A friend's new 'used' Sam Bush mandolin.

[Ivan Kelsall]

My friend & fellow UK Cafe member,Tony Pearce,arrived at my home for a visit yesterday & brought with him his newly aquired 2004 Gibson Sam Bush mandolin.
Tony's just back from the recent Kaufman Camp in Knoxville TN ,& while he was over in the US,he took delivery of his new mandolin,bought from a private buyer. To say that the guy kept it in good condition could be one of the greatest understatements ever - it's totally 'mint' !.Tony was fortunate enough to meet up with Dave Harvey at the Kaufman Camp & having mentioned his new purchase,DH offered to check it out & perform a full set up.
After the set-up,Dave Harvey strung it up with J74's & having played it,the action's set exactly like my own mandolins.
It's the first time i've come into contact with a top quality Gibson,& it was something of a revelation as the 2 other Gibsons i've played (pre-war F4 & a Bruce Weber signed F5) were dire !. Tony's mandolin was a joy to play. I used my 1.5mm Primetone pick & the chop from it was terrific. I played through a few songs & i could hear every note perfectly clearly even 'from behind'. It comes over strong & clear & although Tony's been using DR strings on his Eastman,i thought that the J74's sounded perfectly adequate on the 'Sam Bush'.
All told,the 'Sam' was as good as i'd always imagined that a good Gibson should sound,& personally,i'd be very happy to drive that one for a long,long time. It's Tony's ''dream mandolin'' & if he ever puts it down he's gonna get propped up & shooted - slowly !
Ivan

[davidb1]

Ivan,
I have a 2002 Sam Bush Gibson that I purchased on the cafe classifieds some time ago.When it arrived it was a little more knocked around than the photos showed, but when I stopped looking and started listening I concluded it was a "hoss" and still my favourite sounding mandolin that I have heard, except for experiencing one of Steve Gilchrist's new mandolins..and it is a great player.I raised the issue of it being dinged up with Steve Gilchrist and he reminded me of the look of Sam Bush's original..:-)

[Bernie Daniel]

My friend & fellow UK Cafe member,Tony Pearce,arrived at my home for a visit yesterday & brought with him his newly aquired 2004 Gibson Sam Bush mandolin.
Tony's just back from the recent Kaufman Camp in Knoxville TN ,& while he was over in the US,he took delivery of his new mandolin,bought from a private buyer. To say that the guy kept it in good condition could be one of the greatest understatements ever - it's totally 'mint' !.Tony was fortunate enough to meet up with Dave Harvey at the Kaufman Camp & having mentioned his new purchase,DH offered to check it out & perform a full set up.
After the set-up,Dave Harvey strung it up with J74's & having played it,the action's set exactly like my own mandolins.
It's the first time i've come into contact with a top quality Gibson,& it was something of a revelation as the 2 other Gibsons i've played (pre-war F4 & a Bruce Weber signed F5) were dire !. Tony's mandolin was a joy to play. I used my 1.5mm Primetone pick & the chop from it was terrific. I played through a few songs & i could hear every note perfectly clearly even 'from behind'. It comes over strong & clear & although Tony's been using DR strings on his Eastman,i thought that the J74's sounded perfectly adequate on the 'Sam Bush'.
All told,the 'Sam' was as good as i'd always imagined that a good Gibson should sound,& personally,i'd be very happy to drive that one for a long,long time. It's Tony's ''dream mandolin'' & if he ever puts it down he's gonna get propped up & shooted - slowly !
Ivan

Hey, ya finally got to see it Ivan! Sounds like it's a good'en. I sure plan to keep my 2002 Sam for a long time. The Sam Bush design has a lot of great features that you can not find on other Gibson F-models.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi All - Dave Harvey did mention that the 2004 Sam Bush that Tony bought had a Nitro.finish,not the current varnish finish,but what the difference might be would be purely subjective anyway.Tony has a video clip that he recorded of Dave Harvey playing it when he picked it up after the set-up & in Dave Harvey's hands,you really can hear just how good it sounds. Unfortunately,i don't think Tony knows how to up-load video clips.
Tony's coming down this coming week to pick up his 3-pack of 1.5mm Primetones,so i'm looking forward to stealing,errr 'playing' the 'Sam' again - it's a terrific mandolin,
Ivan

[almeriastrings]

Hi All - Dave Harvey did mention that the 2004 Sam Bush that Tony bought had a Nitro.finish,not the current varnish finish

The current specs are nitro, Ivan, and AFAIK always have been.

