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Thread: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

  1. #1

    Default NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    I wasn't really looking for a new mandolin but I was cruising around the internet, and this one jumped out at me, so I bought it. It's a 1995 Gibson A-5G. The price seems to have gone up on these lately, but this one was reasonably priced, so I bought it from the Olde Town Pickin' Parlor, and they had to me in no time and did a great packing job.

    When I opened the case I was surprised to see the condition which is about as mint as it could be. And, I like that is has the same nut width, and flat fingerboard as my Gibson F-5G which is my favorite mandolin, so it will make it easy switching between mandos. It intonates right on the money, and it setup perfectly with the new strings that I bought for it, a set of Mapes 11-40 Phosphor Bronze. I also put a Hill County armrest on it (I have them on all my other mandolins). I also ordered an NOS Gibson tailpiece cover as someone misplaced the original on this one, it should be here next week.

    I also own a Flatiron Performer A model mandolin from 1994, so I thought it would be fun to compare the two mandolins coming out of the Bozeman shop just a year apart. One thing I noticed is that the tone bar bracing is a bit different. The top brace, under the bass side, is more angled on the Gibson, where the Flatiron braces are more parallel. Also the Gibson has an elevated extended fingerboard.

    They do sound different. I like the way that the Gibson sounds, as it is pretty even across the board, and the Gibson seems to have more low-end than the Flatiron, but there's something about the resonance and the midrange quality of the Flatiron that I like. And I think the Flatiron is a bit easier to play, although that could be chocked up to me playing the Flatiron quite a bit over the last few weeks. I plan to play them both quite a bit, and see which one sounds the best with the Phosphor Bronze Strings, and the one that loses will get some Thomastik Flatwounds. No use in having two As with the same strings I would prefer the variety of tones the Flatwounds will bring.

    So here it is...







    Here's it is with the Flatiron (this photo is very accurate to the colors)...

    Last edited by rockabilly69; Nov-19-2022 at 6:12pm.

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  3. #2
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Nice! I've had my F5G since 2005 and lusted after one of these since
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

  4. #3
    Registered User Mando Esq's Avatar
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    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Beautiful!
    Eastman MD515 mandolin
    Gretsch G9310 mandolin
    Eastman MDO305E-SB octave mandolin
    Eastman E20om guitar
    Vega Little Wonder tenor banjo
    Epiphone El Capitan acoustic bass

  5. #4

    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Thanks, I hope you pick one up one day

  6. #5

    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton View Post
    Nice! I've had my F5G since 2005 and lusted after one of these since
    Thanks, I hope you get one one day!

    Quote Originally Posted by Mando Esq View Post
    Beautiful!
    Thank you!

  7. #6

    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Wow man. Beautiful. Congratulations.

  8. #7

    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Kirk View Post
    Wow man. Beautiful. Congratulations.
    Thanks Captain!!!

  9. #8

    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Thanks to Angela's Instruments I got a NOS tailpiece for my mando This one is heavier built nickel plated brass, the one that I took off was just a chrome plated cheap stamped thin metal one. The cheapo buzzed a bit, so whoever owned this mando before me taped a piece of leather inside of it, which I think dulled the resonance of the strings


  10. #9
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    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Quote Originally Posted by rockabilly69 View Post
    I wasn't really looking for a new mandolin but I was cruising around the internet, and this one jumped out at me, so I bought it. It's a 1995 Gibson A-5G. The price seems to have gone up on these lately, but this one was reasonably priced, so I bought it from the Olde Town Pickin' Parlor, and they had to me in no time and did a great packing job.

    When I opened the case I was surprised to see the condition which is about as mint as it could be. And, I like that is has the same nut width, and flat fingerboard as my Gibson F-5G which is my favorite mandolin, so it will make it easy switching between mandos. It intonates right on the money, and it setup perfectly with the new strings that I bought for it, a set of Mapes 11-40 Phosphor Bronze. I also put a Hill County armrest on it (I have them on all my other mandolins). I also ordered an NOS Gibson tailpiece cover as someone misplaced the original on this one, it should be here next week.

    I also own a Flatiron Performer A model mandolin from 1994, so I thought it would be fun to compare the two mandolins coming out of the Bozeman shop just a year apart. One thing I noticed is that the tone bar bracing is a bit different. The top brace, under the bass side, is more angled on the Gibson, where the Flatiron braces are more parallel. Also the Gibson has an elevated extended fingerboard.

    They do sound different. I like the way that the Gibson sounds, as it is pretty even across the board, and the Gibson seems to have more low-end than the Flatiron, but there's something about the resonance and the midrange quality of the Flatiron that I like. And I think the Flatiron is a bit easier to play, although that could be chocked up to me playing the Flatiron quite a bit over the last few weeks. I plan to play them both quite a bit, and see which one sounds the best with the Phosphor Bronze Strings, and the one that loses will get some Thomastik Flatwounds. No use in having two As with the same strings I would prefer the variety of tones the Flatwounds will bring.

    So here it is...







    Here's it is with the Flatiron (this photo is very accurate to the colors)...

    Beautiful! I am lusting over this beauty LOL

  11. #10

    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Quote Originally Posted by greensea View Post
    Beautiful! I am lusting over this beauty LOL
    Thanks, I got lucky when I found this one

  12. #11
    Registered User Kevin Briggs's Avatar
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    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Quote Originally Posted by rockabilly69 View Post
    Thanks, I got lucky when I found this one
    That is one sweet looking mandolin! Can you record some sound clips?
    Hamlett Two-Point
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  13. #12

    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Briggs View Post
    That is one sweet looking mandolin! Can you record some sound clips?

    I just recorded this song tonight with it. It's an older song of mine. I just wanted to hear how it recorded in a dense acoustic mix. The rhythm and slide guitar is my Gibson Nick Lucas Reissue.



    This is the Nick Lucas Reissue...


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  15. #13
    Registered User Steve 2E's Avatar
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    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Quote Originally Posted by rockabilly69 View Post
    I just recorded this song tonight with it. It's an older song of mine. I just wanted to hear how it recorded in a dense acoustic mix. The rhythm and slide guitar is my Gibson Nick Lucas Reissue.
    The mandolin sounds great, but the song and your overall performance just sound amazing! Thanks for sharing.

  16. #14

    Default Re: NMD 1995 Gibson A-5G

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve 2E View Post
    The mandolin sounds great, but the song and your overall performance just sound amazing! Thanks for sharing.
    Thanks for the kind words Steve, I really like this mandolin. Although I've been playing mandolin for a pretty long time, I'm still very basic in the way that I play. I taught myself to play after hearing a soundtrack of a movie that featured some mandolin music. I figured out the mandolin chords by transposing the notes I play on my guitar. Now I know just enough chords to accompany myself. But one thing I know is that mandolin works in the kind of music that I write. It seems to be part of my musical DNA. And in the last year, in my quest to find out what mandolin suits me best, I wound up with 4 Gibson built mandolins, and funny enough, they are all different enough to keep around. One thing I like about the Gibson built mandolins, besides the tone that is, is the nut width and non-radiused fingerboards. I sold off two Breedlove mandolins that I had because the fretboard was a bit wide for me, but they sounded GREAT.

    Now hopefully I'm done buying mandolins, and back to writing and recording songs. I play professionally solo, but recently I started playing in a duet for special gigs, and I've been teaching my partner how to play the mandolin bits so my songs will sound a bit bigger on stage. The song I recorded is one of those songs.

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