My Gibson Master Model Story
Hi everyone in Mando Cafe land. I haven’t posted for a very long time but have a story that I thought might be fun and interesting for us folks that are bitten by the mandolin bug.
I bought a Gibson Master Model F5 signed by David Harvey back in June 2010 from The Mandolin Store. Basically this mandolin is or should be near the top of the heap in mandolins except maybe (and I do mean maybe) for an F5 Loar or 20’s F5. Note that I say maybe should be as good as a Loar because with our current knowledge and capability we ought to be able to create at least as good a mandolin as Lloyd Loar did back in the 20’s (ought to is the operative words here). I think Charlie Derrington also believed this. I think he believed we ought to be able to create something even better.
My understanding is that this MM Mandolin was a special order in a slighter lighter finish than usual that Gibson called Amberburst. It is a little lighter and a little redder than the standard finish. All other attributes of this mandolin conform to the standard Gibson MM. I guess the intended customer didn’t like the way the finish looked. Dennis called me from The Mandolin Store and told me about it and we agreed on a deal! I really like The Mandolin Store and Dennis is a real straight shooter so I had no qualms about getting it from him. I had wanted one for quite some time.
Anyway the mandolin arrived and my first impression was “wow, what an incredibly nice instrument.” Looked great, finish was very cool, color was excellent, workmanship was pristine - a brand new Gibson MM! I never had played one or even seen one, so this was great. One thing I like about the MM is they replicate the dimensions and graduations of the old F5’s so well.
Then I played it. Hmmm… a little bit disappointed. It was good but not great. For the price and considering how they’re made, this mandolin should have been great. However I know there is supposedly a little bit of a break in period especially with varnished red spruce. So I figured OK – give it some time, it’s new, it’ll come around.
Fast forward about 3 years. The mandolin is still good but not great, although maybe a little better. But this is a MM. Sort of the top of the heap in mandolins. It should be awesome! In addition the bass (G-string) seemed to be off as far as intonation. I could tune it but then when fretted it was sharp. Bridge placement I figured. The placement looked ok and worked for the other strings but not that G string.
So I contacted Gibson. David Harvey got back to me within a day. He offered to look at it and see what he could do. I thought this sounded great since he was the person that signed it and ought to know. Plus he is a mandolin master and master luthier. Works for me! He did ask how often I play it. Since I’m a working stiff, I’m lucky if I get an hour or two a week of playing time. He did suggest trying a tone-rite on the mandolin to “play it in.” Hey – I’ll try anything. This is a 15K mandolin – it ought to peel paint!
I got a tone-rite and tried it. A few days went by. The mandolin is now being “played” 24/7! Awesome! However, the only thing I noticed after a few days was that the mandolin went way out of tune – went flat. Sounded the same – good not great. Hmmm… disappointment. Oh well, give it more time. A few more days went by. Mandolin went way flat again. This time though, it was a little louder, rang a little more and was easier to play for some reason. G string still off. OK – maybe this *is* doing something, so I put it back with the tone-rite, mandolin being played 24/7.
A few more days go by. It’s been 2 weeks now. Mandolin didn’t really go flat this time. Sound is definitely louder, crisper, lots more ring and sustain. This mandolin is starting to really bark! Cool, I like it. Still has intonation issues, especially on that G string.
I look up David Harvey’s e-mail and let him know the tone-rite made a lot of difference but that the mandolin still isn’t “right,” especially that low string. He suggests I ship it to Gibson so he can evaluate it.
In the meantime I’m using the tone-rite and also playing the mandolin at the occasional gig, practice, jam and the like. It’s changed, since I started with the tone rite, it’s a different instrument. The tone-rite must have done something. It doesn’t just chop, it WHOMPS. It really rings and sustains. It’s loud, clear and really penetrates. It’s much easier to play and I have no idea why. People comment on it. It can literally hurt your ears if you bear down. People ask me to back away from the mic.
OK, so back to sending it to Gibson. While it’s come a long way, it still is off from the standpoint of intonation. Bridge must be off, something’s not right. So off it goes to Gibson back in late July. It arrives and David Harvey sends an e-mail that he has it and will look it over.
David’s assessment is that the mandolin is really, really good. He said he’s played and heard a lot of Loars that don’t sound this good. However he said the bridge needs moving and fitting. He said this mandolin has seen humidity and other changes that haven’t really helped it. He said the truss rod is loose and that the frets could use dressing. He said the top is really sturdy and that J75 strings would drive the top better than the J74’s I have always used. I have never used J75’s, never.
Gibson then did all this work on my F5. They said normally they would have to charge for this. They said it really wasn’t warranty work because the changes were environmentally driven and not workmanship. Nonetheless they did it for no charge because David said it was the right thing to do.
The mandolin arrived back here last week (8/20) and the difference is remarkable. The intonation is perfect. The low G string is dead on. The bridge was moved and fitted! It plays so easy – seems to almost play itself. I have a backup mandolin I have used especially for the last month or so that is a good mandolin but this MM just crushes it.
So that’s my Gibson MM story. I hope you enjoyed it. I am very digitally challenged but I’ll try to post a few photos if anyone is interested.
I am grateful for the folks at Gibson for putting an instrument in my hands that brings the 1923 F5 into the modern era and for making sure that the mandolin I have does what it’s made to do. It has gone from good to great!
People badmouth Gibson and it’s not always fair. That was not my experience. I have to say hat’s off to David Harvey et. al for keeping the dream of the F5 alive and for the great work done on mine.
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Originally Posted by shortymack
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