# General Mandolin Topics > eBay, Craig's List, etc. >  Maestro by Gibson???

## Gary Hedrick

Ebay has 3 of these little beasties.......implied is that they are Gibson seconds.....anyone heard of such a thing?

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## MikeEdgerton

If I recalll the Maestro series from Gibson is a series they were selling in big box stores and were incredibly inexpensive (I didn't say cheap) entry level instruments... I can't fathom what a Maestro second would be like.

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## allenhopkins

Apparently a line of introductory instruments sold by Gibson, directed toward music education.  Here's the explanatory page on G's website.  Doesn't say they're imports, but I wouldn't be surprised.  The web page only talks about electric and acoustic guitars; a Google search found nothing on "Gibson Maestro mandolin."  Mike may well be right that an earlier incarnation of "Maestro" included instruments to be sold in non-music stores; G website doesn't mention this, of course.

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## MikeEdgerton

These were in Target or Best Buy or something. They appear to be very typical entry level inexpensive not extremely well built pacrim mandolins as opposed to decent, well built pacrim mandolins.

Speaking of Best Buy, I wandered into one their stores yesterday to find a mini guitar center, complete with Fender, Gibson, Martin, Taylor and a few other well known brand name guitars (electric and acoustic) hanging on the walls. They also had a fairly decent compliment of PA speakers and such.

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## Dave Hanson

These were pulled from eBay while I was looking at one of them.

Dave H

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## Big Joe

They were all imports.  I cannot believe they would put their corporate name on these clunkers!  But, what do I know?  :Smile:  .

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## Miked

> But, what do I know?  .


Who knows?

Big Joe knows.

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## Bill Snyder

Walked into Big Lots! today and they had a Maestro by Gibson guitar on the shelf. (all of it in nice BIG letters on the box).

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## Stephen Lind

anyone remember Maestro Phase Shifters?
very early stomp box
i own a Maestro by Gibson 2 X 10" solid state amp made in the mid 60's
the logo on both was 3 different colored hornlike instruments 

guess their recycling the name
going for the old nostalgia close :Wink: 

it was pretty cheesy stuff
sounds like they're staying true to the original brand

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## f5loar

Big Lots gets the left overs that others could not sell.  That's pretty low for anything new by Gibson.
Didn't Gibson try this same import thing in the 80's with the Noveau brand?  Some don't learn from their mistakes.

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## MikeEdgerton

The Maestro stuff makes the Noveau look like a signed Loar.

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## mandozilla

> Speaking of Best Buy, I wandered into one their stores yesterday to find a mini guitar center, complete with Fender, Gibson, Martin, Taylor and a few other well known brand name guitars (electric and acoustic) hanging on the walls. They also had a fairly decent compliment of PA speakers and such.


Hey Mike, what were the prices like? Any better than a 'real' music store?  :Grin: 

 :Mandosmiley:

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## MikeEdgerton

> Hey Mike, what were the prices like? Any better than a 'real' music store?


From what I could see and remember (and there were several items I did remember), they pretty much mirrored musicians friend.

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