Playing it proudly and taking care of it for the next generation.

[californiajed]

I saw this 1917 F4 for sale a few weeks ago and I went for it. I am truly proud to own it, and I love the way it sounds. I think about it alot and wonder who else was lucky enough to own it over the years, and what songs have been played on it, and where it has been. I'm amazed at how well it plays and sounds after nearly a hundred years.

CaliforniaJed

[JeffD]

I know. And when you look at old picturs of mandolin orchestras from the 1920s you can't help but look for the F4s and wonder if any of them are the very one you are holding.

[Kevin Stevens]

That's a beauty, congrats!

[Steve Sorensen]

What a treasure!
Steve

[F-2 Dave]

Nice mandolin Jed. Here's hoping you'll have many happy years together.

[Marc King]

Wow, she looks to be in great condition too! I have Gibson F4 MAS pretty bad at the moment. There is one for sale here in Australia, but he is asking silly money for it. Congratulations on your new love.

[Londy]

Wow...what a great find. Enjoy this work of art and the sound she makes.

[BeginnerMandolinistTyler]

Congrats! Hopefully you older folks will leave us whippersnappers the opportunity to buy some of these fine instruments once we start getting an income! I enjoy looking at pictures of older Gibson mandolins so I can't imagine how giddy I would be if I owned one. Give us a sound sample if you can!

[californiajed]

Hopefully you older folks will leave us whippersnappers the opportunity to buy some of these fine instruments once we start getting an income!

Not sure how to take that, Tyler! I think of myself as very young despite my graying beard! I don't have a good way to record -- it would be either iphone or camera, so I don't think the sound would do the instrument much justice. When/if I have access to something better, I'll definitely try to post something.

CaliforniaJed

[californiajed]

What a treasure!
Steve

Steve, looks like you're making some beautiful treasures just up the 5. I'd love to come see some of them one day.

CaliforniaJed

[californiajed]

I know. And when you look at old picturs of mandolin orchestras from the 1920s you can't help but look for the F4s and wonder if any of them are the very one you are holding.

Jeff, I was lucky enough to get what is purported to be the original case with this one. When I am most likely to daydream about who was playing this one is when I open it up. Almost seems like there's hundred year old air still trapped in there!

CaliforniaJed

[Jim Garber]

Being a vintage instrument fiend, I certainly identify with your daydreams. I do the same. My favorite is my 1939 Gibson L-00 guitar which i bought at a local music store right near where I live in New York state. The store said it was owned by an old woman and either she or her daughter brought it in to sell. I imagine the owner receiving this guitar as a birthday gift. And that day her parents took her down to the Worlds Fair in Flushing Meadow New York. She prob learned some of the pop songs of the day on it. Just imagining.

[Fretbear]

Gorgeous...double flowerpots rule......

[j-hill]

Not to be too sentimental but in our disposable world, it's great to have something like an instrument that will be passed to future generations.

[Timothy S]

Gorgeous! Wishing you the best with your new mando. I'm familiar with the feeling of playing a vintage instrument (or at least one with history). As a pianist, I had the opportunity to play Vladimir Horowitz's piano, as well as the one that Van Cliburn won the 1st International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia on during the Cold War. It was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. I'm glad you get to have that feeling every time you play your F4.

[californiajed]

That's very cool, Timothy. Do you remember what you played on each piano? I'm gonna guess Chopin on Horowitz's?

CaliforniaJed

[californiajed]

Nice daydreaming there Jim. Sounds like the beginning of a short story...

CaliforniaJed

[californiajed]

That's a neat thought, Jeff. I'm gonna have to start looking for it in old pictures! :-)

[Timothy S]

That's very cool, Timothy. Do you remember what you played on each piano? I'm gonna guess Chopin on Horowitz's?

CaliforniaJed

Sorry I forgot to check back with this thread! I believe I did, but it's been years since that time. If memory serves me right it was Prelude Op.28/15 "Raindrops". I'm smiling just remembering that moment. I brought a bunch of music with me when I went to play them, and everything sound beyond incredible. Horowitz's definitely seemed more suited to Romantic pieces, while I felt Cliburn's was more at home with Beethoven and Mozart. The action on these instruments is almost beyond words. Horowitz's played so fast and clean.