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Thread: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 sound?

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    Default Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 sound?

    Hello, I really like the sound of this Gibson model A 1924 but wonder if there has been build a mandolin that equals that sound in modern times, so cheaper?

    Go to 4:29 to hear it.

    Last edited by poul hansen; Jan-23-2021 at 12:20pm.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Well done sir. R/
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    A nicely mixed demo, with short clips from each instrument following each other seamlessly. Stores - how about doing this for some new instruments of the same type and price range, e.g. $2000 Fs, $600 A's with oval holes, etc? OP, sorry, someone will be along soon who knows the answer to your Q.

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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    I would think that Eastman oval hole mandolins would at least be comparable. I'm not sure if a 15 fret neck joint would make that much of a difference vs. a 12 fret neck joint of the Gibson but should get you in the same ballpark for a lot less money.

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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    I'm a big fan of the Gibson oval hole mandolins. The snakeheads are 2-3 times more expensive than the paddle head models, so my first recommendation would be to find a pre-1922 Gibson.
    I've played a lot of modern oval hole mandolins, and the ones that I think come closest to the vintage sound are Pomeroy and Mike Black mandolins. Not to put down the Chinese imports, but I don't think that you'll get "that sound" from any of them.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Yea the bump in asking price from a '22 paddle head to a '23 & later snake head is significant ..

    IDK how you buy the differences 95 years makes..
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    The Eastman MD404 is a great choice.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    I have lost count on how many Gibson style oval hole mandolins I have made, but it would be at least 150. The best sounding Gibson I have come across was a 1924 Gibson snakehead junior. Was serious competition to one of mine, and that was a first. I have see a small number of Eastman's and they don't really make it, they don't have "that sound". A 15 fret neck does actually make a difference to the sound, so the modern long neck oval hole mandolins do sound different.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Everyone, please excuse my ignorance, but doesn't a near 90 to 100 year old mandolin have around that much playing under its' belt compared to a new to 5 year old mandolin. I always believed that that did do A LOT of difference as well and all the other things that make up the instruments. The playing over time resonates through the instrument and matures the overall sound of the same instrument ( providing it is played) and improves the sound quality.

    So, is this not correct, and if so, then your new mandolin will never really sound the same as an old " master" anyway. You can get close and some builders can and may have surpassed the older mandolins in rare cases ( but they are not in our price range) lol.

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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Maybe the better question is how much do you want to spend? Cheap modern instruments don’t have vintage Gibson tone.

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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    I’ve never played one, but a Collings MT-O Vintage certainly has the right specs. Pava makes an A style oval hole but it has a 15 fret neck.

    Of course, you could buy a Gibson Paddlehead for less than one of those costs. But it would be new.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Quote Originally Posted by poul hansen View Post
    Hello, I really like the sound of this Gibson model A 1924 but wonder if there has been build a mandolin that equals that sound in modern times, so cheaper?
    For “equals,” I suspect the answer would be negative. The good modern reproductions (like one built by Mike Black) will be in a similar price range, while the premier ones (such as a Gilchrist Model-1) will be significantly more expensive.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Modern times doesn't necessarily equal cheaper.

    Look for a vintage snakehead Gibson A Junior. Same build, just very plain and tends to sell for $1500 or less.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Quote Originally Posted by tassiespirit View Post
    Everyone, please excuse my ignorance, but doesn't a near 90 to 100 year old mandolin have around that much playing under its' belt compared to a new to 5 year old mandolin. I always believed that that did do A LOT of difference as well and all the other things that make up the instruments. The playing over time resonates through the instrument and matures the overall sound of the same instrument ( providing it is played) and improves the sound quality.

    So, is this not correct, and if so, then your new mandolin will never really sound the same as an old " master" anyway. You can get close and some builders can and may have surpassed the older mandolins in rare cases ( but they are not in our price range) lol.
    I have that same prejudice. But, realistically, a mandolin made 100 years or more ago, in great shape, probably spent most of its time in a case under the bed, like a vampire gone to ground to be awakened someday. How the mandolin was stored, WRT humidity, temperature, vibration, etc., may have more impact on present day tone quality than the playing it has experienced for only a minority of its lifetime.