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Acou...ure-Model.aspx

There is (was?) a very rare 'Sam Bush Master Model', however, as opposed to the 'Signature Model'... very few were made, and they are no longer listed. I believe those were varnish, but I could be wrong... never seen or heard one.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Almeria - I can only go by what Tony told me that Dave Harvey said,but looking at the spec. & also the spec.of the new ''limited edition'' with the Fern headstock inlay - they are both Nitro. ??,
Ivan

[almeriastrings]

Yes.

The '34 Sam Bush Fern...

https://themandolinstore.com/product...in-incredible/

Prices on all these have gone up drastically in recent months, too.

[Tony Pearce]

In absolute fairness to DH, anything he told me when chatting was probably misinterpreted by me due to my somewhat 'giddy' state. The new anniversary model sounds fab though.

[DataNick]

Thread Bump:

I played a Cafe member's new "used" 2001 Sam Bush F5 last night and all I can say is WOW!

Some of the best mandos I've heard list would include Jordan Ramsey's Bush and Jesse Brock's Bush; and the 2001 Bush I played last night is real close as far as I can tell. Just awesome in tone, volume, and playability with good sustain and percussive qualities. I've played 4 Sam Bush models and this was easily the best.

It's former owner was Cafe member Tom Mullen and I remember Tom raving about his Bush...now I know why!

MAS attack subsiding as I focus on the 2004 Gibson F5G/sb with the Bush block inlays and wide neck width that awaits me on lay-away...LOL!

[AlanN]

Nick, what was the neck girth like? Only have a played a few SB models, all of their necks were on the thick side.

[DataNick]

Nick, what was the neck girth like? Only have a played a few SB models, all of their necks were on the thick side.

Hey Alan!

The neck girth was unoticeable to me: meaning, as a guy who is partial to the Gibson "Loar" style slim neck profile/girth; it felt comfortable after having played my own slim F5L for most of the night.

To me it's a good sign if I don't balk or otherwise get irritated at stuff like that....never noticed, so must be good.

Maybe the owner(you know who you are brotha...LOL!) will check-in with measurements...twas a good'un!

[San Rafael]

2004 Gibsons can be special. Derrington and Roberts team dialed in some of those ferns and "signature" series mandos.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Alan - I can't remember thinking that the neck 'girth' was in any way significantly different to any of my own,except my Lebeda,which,being bigger overall,does have a slightly deeper neck. Anyway,neck width / girth is the last thing i bother about. If it plays well & sounds well = all's well !. One thing - it certainly couldn't be described as 'chunky',maybe pretty 'standard',if there is such a thing,
Ivan

[AlanN]

And funny, neck feel is one of the first things I look for (sound/tone is up there in importance, of course). The SB models I've played all had beefy necks, much more so than other-era Gibsons and many of the current builders.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I just posted the neck width at the nut, & also the depth of the neck from the fingerboard to the back of the neck on my Weber "Fern" in another thread. Width = 1 1/8" / Depth 1". What are those measurements on your Gil .?
There have been so many threads / posts on here regarding neck dimensions with descriptions from 'chunky' to 'skinny' & all places in between,that it almost begs a 'table of neck dimensions' to be created. The big downside to that is that we don't know by how much individual mandolins of the same make/model vary. Some folk might describe the neck on my Lebeda as 'chunky',but it doesn't feel 'chunky' to me. It is wider,but not much deeper top to back, than my Weber or Ellis.
The only thing that would help us understand individual comments,are a few dimensions given with the thread / post,
Ivan

[DataNick]

Thread Bump:

Cafe member with the new "used" 2001 Sam Bush F5....this is for your benefit!

We talked last night at the jam, remember?

Care to chime in on your mando and the neck feel, etc. that guys are interested in knowing about?

[Scottydawg]

Greetings!
Yes..Nick played the heck out my, new to me, SB...and then smiled!
I am thrilled to be the new caretaker of the 2001 SB...it is special.
The width at the nut is 1 1/8" and 7/8" deep at the first fret, classic Gibson soft v neck..great feel, not chunky. Did they make wide neck Sam Bush models..like 1 3/8"?? Seem to recall some think like that....?
My Fern is 1 1/16" wide and the same depth..SB slight radius / Fern flat fretboard..not noticeable switching back & forth.
My Flatiron from the same era has the deep resonance and sustain as well, I am thinking this early 2000's era was a special time at the Nashville benches.
Hope this helps and thanks for all of the useful information on the Cafe.
Scott

[f5loar]

Nick, what was the neck girth like? Only have a played a few SB models, all of their necks were on the thick side.

Those picky "Loar" owners do find the Bush's to be rather thick. It's rather odd because I've only played actual '37 F5s and found the necks to not be as thick as these new Bush models, however, I do like these Bush models for what they are. I've not seen a varnish model Bush, but do remember someone had one custom ordered with varnish.