Forty-four years ago I purchased a Gibson F-5, Serial #A17518, from
Stutzman's Guitar Center here in Rochester. My first (turned out to be my only) bluegrass band had just broken up, but I knew that if I wanted to continue to play bluegrass, I needed an F-5 like all the "real" mandolinists played; I'd played first an A-1, then an F-2, in the Flower City Ramblers, briefly experimented with an F-5 copy, but now I had the
real thing!
From the white label and the serial number, I figured the manufacture date to be late 1954; the mandolin was in excellent shape, other than the pickguard was a bit warped, so I detached it and stored it in the case. The F-5 had a sturdy "chop," a slightly bassy voice, and plenty of volume. I took it out to my gigs with Bluesgrass, an eclectic bar band playing everything from Bonnie Raitt to Flatt & Scruggs. I only did a couple of mando medleys per night,
Salt Creek/Cherokee Shuffle and
Ragtime Annie/Soldier's Joy, but I played it (along with guitar, Dobro, harmonica and Autoharp) in local clubs for years.
Then I got into different genres -- Celtic, klezmer, backing singer-songwriters, "general purpose folk" -- and picked up mandolins (and mandolas, octave mandolins, resonator mandolins, mandocelli) to fit the new sounds. Ol' #A17518 would sit in its case for months, pulled out for a bluegrass jam or a particular recording session, but generally neglected.
In my "golden years," most of my solo jobs involve guitar, banjo and ukulele, seldom mandolin; I have mando-family instruments for backing others and taking to sing-arounds and jams, but seldom need that "bluegrass sound." Can't remember the last time I put new strings on the F-5...
Then Satan came up to me, and whispered, "What you
really need is that
Stelling Longhorn banjo at Bernunzio's!" I do all my gigs with a long-neck "Pete Seeger" style banjo, and this Stelling's the Rolls-Royce of such instruments -- only two were ever made! But my basement's clogged with instrument cases, and I've made a resolve that if one comes in, at least two have to leave.
So, with heavy heart, I took the F-5 down to Bernunzio's today, along with a mint-condition 2007 Eastman MDC805 mandocello, and made the deal. I want my long-time F-5 friend to be in the hands of some picker who'll have it out of the case frequently, and who'll appreciate it as a fine example of Gibson's post-war continued solid workmanship, before Norlin took 'em straight to hell in the next decade. Good ol' #A17518's gonna pop up on John B's website soon, I'm sure, and I hope she'll give her new owner another 44 years of great music.
And don't worry, I've still got
plenty of mandolins...
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