Rare Gibson-made Cromwell GM-6

[Gary Hedrick]

There were a load of strange things afoot from Gibson in the 30's. Never seen one of those 2 skunk stripes on a fret board. Neat. Kind of off subject but I think Charles Johnson still has a few F-4's with elevated boards, flowerpot peg head inlay, one with F-7 inlayed board the other with F-5 style board. I had a wide bodied A-50 with a flowerpot peg head inlay. I guess they used whatever material they had laying around at the time.

I'd say that there were times in the 20's where they did "other" things....1921 was one of those years with all the truss rod...aluminum bridge.....Cremona brown......adjustable bridge...etc etc.

Also I had a 1927 F4 that had an elevated fretboard and if I remember correctly there were one or two long necks F4's done in that time frame also.

and you have owned a bunch of those A-50's with all their different inlay patterns....let alone the F7, F10 and F12 models of the 30's that you mentioned and own....

When the boys were always doing odd things and then when it comes to banjos where parts are parts etc. ....there are a ton of out of sequence instruments out there

Gibson has always been a "non" standard company

[Jim Garber]

I'd say that there were times in the 20's where they did "other" things....1921 was one of those years with all the truss rod...aluminum bridge.....Cremona brown......adjustable bridge...etc etc.

As I've said over and over: 1921 is one of my favorite years for Gibson. Yes experimental but the mandolins sound good too.

[Gary Hedrick]

and in my less than humble opinion, you are spot on Jim......1921 and 1927's have my heart when it comes to F4's....

[pfox14]

It's interesting to note that you guys and most everyone agrees that the 20s was the best era for Gibson mandolins, but the 30s produced the best guitars, with the exception of the L-5. I'd say that the 20s was also the best era for Gibson banjos as well. 1930s era mandos just don't command the same prices as the 20s, especially when it comes to the F-5s. Of course the popularity of mandolin took a nose dive in the 30s and Gibson didn't seem to give them as much attention as their guitars. Certainly not when it comes to the variety of models available. Not that the 30s mandos are bad, but just not as good as the stuff they manufactured in the 1920s.

[William Smith]

Yes most like the Loar era for mandolins, I'm still a 30's fan for all the weird models Gibson had. Although the 20's had it going on for the F-5 and all the improvements that were born in the 20's that made mandolins better.
And yes Gary Hedrick, I've owned a bunch from the 30's and still have some, wish I had a few that I sold. but don't own an F-10, that's my unicorn I guess. I was turned onto the F-7's because of my Uncle Dick Smiths F-7 that was John Duffeys in the early 60's plus they make a poorer mans vintage F-5, just change the neck, people have done it to most of the old Gibson tenor banjos to make em better, it also drives the price up in some instances, and the F-7's are really no different granted it takes a bit more to change a neck on a mandolin! You can have a mandolin just as good as a real F-5 for a fraction of the price "must be the old wood" F-7's are not real cheap to start with but I'd take one over an F-4 any day however I sure would like to try out a 27 F-4 with the elevated board like you talked about that sounds ighty interesting!

[Gary Hedrick]

Ah yes.....those instruments that we have sold.....looking for that greener pasture all to realize that we should have kept this one or that one...... hindsight always being 100%....

I agree with you that the 30's are just plain fun to see what Gibson did......like the F4 with a mandola sized headstock and fern inlay......all of the different permeations of F4's during that decade......all the inlay patterns....fretboard configurations....finishes.....

I used to own 11 F4's........kinda got taken away with all of them and having a bonus program at work that was funding my excess.....but really they are just plain neat to see all of the differences in them over the years.

and yes the F7's are neat too.......Duffy and Grisman liked them.....

[MandoHog]

I remember at Christmas time when a kid and was not good, all I got was a lump of scroll.