beats on it ."

Myself, I've made my choice (as of yet) and own 4 Gibson F5s (2000, 2005, 2009 and a very old one), all quite different from each other. And I played quite a few Gilchrists (# 500 ex-Compton included). But that was before Mike Compton's # 536, which may have started a new Gilchrist era.

John, if you care for a loud mando with a good bottom end, go for a Gilchrist. He is the best there is today, I think. For generally brighter Gibson sound, go for a Gibson or any of those, who strive to get close to the Loar sound and feel, such as Duff, Hogan, Kemnitzer, Vessel, Wiens and certainly others.

Happy MAS,
Hendrik

[DataNick]

Excellent informative post Henry!

[Canoedad]

Ok so, fourteen Master Models or one Loar?

[Ron McMillan]

One Ellis F5 and anything but a cruise.

[yankees1]

One Ellis F5 and anything but a cruise.

You jut haven't been on the right cruise !