Gibson Mandolins 2013

[Chism'sTrail]

I had a gentleman at a music store inform me that Gibson is no longer making mandolins in their nashville facility. He says they are only coming out of the Custom Shop now and will be fewer in numbers. Can anyone corraborate or disprove this information? Seems like a big claim and a big move for Gibson, but I know the flood in nashville took it's toll and may have inspired some changes. Any information welcomed. Thanks

[mee]

I heard that too

[UsuallyPickin]

Well ..... I'm curious about this too. I can't say that it would surprise me either way. Gibson is and will always be a business. If an item has insufficient sales to support production a business can't afford to produce that product and stay in business. A Duh here folks.... Mandolin players at this point in time are not common to a household. As they were in the early 20th century. There are also more mandolins being manufactured, albeit in mostly small facilities, for the hgh end market than ever before. The low end market has been seized by overseas manufacturers. Mandolins don't really wear out and if properly cared for can live for years. All of the above " take a bite" out of the current mandolin market. Maybe Big Joe or someone in the know will chime in on this one...... We shall see...

[fiddler37]

I thought they had been doing this for a long time.

[jackmalonis]

I heard the same thing from a store owner and dealer who had recently been to the factory.

Not saying this is true, or confirmed or not, but he said that they hadn't been making them for a few years.
All the "new" models are old stock, possibly refinished and re-set-up (once again, according to him)

[Marc Berman]

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but mandolin production was done by Gibson OAI located in the Opry Mills Mall before the flood. They were in the process of relocating to the Custom Shop when the flood hit. As far as I know the Opry Mills facility was never reopened. Dave Harvey was and is still in charge of mandolins and I'm pretty sure they are currently making new mandolins. Check out his facebook page.
I remember him posting a photo of a mandocello that his group made back in Jan. 2012

[Chism'sTrail]

Wow, I guess I'm not the only one. Seemed lately to me that the popularity of the mandolin was rising, perhaps thats just because I am a newcomer to the mandolin world. It would be a shame to see a company like Gibson stop making mandolins, I can only assume this will make their value increase.

[Astro]

Because of the recession I have noticed many guitar companies have changed market strategies. They used to build stock models to create an inventory to sell wholesale to retailers who bought them because they could move them. Now, some of the manufacturers have changed to a "no inventory" strategy, only building the instruments as they are ordered. Essentially, the market has shifted to a custom order strategy because so few were buying and no one want excess inventory on the shelf. They will sell fewer units, but at "custom order prices" in order for the company to survive. Workers , however, likely were thinned in the process of course.

I think mandos are indeed hot right now and sales are likely to pick up eventually. But most initial buyers will buy entry pac rims and it will take a few years for the secondary effect for those who stick with it to want higher end US models.

[The Mandolin Store]

Gibson is making mandolins at the custom shop in Nashville. They have been making them at the custom shop since they re-tooled after the Nashville flood. They are not currently making A models or anything below the F5G model. They have no plans to stop making mandolins. The mandolins they are producing right now are consistently great instruments.

[Alan Lackey]

I hated when they did not reopen the shop there at Opry Mills after the flood. I used to love to stand there and watch the guys working on them.

[Austin Bob]

Any company that's been around as long as Gibson has had to continually make business adjustments in order to survive.

As Dennis mentions above, they are currently focusing on the higher end mandolins. And from the lack of inventory available, they seem to be selling as fast as they are making them. Not a bad position to be in.

[Mike Romkey]

A banjo player I know with an old Mastertone decided to buy a new spare. He called around to some dealers and was told they are unavailable. That was in November. I assumed it was wrong but struck me as odd.

[fiddler37]

I do not think Gibson has made any banjos since the flood. My guess is they will not make banjos in the future.

[Nick Triesch]

Here in So Cal and in my San Diego area I have noticed huge changes in the mandolin world. Buffalo Bros is one of the most high end guitar shops in America and for many years they had a fantastic inventory of hi end mandolins. But no more. I would go in the shop just a few years ago and there would be four or five Collings MF-5 mandolins on the wall! Plus hi end Weber s and Breedlove and all the rest! They also also had a good inventory of great vintage stuff like old Gibson A type mandolins. While they still have a great selection of the best guitars in the world all the cool mandolins have gone away. I think it really says something about the market and the popularity of mandolins in general. Also another store located in San Diego owned by Buffalo Bros has stopped selling hi end mandolins. I think in a few years there will be a mandolin boom again. A store can't have a wall of mandolins that just hang there for years and years.. I bought my Weber Fern at Buffalo Bros. in 2003. The wall was full of Weber mandolins at that time.

[Bernie Daniel]

Here in So Cal and in my San Diego area I have noticed huge changes in the mandolin world. Buffalo Bros is one of the most high end guitar shops in America and for many years they had a fantastic inventory of hi end mandolins. But no more. ....

Interesting observation...clearly the mandolin and banjo worlds are much more susceptible to "saturation" (be it transient or longer term) than the guitar world.

[woodwizard]

I too miss the Opry Mills facility. What a wonderful place it was. I told my wife and kids to go to the mall and have fun and if you need me I'll be right here. Several hours later they all came back and there I was It seemed that they were only gone for short time.

[Nick Triesch]

I don't think this is a bad thing, I just think things go in and out and then back into popularity. I remember about 30 years ago I went into Buffalo Bros ( Had a different name back then, same owners.) to look at mandolins and there were only a few on the wall. Can't even remember what they were. But at that time there were no Collings, Weber s, or much of anything on the wall for mandolins. Maybe a Gibson and a few vintage Martin and Gibson. Guitars will always be in demand. You can sing with them where with mandolin it is kind of hard.

[scottie b]

I talked with dave at the gibson booth at ibma and they had about 6 mandolins there and a waiting list for them.i asked him if they couldn'd bring more from the factory and he told me the ones on the wall were all they had and are behind on orders. p.s. i also see some great mandolins coming from gibson ,keep up the good work david ,scottie

[Mike Romkey]

Note the Janet Davis in classifieds. Says Gibson banjos and doneos currently unavailable.

[John Duncan]

Over on www.banjohangout.org/archive/231577it is commonly discussed how Gibson hasn't made a banjo since the flood with no plans to start anytime soon.

[J.Albert]

"Over on www.banjohangout.org/archive/231577it is commonly discussed how Gibson hasn't made a banjo since the flood with no plans to start anytime soon."

Actually, banjo production ended -before- the flood, and some of the banjo-making employees were let go...

[jmalmsteen]

Does anyone have an idea of monthly or yearly production over at Gibson for their mandolins?

[DataNick]

Does anyone have an idea of monthly or yearly production over at Gibson for their mandolins?

Thread Bump: I know it's over 3 years old, but it's Sat night and I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go...

My estimation based on tracking inventory from TMS, Janet Davis; and from David Harvey's Facebok postings is that Gibson is currently producing about 60-75 per year.