Ok the traditional fingerboard extension on the gibson f5 mandolins gets in my way you know pick click.I have been waiting for the right buy on a gibson f5 and i think i have found it but in my mind there is this problem already and i have not even purchased it yet.I guess my question is how much is it going to reduce the value of a 50's gibson f5 if i scoop the fingerboard exstension?
Putting a dollar amount on the devaluation is going to be pure conjecture. You might actually get more if the right person wants it.
With that said I'd go by this advice. If you're holding it as an investment don't do it, it's more desirable to a larger number of people in the original condition. If you own it to play it have at it. I scooped my F5G.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
I would not harm an untouched vintage piece. If it's already had alterations, that's one thing. But, when you consider the instrument has made it 50 years unscathed, maybe we should allow it to go another 50.
Personally, I like pick click. One guy with some great pick click is Skaggs. I love hearing that pick hitting that extension. It's sort of like clawhammer banjo playing where the thumb hits the head--self-percussion.
Jim
don't do it..
mandolinosoarus rex
What Mike said.
Doug Hoople
Adult-onset Instrumentalist (or was that addled-onset?)
the Sam Bush thing was apparently to cut it off and bind the end to look right.
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
The classic dilema - are you an investor or a player.
I purchase my mandolins to play the potatoes out of them. I don't care what they are worth at some future hypothetical resale. There are much better things to invest in.
I invest in mutual funds, and I don't care about their tone or projection. There are much better things to play at a jam.
The Fretboard Journal interview with Chris Thile done by David Grisman actually speaks about this question. I'd repeat what they said but I don't want to ruin the surprise for those that haven't read it yet.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
This is the approach that I personally agree with, but it's not a recommendation for any but the boldest and most brutal.Originally Posted by (mandroid @ Aug. 04 2008, 23:27)
Doug Hoople
Adult-onset Instrumentalist (or was that addled-onset?)
If the pick click is something that would prevent you from playing the mandolin (or getting the appropriate pleasure from playing it) then I'd scoop it. Both of my mandolins have scooped fingerboards, and if they didn't I wouldn't have them (as that's the way I play and I like it like that). If you're really concerned about the vintage status have one of the fine luthiers available here on the Cafe put a new, scooped fingerboard on for you and keep the original.
Oh, BTW, if I were the buyer that would actually make the mandolin more desireable to me as it's something I wouldn't have to do/have done. I guess it comes down to whether you're selling it to a collector or a player.
Greg Henkle
2002 Prucha F5
1962 Martin D18
1965 Fender Telecaster
That's one of the reasons I like the Sam Bush and Goldrush models. No pick click.
I Pick, Therefore I Grin! ... "Good Music Any OLD-TIME"
1922 Gibson F2
2006 Gibson F5 Goldrush
2015 Martin HD28-V
2017 Gibson J45
Scooping helps with the clicking, but doesn't necessarily eliminate it.
On Mike Marshall's DVD, on "Odeon" (the outro for DVD2), there's pretty heavy clicking going on. He's playing his Loar, and the fingerboard is scooped.
Depends on your right hand, but if you play with a full range of motion, the scoop's not enough.
The Sam Bush/Roland White approach is the answer. Sam told us that Roland told him "Yeah, the sound's changed... it doesn't make that clicking sound anymore."
But, as already mentioned, only for the bold and the brutal!
Doug Hoople
Adult-onset Instrumentalist (or was that addled-onset?)
I scooped my flatiron Performer A... but that's not quite the same is it....
I concur w/ most of the above statements. Scoop it if you want to play it. Leave it if you want to collect it & worry about resale.
Or... just use the money you would spend on it to get a new custom made mando built to your specs. No historical context, but quite possibly w/ the same $$$ you may get a better instrument.
If your not a collector scoop it...or better yet just chop it off!
"Because of you I close my eyes each time I yodel"
Thanks for the input guys i will probably end up just leaving it alone and maybe backing the bridge up just a hair and see if that helps.
Doughoople is correct - if you play with a low action and the "sweet spot" is right over the fingerboard extension, you will still get "pick click". #The solutions are to 1) have the extension removed or 2) to buy a mandolin without the extension. ##2 is why I asked Ben Wilcox to make BRW#61 for me.
BRW #12
BRW #61
Kentucky (Korean) 675
morristown,
What do you mean by "back the bridge up"? Wouldn't that ruin the intonation?
Jim Yates
I'm going to make a generalization here, but I would say the VAST majority of pickers and players don't like the extra frets and fingerboard extension. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone that wanted to buy your mandolin and said no because you scooped. Now you might hurt the value a little because collectors have made it that any changes to orgionality hurt the value. But if your selling it to a player, which I'd hope most pickers are, I'd think most would be happy that you scooped. And if you really want to make everyone happy, get the luthier to put in some fake inlayed frets so even if its not exactly orgional, its still got the look.
Anyway, if it knocks (warning: completely hypothetical number) $200 from the value, is not having your pick click for the rest of the time you own that mando worth it?
I'm pro scoop, since its all about the music.
Gotta start sometime, might as well be now...
you can also carefully remove the last 5 or 6 frets and throw them in the case. Then you will gain another 1/16" or so of clearance.
yeah, dont' think you can change the bridge position.
SCOOP SCOOP SCOOP!
That will be an interesting (and hopefully civil) thread when it's time.
-----
Eastman MD815 #0258
Mid-Mo M-0 #1530
I'd scoop it if you intend to keep it to play and the extension is in your way. All of my mandolins have abbreviated fretboards so this is not an issue, but I'd personally have no problem scooping that one if it made the difference in playability and if you don't use those frets up there anyway. Like someone else said, that would make it more desirable for me were I the next buyer, though I'm not a collector.
Jason
"Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know that so it goes on flying anyway."
Newell A5 #37, Glenn F5 #66, Eastman 615 #537,
I'll probably go for a scoop when I need a re-fret. The first two CDs from Aubry Hanie had a LOT of click. Guys like that could probably play any mando they wanted in the studio. It was an awesome sounding instrument, just real clicky. Some will contend that good technique will solve the pick click, but some of the best have recorded tunes with click.
I,ve just re-read the question that the OP asked. I have no idea of how a scoop will affect the value of your instrument. Sorry.
Mike Snyder
Not all extensions are the same. Are we talking about 24 fret fingerboards (5 fret extension) or 29 fret fingerboards (8 fret extension)?
This fingerboard scooping issue has made me take greater pride in my F-12. No clicking there. No extension. LOL
I belong to the faction that prefers to leave things original, not so much for the collection value since I don't ever sell anything. It's just the way I feel about vintage instruments.
On the other hand, if you own something, I guess you can modify it as you wish.
1917 Gibson A-3, '64 Martin A, 2016 Rhodes F5R.
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