I have a Flatiron F5 which I bought new in 1994. This is the chocolate model, signed by Bruce Weber, and has tone bars, not x-bracing. It's a very nice mando and I always receive compliments from other pickers.
It's my understanding that this model was produced at the same facility at which Flatiron was building Gibsons. I've been told that the Flatiron F5s and the Gibson F5s were the same mandolins, just different labels. Can anyone tell me if this is this true, or is my mandolin's design related to the previous Flatirons (pre-Gibson)? Or, to restate this, was the Montana facility producing Flatirons built to Flatiron specs and Gibsons built to different, Gibson specs?
Also, I'm curious as to anyone's opinion about the build quality of the Flatirons of this era. Were they fairly robust (I guess I'm thinking about the top thickness) when compared to mandolins currently being produced by say Gibson or Weber?
Bookmarks