Frankensnake??

[mandotool]

https://reverb.com/item/4480619-gibson-a00-1934

Was looking around for a starter mandolin for a friend and stepped on this dreadful snake .

Any forensic comments,questions,concerns ???

[jim simpson]

It looks rough to me plus the neck looks like it was added to the body, not original - it wasn't a very neat job.

[mandotool]

[MikeEdgerton]

It's obvious that neck didn't come on that body. Look at the bridge position in relation to the F holes. The body is probably a 30's A, no telling where the neck came from. Those are Gibson Grover tuners, they first came on Gibson mandolins in the early 2000's but they have flooded eBay recently. It's some pretty awful alligator dentistry to get that neck on it. I'd never pay anywhere near that for it but that doesn't mean it couldn't sound or play well. As Jim said, it wasn't a very neat job. Trying to pass it off as something original is pretty bush league.

That looks like a water-slide decal on the headstock.

You really need this shot of where the neck meets the body.

[pheffernan]

It looks to me like, in a world with only one Griffith A5, somebody took matters in their own hands and converted a shortnecked 30's Gibson A00 to a longer neck. It's rough, crazed, and worn, but uncracked and kind of fetching. For $860 shipped, I'd be tempted if I could play it first.

[MikeZito]

With reference to the picture that MikeE posted:

My eyes aren't that great - but, doesn't it look like the strings are resting right on the neck, once you get past the 12th fret, or so? Also, that neck job looks pretty scary to me - it almost looks like the thing would fold in half, the first time that you brought it up to pitch.

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Mike above - "...doesn't it look like the strings are resting right on the neck,..".It certainly looks that way to me,but,the bridge is all the way down. That could have been done for a number of reasons. However,that neck joint wouldn't exactly inspire me with any confidence at all,as Mike points out,
Ivan

[William Smith]

I redid a 36 A-1 years ago, I thought it was an A-50 but now I'm sure it was an A-1,,took back off, re-graduated top and back, took down tone bars, fixed a few top cracks and had Stiver put it back together with a Siminoff A-5 maple neck, Stiver put a radiused ebony board with large frets and thats where my bridge was also located. and the mando sounded pretty darn good, but it was an A-1 so carved top and back. I ended up swapping her off, it has surfaced in the classifieds here before..
I also had the neck set back so it had the elevated board-great angle! I tell ya that one was pretty good and someone must be happy with it cause I haven't seen it for sale in close to 10 years? I think I did the conversion in 2007! It was a rough looker but when done was sweet! Way better than the frankenmando on reverb-I actually contacted the seller and asked him who did the work and he said it was original, I told him sorry it was modified big time..

[ollaimh]

all this talk of modified 30's gibby's to make A 5's is fascinating.

[fscotte]

I'd take the neck off and make a proper one. Refinish the entire thing.

[Capt. E]

Considering what you can buy and all-original 30's vintage A-1 for, I am not sure this is worth fooling with.