Thank you, Bill; I am glad to know there is some resemblance to your Master Model. I had a real lusting for those mandolins!
The only "Custom" F style I saw was here on Mandolin Cafe and I believe that it was made in Montana.
I like Cooper's picture, too. His mandolin has the same stain as is on my friend's '84; it has a rather rustic look to it. It would be nice to have one of those pre-Gibson Flatirons with that stain and tortoise binding!
This is all good info, much better than what my googling could discover.
When did the black top Flatirons come out? I'm assuming this was a Gibson Feature.
Also, I've seen a couple of threads here stating the year they were made is y.......y, or yy......
Did this rule of y...y or yy.... change from the original Flatiron factory to when gibson took over?
Sheryl --- Me
Sheryl, I am not sure of the first black-top Flatiron, but I know of a '87 Festival F model with gorgeous flame on the back and sides. The Gruhn asking price in '00 was $2,250 which included a hardshell case.
Here's another question- At what point did the designations start? Are there some Flatirons out there without the designations?
Ken-
I had a chance to play that A5 Master at Mass Street Music before it sold. They had a matching F5 Master too but I thought the A5 sounded better. Have not seen one since. If I remember correctly, the necks were pretty slim on both of the Flatiron Masters.
cooper4205 - nice looking Jr. I remember you got a great deal on this one. Does it have an elevated fretboard?
mcH-
The Montana made Flatirons dated yy.......
Nashville Flatirons were dated y.......y
I'd like to have a coffee table book on the Flatiron history with pictures of the Mandos, early shots of the workers, pictures of the shops, etc. etc. up to and including the Nashville Flatirons. Too bad one does not exist.
That would be cool
Ha. I got some photos - lots of 'em. Getting them assembled is another thing. We're STILL working on the pre-Gibson Flatiron archive project. Sometimes life gets in the way; however. To any body posting on this thread, I remain interested in any information and photos of your pre-Gibson Flatirons (I'll take through 1987 vintage).
f-d
ˇpapá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
circa 1983 (November or so)
f-d
ˇpapá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
[QUOTE]I wish there was a coffee table book. #(I screwed up my quote thing)
Well here is a big "YEA BUDDY" to that! I recognize some of you guys as regular contributors to Flatiron threads around here. Keep the info coming. I really enjoyed hearing about the Custom Model and seeing a picture of the A5 Master. The fretboard inlays and headstock look just like my 88 F5 Master and now I know this creature is not just a rumor. Is what make this fun is the fact that there are a few rare Flatirons out there. When I purchased my Master from Elderly in 88 I was told that probabaly less than twenty of this model had been produced at that point. I have heard that Bruce Weber has signed some which would have been built after mine. Who knows how many are around?
Cooper: nice lookin mando laying in the walkway there. My Jr. has a decal and nickle hardware.
pickinN- I think all the Montana JRs. have elevated fretboards.
Bill
So if I have a serial like this: 93021569 how do I interpret where it's made if the only info I have is the serial?Originally Posted by (pickinNgrinnin @ Aug. 06 2007, 17:57)
It could be either a '99 or a '93.. right?
Sheryl --- Me
I have an 85 a5jr, carlson very plain, coffe stain loud as all get out, but alas, the chunkey neck. Where have all those flatiron tailpices covers gone?
PatrickMacDonald
pickinNgrinnin, this is the F5 Master Model at Mass Music; I had a heck of a time getting the picture on here.
Bill, does this look rather like yours?
mcH-
What type of Flatiron do you have? A style? F style? No label on the inside that says where the Mando was made?
If we know the style, peghead inlay, we can probably narrow this down for you. Or, if you take out the endpin and look straight up to the neck block you will be able to tell if this is a Montana made or Nashville made. The Montana Made Flatirons used a Mortise and Tenon joint to attach the neck to the body. They also used a _very_ small bolt to secure the joint during the gluing process. As a result, you will see a very small bolt head at this joint.
The Nashville Made Flatirons have a Dovetail neck joint and you will not see a bolt there. You might be able to see this neck area by looking in through the F holes.
