https://www.ebay.com/itm/26535554758...063a%7Ciid%3A1
Is it just me or does $12,000 seem just a tad high for a 1975 Gibson F-5?
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/26535554758...063a%7Ciid%3A1
Is it just me or does $12,000 seem just a tad high for a 1975 Gibson F-5?
It's off the chart. It's from Gibson's worst period and might be worth a few grand, tops. I'm always surprised anyone would even consider a Norlin era anything.
As a practical matter, my understanding is that Gibson mandolins were on a steady downward slide in quality after Lloyd Loar left. The late 20s Ferns are different but highly regarded. After that, it's downhill, which is why the 30s instruments are regularly "Woodsified", having the tops and backs tuned, the sound bars shaved, and the fretboards replaced, as pioneered by Randy Woods and others. Once done, these can be spectacular.
Roger Siminoff turned the corner on the downhill slide with the introduction of the F5L (L for Loar) in the late 70s and early 80s. These are well respected and usually well priced. After that, it was Steve Carlson, and the stream of quality instruments we have now.
I wouldn't waste time or money one like this. But that's just my opinion, and I stand to be corrected by anyone who has one and has a different view.
Way too high. 3 or 4 times too high based on standard market value for the period. These are the mandolins that opened the door for the early Japanese instruments.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a '70's F-5 at any price. If I was younger and one was given to me for free, I might take it apart, regraduate it, replace the tone bars, replace the frets, and give it a thin varnish or lacquer finish, and cross my fingers that it might sound good. But even if one got it for free and did all that work, the cost of the work would exceed the value of the re-worked instrument.
Just take a look at all of the fine mandolins you can choose from at half the asking price of that Gibson.
$1,200 might be more like it.
But I wouldn't even consider it at that price...
$120? $12? $1.20?
I'll might take it if the seller will give me $120. He'll have to pay the shipping, though.
"It'll cost you five bucks for me to play the piano. For me not to play the piano, it costs ten." --Chico Marx
Well, Goodwill last week had this Gibson, and the bidding was getting elevated. Being ignorant of the genre, I image searched till I found that it was sort of a Nashville promo, assembled ‘on the spot’ for tourists and essentially a toy. Just looked it up: no bids, no sale, so they somehow must have erased it all. I was wondering if some sucker was going to get drawn in thinking all Gibsons are gold.
Attachment 196795
Well, this thing reappeared, with the simulated truss rod cover flipped over to the blank side, and the listing is unbranded. Sort of ethical thing to do, I guess.
IMO, it's silly. Then again, he's asking $16k for a 1954 D-28 with an 80's case.
That mandolin will be for sale for a long time at that price, IMO.
I actually bought one of those in a lot of instruments back in my selling days. They were way less than spectacular. I lost on that one. Gibson actually cut off the Epiphone truss rod covers that were marked Gibson and installed them on the headstock with no truss rod. I had assumed wrongly that these might have been old stock Flatiron stuff. They looked like they were made out of luan plywood like you'd get at home depot. There's some other information about them someplace here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard500
Here it is.
The '54 D-28 has a 2000 serial number!?!?
Yes that price is out of control-to put things in perspective I picked up a nice 1942 F-5 with the Fluer-DI-Lis! Granted the top and back were twice as thick as a Loar, the tone bars were like mini 2x4's, it was heavily lacquer oversprayed, it had a huge heavy neck, needed a neck set but was all there "all original hardware" and rare for a 42 F-5. I got that less than the 5 in the OP advertised on evilbay-sure I have to put 2-3K in her but Mr. Randy Wood will do her up right!
How is Mr. Randy Wood still going? I was in high school when he built his first mandolin and I'm an old man!
Jim, you’re not old, you’ve just “Opened up”! Just like me!!��������Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Hilburn
Or, perhaps, as my friend's young son said, trying to cheer him up, "You're not old, Dad. You just look old."