I recently purchased a Flatiron Festival-F Mando...Serial # 10817020.The Tag says the Gibson Master Model Festival-F Nashville TN. There is no Signature. Could any one tell me what Year this is?
Thanks
I recently purchased a Flatiron Festival-F Mando...Serial # 10817020.The Tag says the Gibson Master Model Festival-F Nashville TN. There is no Signature. Could any one tell me what Year this is?
Thanks
August 17, 2000 and the second one completed that day.
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
Ops, I read as 00. Good year by the way.
Thanks for the Info!!! It is a well Balanced nice woody tone!!!
Those Flatirons from that era (1999(late)-2001) are one of the best deals out there for the player buying a used mandolin. I have found them to be fairly consistent in build characteristics/tonal qualities with some being truly "remarkable". One dealer told me that he has played a couple that he liked "better" than a Master Model!
Just a real consistent pro-quality Gibson axe that at about $1k for an A model and $2k for an F model; is just a buyer's bargain. If you ever decide to sell though, you'll get what the used market will bear, which is roughly 40-50% of a similar build/appointed Gibson...not good for selling, but great for buying, enjoy!
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
Do these (the Festivals from 1999-2001) have the elevated or integrated fretboards? Does it make much of a difference?
Elevated...everything about the Festival F/Performer A is described thusly: same period Gibson F5G/A5G.
Mucho documented here on the Cafe by numerous sources including those working at Gibson during that time. Only differences are the headstock inlays, tailpiece covers, F4 style keyboard extension (Flatirons) vs F5 keyboard extension (Gibsons)
Integrated fingerboard to me based on my anecdotal experience, spells volume this way: Q-U-I-E-T....
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
There's a 1995 Festival F in the classifieds right now that has an integrated fretboard. They must have changed the design between 1995 and 2000.
Yes & No...The legacy Performer/Festival specs as of 1995 had been in place for a few years already. When production moved to Nashville in 97' by 99' the Flatiron line had been "simplified" from 12 different carved-top models to 3: Performer A, Festival F, Artist F and A. I believe that Performers & Festivals historically had integrated fretboards; Derrington's re-tooling and spec changes brought all mandolins (Flatiron/Gibson) to the same basic spec, which included an elevated fretboard.
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
If I can`t get more than 50% of the list on my Festival then I will take it off of the market...
Willie
I have Nashville era Flatiron Performer A with a "Gibson Master Model" label serial number: 90503029. Could anyone help me figure out the year it was made? Its a great little mando, a nice compliment to my Collings F-style.
Ruhland A5#68
Lyon & Healy Style A
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
Some additional clarification from Gibson's Flatiron web page in 1997: "Performer Series mandolins have a fingerboard extension carved integrally with the top. By simplifying this neck joint area, we were able to build these carved tops in a whole new price range."
Flatiron Performer Series Internet Wayback Machine
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
I'm looking at a Festival F Performer series with serial # 95101259. It has the integrated fretboard. Is the serial # from the 1995 production?
Thanks!
Striving for mediocrity and perpetually falling short.
I'm looking to trade or sell my 2002 F9 and buy either a Festival F or a F5G. Should I expect a similar sound to the F9 or will there be a lot of difference?
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
Thanks, Nick - I thought so. It's a nice mando with a moderate volume as its main drawback, although it has an absolutely hellacious chop.
Striving for mediocrity and perpetually falling short.
Thanks Nick. I like the sound but just wanted more mandolin and the brown color isn't quite my style.
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