Gibson's 120th Anniversary F5 mandolin

[Andrew B. Carlson]

It's that florida... Other than that, I could deal.

[Denman John]

Too much bling for me, but I bet they won't last very long on the shelf.

[hank]

The mandolin store gives the 1894 as the date Orville first applied for his revolutionary patent. My hat is off to Mr.Harvey and everyone involved in the project. This is a birthday party gentlemen, These three mandolins are dressed for a party not a stuffy art exhibit packed with art critics obsessed with scroll perfection. Through the effort of so many, Gibson F5 mandolins have returned. In my opinion they have never sounded better. Let's put on our party hats and celebrate!!!

[Austin Bob]

Too ornate for my taste, but I could see Marty Stuart playing one of these.

[mtucker]

IMHO, they should hire someone else to do their scrolls on such promotional pieces. Downright ugly. No flowing curves and completely lacks elegance. Even the worst Loars had at least kind of elegance and proportion in their scrolls if not perfect lines. The guy who programmed the CNC had NO idea about the scroll aesthetics. Mandolins in this category deserve more.
Now you can start throwing stones at me...

Completely agree… fuuugly.

[RayMan7]

Why is everyone so negative about them? I think they are pretty dang cool, and will be part of mandolin history. I like all the fancy details. I mean, there`s plenty of other uglier mandolins out there, right?

[Ron McMillan]

They are meant to be collector's pieces, not players, so the specs are maybe just about right for showpieces.

[George R. Lane]

Not all art is beautiful. Way too gaudy for me.

[darylcrisp]

I just pulled up TheMandolinStore info on these-Wow!

I am not into bling on guitars................at all. I have a disdain for abalone-especially rosettes......................

having said that

I really think these look very cool. I would have no issue owning that black one-and playing it. Wider nut width, I like! I think mandolins-especially the F styles, look really nice all dressed up and fancy-it just fits them.
The back of the black is very very nice(and the burst).

My brother once gave me a Winchester 30-30 lever action that was a John Wayne special edition. Very nice gold plated with scroll work on the receiver and such. I shot it that day. Of course, it was "meant" to be a collectable and never shot. I shot it a lot. I'm not a hunter, but I used to like handgun and rifle competition, and I did a lot of handloading. I shot that lever action until the gold took on a patina all its own. It was a very smooth, accurate 30-30. One day I sold or traded it, cannot remember exactly which. Of course I lost a little value due to it being used a lot, but heck, that's what it was built for.

I'm one of those who use and don't collect. We have some antique furniture in our house-its all used every day. It does the job it was made for.
Now to sell a bunch of stuff I have to acquire that black Gibson!..............somebody beat me to it-please

d

[f5loar]

No worse than some Martin guitars I've seen that got quite ornate and really out there on price. Seems I recall a D150 was $100,000. These prices are not that far off the DMM models so not that out there really. It's got the bling, the flash, the sparkle. What more could Porter Wagoner ask for if he played the mandolin. I remember the 2 or 3 fancy F5s made back at Gibson during the Greg Rich era. Florentine style on one. Very ornate. Seems I recall Gruhn's had one of them that once belonged to Butch B. and it was around $25,000. I know for a fact they didn't sound as good as they looked. Would like to know if these can stand up to the MM and DMM in sound.

[Michael Weaver]

If I had the money I would be wearing it like a necklace....love it.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hell fire !!, ''Nudie'' Gibsons. They're about as far away from the 'Classic'' Gibson look as they could be. Not for me i'm afraid,although some folk will like them i'm sure,especially if they do sound good,
Ivan

[Hendrik Ahrend]

I know for a fact they didn't sound as good as they looked. Would like to know if these can stand up to the MM and DMM in sound.

Two weeks ago, I checked out a recent (June '14) Fern F5 at Thomann/Germany. Super sound, loud and balanced. The scroll, on the other hand, seemed really crooked and ugly to my eyes. In that respect, those Anniversary models look comparatively healthy. Don't know about their sound, though.

[Timbofood]

I like the "dressed for a party" line!
"NUDIE" Gibsons!

[AlanN]

No worse than some Martin guitars I've seen that got quite ornate and really out there on price. Seems I recall a D150 was $100,000. These prices are not that far off the DMM models so not that out there really. It's got the bling, the flash, the sparkle. What more could Porter Wagoner ask for if he played the mandolin. I remember the 2 or 3 fancy F5s made back at Gibson during the Greg Rich era. Florentine style on one. Very ornate. Seems I recall Gruhn's had one of them that once belonged to Butch B. and it was around $25,000. I know for a fact they didn't sound as good as they looked. Would like to know if these can stand up to the MM and DMM in sound.

You probably mean this one, you should see the back

[haggardphunk]

[SCIFIDELITY]

Agreed. Ugly, way overworked, way too ornate, etc. I would not buy one even if I had the $$$$. I would rather have a Gil or Duden for that kind of bread any day.

[cayuga red]

Magnificent!

[Andrew B. Carlson]

Did they cook the top on that one? It's got the look.

[lenf12]

For $20K, I'd have to pass. The inlay looks very nicely done even if so over the top. I wonder if Gibson farmed out the job to someone like Dave Nichols? I'd rather like a wire and torch inlaid headstock with position dots or rectangular blocks for about $5K less. And I agree with HoGo about the shape and proportions of the body scroll. It's too open and misshapen, like a much less expensive PacRim mando to my eyes. Not to knock the guy but it seems to be a hallmark of the Dave Harvey era. The "cooked" effect on the top might be from incomplete fine sanding of the courser sanding marks, it's hard to tell from the picture of the blond. An inhand comparison is your best judge on expensive pieces like these. My dos centavos..

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Timbofood]

I would hope that the top issue is not from transitioning from coarse the finer grades of sandpaper, that just strikes me as less than what to expect from an instrument of that kind of MSRP. For twenty grand, sand. Actually for that kind of money, I'd probably get something dressed for the office not a prom.
Don't have the money anyway so, whoever gets one can enjoy it with not much envy from me.

[sgarrity]

The Torch & Wire peghead inlay and the vine on the fingerboard are both historically related to Gibson and I happen to like them. By all accounts, including the one I've played, Dave harvey is producing some really fine Gibsons these days. The three things that turn me off are the pick guard, the inlay on the FB extension, and the idea that these are ready made "collectibles" for $20,000 each.

[almeriastrings]

Well, I don't want to be the bad one... but to my eyes the scrolls and shaping of the back button are not as nice as such mandolin deserves. I noticed on several of the most recent mandolins this change. Older ones (post flood) typically had nicer scrolls.

Yes... noticed that too on the very latest ones. Some kind of difference on the CNC tooling by the looks of it.

Unfortunate.

PS: The 'Gibson' script on the florida looks seriously out of place and unbalanced, verging on tacky.

These don't do anything for me at all.

[haggardphunk]

For 20k I'd be buying another truck

[Jeff Mando]

You could go with an Antonio Tsai and save about $19,700................