    Another realism is that the game is rigged. Instead of a linear hierarchy of sound quality where a mandolin could theoretically exceed all other mandolins in a fair fight, we have a bullseye, where all you can ever get is close. I think there are many modern more recently made mandolins with absolutely lovely tone, that could be considered amazing sounding, perhaps even surpassing the great vintage mandolins in tone quality, but since "it has been decided" what particular mandolin is the "holy grail" and no two mandolins can sound exactly the same, then no mandolin can ever by definition measure up.

    I believe the same phenomenon occurs with Stradivarius violins. There is no magic sauce, they are just defined as the bullseye, the center of the target that can never, even in theory, be exceeded.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    So, is this not correct, and if so, then your new mandolin will never really sound the same as an old " master" anyway. You can get close and some builders can and may have surpassed the older mandolins in rare cases ( but they are not in our price range) lol.
    I disagree. Brand new, they won't sound the same, but after a few years it is possible to surpass the the vintage instruments. Gibson mandolins were built in a factory, they vary a LOT, so it is not all that difficult to surpass most of them. I have the occasional Gibson in for repair and can check them out pretty thoroughly. Some have been very nice, but they lack the refinement in sound that I get with what I build. I have also managed to match the Lyon and Healy sound pretty accurately. Takes time and experience. They are not cheap, but are cheaper than a well preserved snake head. Don't expect a modern mandolin to be cheaper than a vintage.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Quote Originally Posted by multidon View Post
    I’ve never played one, but a Collings MT-O Vintage certainly has the right specs. Pava makes an A style oval hole but it has a 15 fret neck.

    Of course, you could buy a Gibson Paddlehead for less than one of those costs. But it would be new.
    I got an MT-O a few years back and it replaced my '27 snakehead A-jr. - very different sounding beasts they were. The MT-O has the 15 fret neck join like the Pava, and had a much more modern "bright" sound than the A-jr. Both nice mandolins, and in an ideal world I'd still have both of them, but finances mean that this is a "one in, one out" household for the foreseeable future. Still miss that damn A-jr though.....
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Hi Jill! I don’t know if the Collings specs have changed over the years, but the MT-O they make now has a 12th fret neck joint. Check out the pictures in their web site.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    I thought that the Sawchyn A's out of Canada came pretty close. Don't know if he is still building mandos or not.

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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Quote Originally Posted by Joey Anchors View Post
    The Eastman MD404 is a great choice.
    Based on the videos I have sampled I prefer it's tone to the MD504
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Quote Originally Posted by multidon View Post
    Hi Jill! I don’t know if the Collings specs have changed over the years, but the MT-O they make now has a 12th fret neck joint. Check out the pictures in their web site.
    I thought the MT-O had a 13th fret neck join.

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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    I am pretty sure they are still joined at the 13th fret.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    13th fret on the MT-O? I guess they want to compromise between vintage 12 and modern 15?
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Quote Originally Posted by multidon View Post
    13th fret on the MT-O? I guess they want to compromise between vintage 12 and modern 15?
    It's more than that. The Collings 13 fret have the fingerboard raised off the top, whereas the old Gibson ovals did not. So the neck is shorter than the 15, but still basically the same design.

    I would recommend the Old Wave ovals as an answer to the OP. It is very close to the old Gibson oval design. When I got mine, my instructor at the time was playing a vintage Gibson A-2. I recorded him playing the same tune on each mandolin with a very decent recorder and mike, and they sounded pretty similar, although I actually liked the Old Wave a little better. That Old Wave has improved in the years since.

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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    For a less expensive option, I would definitely look to Eastman. My 504 is much louder/punchier than the Gibsons of that era, though.

    Others in this thread have mentioned the 404, which has mahogany back and sides instead of maple, hence the softer tone.
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    Default Re: Any modern(cheaper) mandolins with a Gibson model A 1924 soun

    Well I reckon a mahogany backed MD404 mandolin is going to sound like an old beech backed Gibson A mandolin more than say a MD504 - they are both good just different. I will let you know as I purchased a second-hand MD404 in as new condition from Germany last week. I will do a review and a sound clip using a Wave file.
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