Found in Habana,Cuba.
Hello, this oldie was from José, an old musician from la Habana who received it 45 years ago from his teacher as a present.
Please help me identify the model.
Serial number it's practically erased. But surely begins with 2 and ends -459.
It's also the word "mandolin" written with pencil.
Thanks!!
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
I'd love to try to help, but there are no pictures so I really can't offer much in terms of ID'ing it.
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
David, thanks for the answer!. I'm in Havana now and internet connection it's a mess. I'm trying with the pics but no success uploading them. I'll let you know when I make it!. Thanks again.
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
We'll see it when you have better internet.Originally Posted by Alfredartigas
Have some tostones for me!
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
Hahahah. You'll bet i will!.
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
Thanks for the PM pics. I suggest posting a few here so that people that know more about Gibson mandolins can help.
Te deseo lo mejor, amigo.
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
That's a plain style A, probably from the mid to late 1910's.
Someone has played the devil out of it.
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
At first sight, the tuners suggest that it’s post c.1925 but slight ghosting at their southern end suggests that they’ve been taken off and fitted the wrong way round. Do they operate backwards?
..... and the bridge is completely wrong.
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
The tuners are indeed on upside down and the bridge is most likely off a Harmony or Regal product from a little later. I have no idea what's happening on the headstock above the nut. I suspect the neck may have cracked at some point and someone may have tried to beef it up a bit with a patch and a screw. The tailpiece and tuners appear to be original.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
Big thanks for the answers! yes, definitely someone has played the devil out of it...I guess Habana's climate doesn't help...
The box is in good shape, no cracks but...has a slight bow in the neck that sure affects intonation, destroyed frets...
Really don't know if it's worth a repair to try and resurrect her or just hang it from the wall and marvel about the milion stories she has seen...from Kalamazoo to Habana...from mid tens to 2023...a revolution in between...
Thanks again for you're kind answers!
Alfred
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
The biggest thing affecting the intonation is the bridge. It would have shipped with a compensated bridge. Some early Gibson mandolins had issue with fret placement anyway but that straight bridge is never going to allow that mandolin to intonate correctly.
The bridge would have been similar to this:
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
That uncompensated bridge is going to a compromise at best - as you say, it will never be precisely intonated.
The best one could hope for is getting the two outside strings, the E and G, accurate and the two inside strings, the D and A, will be whatever.
Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
Not to be a distraction to this conversation, but here is an interesting discussion about a nice looking mandolin that was made in Cuba and found it's way back to Kalamazoo.
Just kidding about the last part.
Mick
Ever tried, ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again. Fail better.--Samuel Beckett
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Re: Found in Habana,Cuba.
That's a nice looking mandolin. Obviously nobody played the crap out of that one.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
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