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Thread: Opinions on "The"

  1. #26
    mandolin slinger Steve Ostrander's Avatar
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    I figured it was shorthand for The Gibson Mandolin Guitar Manufacturing Company, Limited, which was way too long to put on a peghead.
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  2. #27
    Registered User Steve Davis's Avatar
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    I think it is redundant.
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  3. #28
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    Now, where did I put that pocketknife?
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  4. #29
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    To decide whether or not something is conceited or pretentious, one has to figure in contemporary usage. I'd say that unless a mandolin made in the late 20th or early 21st centuries with a "The Gibson" logo on it comes with a disclaimer or explanation, it is possible to view that logo as conceited or pretentious now, even if that might not have been the case in 1903.

    At the time Gibson started using the "The Gibson" logo, things like that were common in advertising. If you look at Richard Johnston's articles in American Lutherie on the history of mandolin orchestras in America, you will find that Gibson's advertising was extremely aggressive. They scurrilously attacked the Neapolitan or bowlback mandolin as "a dinosaur in a scientific age", and they were probably (not completely sure about it though) responsible for the derisive term "Tater bug" for Neapolitan mandolins, referring to the similarity of the bowls (with alternating strips of light and dark woods) to the striped carapace of the potato beetle. Gibson got away with that without any flack back then, and the tradition of it in their product gives them an out to this day. Had they started doing that that for the first time during the latter part of the 20th century, it might be a different story. Something about Gail's/Siminoff's explanation is gnawing at me. I'm not sure that the usage at the time was that different from today's usage with regard to "The".

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  5. #30
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spruce View Post
    Uhhh....

    Well, technically it is the back of the headstock and it isn't really his name, just translated into Latin. Besides he didn't inlay it in pearl as "The Stradivari"

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  6. #31
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton View Post
    I've always wondered why somebody making a copy didn't do a "Not Gibson" on the headstock.
    Really! Also all those fake F-9s ... Well, I suppose whoever made them had a different motivation.
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  7. #32
    Adrian Minarovic
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton View Post
    I've always wondered why somebody making a copy didn't do a "Not Gibson" on the headstock.
    Like this? I drew this few years back when the flowerpot logo protection was the theme of day but actuaslly I was inspired by pic of real headstock with Not Gibson on the headstock.
    I'm still thinking about using it some day...
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  8. #33
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    A little "The" potty humor here on The Cafe! Ha!

  9. #34
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    I've always looked at "The" as schtick; Gibson schtick. None of my Gibsons have "The" on them ... but I wish they did.

  10. #35
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    Bill Bussmann has previously done a "Not Gibson"...

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  11. #36
    Moderator JEStanek's Avatar
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    Your wish has been granted by the great Bill Bussman in Old Wave Holler.


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  12. #37
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    Quote Originally Posted by HoGo View Post
    Like this? I drew this few years back when the flowerpot logo protection was the theme of day but actuaslly I was inspired by pic of real headstock with Not Gibson on the headstock.
    I'm still thinking about using it some day...
    If I look hard enough I might be able to find that picture. In the back of my mind I remember doing one.

  13. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by JEStanek View Post
    Your wish has been granted by the great Bill Bussman in Old Wave Holler.
    I take it back, it was Bill. I remember cutting and pasting a headstock to change what it said, I can't remember what it ended up saying.

  14. #39
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    The followed by a surname is certainly found in Scotland where the head of the clan is often referred to as "The (surname)". For instance in my own case the head of the clan can be properly referred to as "the McNeil". or in another case "The Munro". It is certainly no longer in common usage but most likely still carries a vestige of prestige for some.

    I would assume that is the origin and meaning of the term "The Gibson" as a trade name. The adverb "The " give the name additional punch and status.
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    To me, a beginner in mandolin, bluegrass and all things incorporated.... "the Gibson" is cool. anything else after llike "the hester" not so much. And that is not to pick on Hester specifically. However just the last name would be Fine. After all there is only one "THE"
    Last edited by John Adrihan; Oct-01-2010 at 8:10pm.

  16. #41
    wood butcher Spruce's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmac View Post
    The adverb "The " give the name additional punch and status.
    Ohhh, I get it now....

    The folks at Gibson back then were Scotch drinkers....




  17. #42
    Pogue Mahone theCOOP's Avatar
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    I just want to go on record as stating that I've been using "theCOOP" on the internet since the early 90s, long before I ever heard of a The Gibson, The Epiphone, The Loar or The The.

    So if I happen to ever build a mandolin and put theCOOP on it, it's jusy coincidence
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  18. #43
    Moderator JEStanek's Avatar
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    I would take a new The Hester over an old The Gibson (with mmmaaaybe 200 or so exceptions only so I could sell it to get a The Hester and afford my kids' college) any day.

    Jamie
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  19. #44
    Registered User John Gardinsky's Avatar
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    Dang Spruce, I got a chuckle out of that bottle and the "master" model scroll. Thanks, John

  20. #45
    Registered User Mike Snyder's Avatar
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    Believe me, I've played one. If any mandolin deserves the "The", it's a Hester. They have "The" sound.
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  21. #46
    Registered User John Soper's Avatar
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    Yup, some things, even with a "The" in front are not meant for the macro lens...

  22. #47
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    Quote Originally Posted by bmac View Post
    The adverb "The " give the name additional punch and status.
    For the record, "the" is not an adverb (modifier of verbs, adverbs, and adjectives) but an adjective (modifier of nouns), actually a special case of adjective - an article, of which there are but three: a, an, and the. OK, class dismissed.

    I like the Scottish and Scotch observations. I think Glenlivet is also called "The Glenlivet" on the label. There are probably others. I think it is meant to convey a level of pride by the makers in their product.

    Yeah, as I suspected: The Balvenie, The Dalmore, The Famous Grouse, The Singleton. As far as I'm concerned, there are surely more better Scotches without the "The" than with. But don't draw an analogy from that - I'm still a Gibson guy.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

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  23. #48
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    "a gibson guy", not "The Gibson Guy"?

    "Only a Gibson is Good Enough..."

    'nuff said?

    "The" is rugged, individualistic! Like "the Marlboro Man"! Oh, he died of lung cancer...

    No, "the lung cancer"! Like "the plague". Or "the clap". Now there's a p'head logo...

    p...un, intended...

  24. #49
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Turner View Post
    "a gibson guy", not "The Gibson Guy"?
    Yes, indeed! That is correct, kind sir. I would never be so presumptuous as to utilize the definite article in reference to myself. I am one of many, not the one and only. Though I believe I would be correct in calling myself "The Southernmost Mandolinist," as far as I know a statement of verifiable fact. But humility does not permit me to refer to myself thusly, as I have not earned this; it is mere happenstance.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

  25. #50
    Moderator JEStanek's Avatar
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    Default Re: Opinions on "The"

    You can't get one at The Wall-Mart as we say around here....
    There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946

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