Old and new whitefaces.

[trevor]

I thought it might be interesting to take some photos of Gibson and Collings whitefaces together.

[red7flag]

Trevor,
I would bet the tone from those two beauties would be quite a bit more different than their look. Notice the slight difference in the Collings joining at the 13th vs the 12th fret. Also notice the different look at the joining, the Gibson looking more rounded. Gibson with the attached vs the raised with the Collings. Notice that the bridge is quite a bit higher on the body. Two beautiful looking instruments. Thank you for sharing.

[trevor]

Oval or F holes makes a big difference, add a hundred years and yes they are very different.

[Paul Busman]

It's probably just me, but I'm not a fan of most white things. They look unfinished to me, which may hark back to my days of building model cars which were made from white plastic. Also, white stuff, particularly clothing, gets grubby looking in short order. Those are probably great instruments but if I was in the market, I'd pass.

[Mark Wilson]

Thats

[Spruce]

It's probably just me, but I'm not a fan of most white things. They look unfinished to me, which may hark back to my days of building model cars which were made from white plastic. Also, white stuff, particularly clothing, gets grubby looking in short order.

The Whitefacers are easily my favorite looking (and often, sounding) of all the vintage Gibson As...
And I love the way they age...

[Br1ck]

Yes. Me too. I'm a sucker for an old mandolin that was well taken care of, but worn where you would expect with a lot of play. Beautiful to me.

[fatt-dad]

The Collings is technically a 15-fret neck joint - it's a redressed A5.

I love my white face Gibson A3!

f-d

[pheffernan]

I'd love to see Mike Black take a swing at a new whiteface snakehead A3!

[trevor]

That would be something to behold.

[fatt-dad]

my order is in with Wayne Henderson for a 12-fret, white face snakehead. I just have to wait. . .

f-d

[Petrus]

I don't like the idea of covering up nice wood with an opaque color (white or black or any other) but I can see how it might have appeal if well done. Hard to tell from the photos, but is it more of an off-white / eggshell / ivory sort of white, or really white like (say) an Apple computers type color? I'd tend to favor the former (off-white), given the option. Or do these types of finish develop a nice patina with age, like a Meerschaum pipe?

[Jacob]

[trevor]

More off-white. The old Gibsons definitely have a patina, Collings only time will tell but I expect with modern finishes there will be little change.

[Paul Busman]

Yes. Me too. I'm a sucker for an old mandolin that was well taken care of, but worn where you would expect with a lot of play. Beautiful to me.

I agree that a well played and loved instrument of any kind has a lot of appeal. Good, honestly acquired wear marks are a part of it's history and tell it's story. Again, white just doesn't do it for me.
Do you think some makers might use an opaque finish to mask a purely cosmetic flaw in an otherwise excellent piece of top wood?
I'd have no problem with that, in fact I think it would be a waste to discard a terrific piece of spruce for, say, a color imperfection .

[fatt-dad]

my white face has a three-piece top.

f-d

[Joey Anchors]

I love white and black topped mandolins! So glad to see builders like Collings doing the more rare white face tops.

[Hudmister]

my order is in with Wayne Henderson for a 12-fret, white face snakehead. I just have to wait. . .

f-d

A white face snakehead from Henderson sounds wonderful. A friend of mine has a Henderson ebony body oo guitar which sounds fantastic.
Just curious f-d, what kind of a wait does it take to have a Henderson built? I've heard it can be a real long time.

[trevor]

Longer than that I've heard.

[Jim Garber]

My 1919 whiteface was my main mandolin for many years. It was the very best sounding of all the Gibson A's on Mandolin Brothers wall back in 1977 and was my Dad's birth year. This photo with my dad was at a gig maybe a year or so after I got that mandolin, like 1978.

I actually was not enamored of the finish but the tone was excellent. I sold it when I got my black snakehead.

[Spruce]

Do you think some makers might use an opaque finish to mask a purely cosmetic flaw in an otherwise excellent piece of top wood?

Sure...
That's probably why the White and Blackfaces were created in the first place...
To hide discolorations, curved graining, and of course, 3-piece tops...

Hard to tell from the photos, but is it more of an off-white / eggshell / ivory sort of white, or really white like (say) an Apple computers type color? I'd tend to favor the former (off-white), given the option.

I did quite a bit of experimenting, trying to nail the original Gibson A3 finish when I refinished this A3...
The results are in that thread somewhere...

...do these types of finish develop a nice patina with age, like a Meerschaum pipe?

Yes!

The old Gibsons definitely have a patina, Collings only time will tell but I expect with modern finishes there will be little change.

Bill Collings sent me a guitar to age, after it got dinged. He wanted it to look roadworn, for a certain well-known player who liked that sort of thing...
That finish would not budge...
I tried 50 cycles of hot/cold, canned air, heat guns, you name it...the finish is indestructible...
So-oooo, we're gonna have a gob of Collings instruments down the road that look pretty much like they are out-of-the-box...

[John Soper]

And in addition to the patina-ed whiteface, the Gibson A-3s have one of my all-time favorite headstock inlays.

[Spruce]

And in addition to the patina-ed whiteface, the Gibson A-3s have one of my all-time favorite headstock inlays.

...a big +1...

[red7flag]

The Collings is technically a 15-fret neck joint - it's a redressed A5.
f-d

Fatt-dad, thank you for the clarification. I did not look at the photo close enough and was going by my MTO that joins at 13.

[Timbofood]

I missed one "back...." it was that wonderful "Kelvinator" white. With the lovely "landau" wreathy kind of inlay. Coulda, shoulda!
I find it interesting that the Collings is almost the same color as the celluloid fingerrest on the A-3.
I do have a special stop for them really. Nice thread guys!