Ken- yea that was the one! It was very unusual to see and play an A5 and F5 Master in the same afternoon. I doubt I will have that opportunity again. Both instruments were in great condition and both were set up with fairly low action.
I love these Flatiron Mandolins - Montana and Nashville versions. I'm down to just 2 at this time - my 84 Pancake 2MW and a Nashville A5 Performer. I've owned many others along the MAS trail.
When I bought my Flatiron Performer from Vern Brekke (it sat in his closet for 9 years!) he told me that the Performer series was one set up from the Festival series because the Performer series had the fancier Fern on the headstock and binding on the headstock. In addition some had gold hardware 9as mine did) when the Festival series only had silver hardware.
I don't care what they say about the integrated neck that Flatiron I had played and sounded pretty pretty good to my ears after I broke in in good by playing the heck out of it for 3 years.
Sold that thing to Markelberry, hope he got some good picking out of that old Flatiron as I did.
I don't have a Flatiron [yet] :-). I've seen one that the label reads Flatiron Mandolin and Banjo Co. Serial # is 93021569, and it's a black top, curly maple back.
I'm assuming it's Montana made.
Sheryl --- Me
that looks like February, 1993; 1569th one made
pickinNgrinnin, I was going through my Flatiron file and found some notes from my search. The Master Models that Mass Music had were interesting; 1990 F5 Master Model and A5 Master Model signed by Dennis Balian, both one owner (same?). The asking price for the F5 was $5,500.00 and $3,200.00 for the A5.
I also see note where a 1986 Blonde F5 Custom (Carlson signed) was offered for $5,500.00.
Another note says that approximately 20 Master Models were built and 3 Elite. Sorry to muddy up the water here, but this is good history. Elite?
I also see where a Master Model was built as early as 1987.
mcH-
If that label said Flatiron Mandolin and Banjo Co. it is definitely made in Montana. The serial number of 93021569 indicates it was made on February 15th, 1993 and it was the 69th made in this carved series. I think I have that right
Ken-
Yes, the Flatiron Masters at Mass Street were one owners and I believe the same person owned both. What a set! I was in the store that day playing them back and forth for a good part of the afternoon. Like I said, it would be unlikely to have that experience again.
I recall seeing a blonde, Carlson signed, F5 for sale awhile back. Had great flame on the back. Now I've not heard of the "Elite" Flatirons. Very interesting!
Flatiron Owners and Lovers, is it time for us to try to persuade Paula Jean Lewis to collaborate with us in producing a Flatiron pictorial history book? fatt-dad has a huge project going already and I imagine that we can get enough input from others for a book.
It might take some serious persuading to get Paula Jean out of retirement
Ken - that's a picture of a happy picker!
Anytime I can pick, I am happy! There is so much joy in music that I guess I grin a lot; maybe 'cause I just learned a little something new. That alone will make me happy, for sure.
I would hope that by now, Paula might need a little hobby to keep her mind sharp; Ha, Ha! If we get enough comment here, showing interest, I'll contact her. She had been so gracious while at STE about taking the time to either answer a question, or find someone who could. I have no doubt that she took on the role of Flatiron historian long before I even knew what one was.
Ask her how many carved-top mandolins were made prior to Gibson ownership. Then I'll have a goal.
f-d
ˇpapá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
PickinN-Elite: I have never heard that name used. Same here.
I really apologize for my lack of accurate recall here but. My understanding is that about two or three Flatirons were produced with an elaborate vine on the finger board. This is what I refered to in a earlier post as the Vine of Life Model. This is the ultimate Flatiron offering. I am not in a good position (lack of time) to follow through with the Elderly folks who I believe had a picture of one on an instrument cataloge probabaly back in the late 80s. I think the price was about twice that of the Master Model F5.
Ken-my Master has much lighter burst than the Mass St. Master
Bill
Well I spent some time yesterday at Elderly and we tried to find out the name of this elusive Flatiron model. We remembered the instrument but not the actual name of it. We did not take the time to locate every old catalog though, and nothing came up under Elite, Tree or Vine etc. We even ran across names like the the Flatiron Sweetgrass. Does anyone remember thier banjo line?
A better source of infomation than my twenty year old memory is needed here.
Bill
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