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Topic: My Mandolin died |
Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 24 Jan 2005 12:50 pm |
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My 40 year old Gibson mandolin is dead. The inner bracing along the top came loose, which caused the top to crack and collapse.
My repairman says it would cost more to fix than to replace, and even he did fix it, it will never be the same.
I don't know how or why this happened. But my insurance company says that if it was some sort of trauma or accident, they will give me enough money to replace it with one of similar quality. But if it is the result of some sort of natural deterioration, they will not.
My repairman says he thinks it is the result of some sort of trauma, but honestly does not know why it happened either, however, I will be getting a letter from a man named Ren Ferguson, who is one of the big shots at the Gibson Montana plant saying that their instruments do not fall apart, and there is no way this could have happened naturally and it must have been traumatized in some way.
Meanwhile, to tide me over temporarily, I bought a Korean cheapie acoustic at the NAMM show that's actually pretty decent, and have made arrangements to get a Godin electric at the artist's discount. (I wanted a Godin anyway, and would have bought one sooner or later even if this hadn't happened.) Then if the insurance company honors the claim. I'll also get the Rolls Royce mandolin I really want, which is made by a company called Rigel.
Wish me luck with the insurance company. |
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Dave Burr
From:
League City, TX
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Posted 24 Jan 2005 1:34 pm
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BUMMER!! I feel for you Mike. Good luck with the insurance company. Sounds like it might actually work out pretty well for you. Just out of curiosity, what kind of Gibson did you have - an "A" or an "F" style?
Respectfully,
Dave Burr |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 24 Jan 2005 2:01 pm
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It was (still is actually) an A model with F holes and a pickup.
It came with a single coil pickup, and since I use it for recording, I needed a humbucker, so I had Seymour Duncan make me a custom stack mandolin humbucker. As far as I know, this was the only one he ever made. (This was many years ago before he got so successful.)
He didn't charge me very much, but I had to drive 500 miles to get it. (125 miles each way, 2 round trips. One to drop off the mandolin, one to pick it up after the pickup was installed.) |
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Terry Edwards
From:
Florida... livin' on spongecake...
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Posted 24 Jan 2005 3:15 pm
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| Quote: |
| My repairman says it would cost more to fix than to replace, and even he did fix it, it will never be the same. |
First, let me say I'm sorry for your loss. Secondly, I'll give you $20.00 for what's left of it!
Seriously, Mike, humidity (lack of) can cause catastrophic implosions like the one you've described. I have heard horror stories of Martin guitars imploding from totally drying out. The wood loses it's strength and the forces from the strings gradually overcome the wood top over time. That is about the only thing I can think or to cause something like this.
Good luck,
Terry
Pre-Gibson Flatiron F-5
1960 Martin D-21
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John Rosett
From:
Missoula, MT
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Posted 24 Jan 2005 3:19 pm
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mike-
i think that you should have it fixed. did you ever see what happened to bill monroe's mandolin? someone broke into his house, took the mandolin out, and beat it to splinters with a fireplace poker. gibson took all the pieces and glued it all back together. bill continued to play it for the rest of his life.
i.ve seen quite a few old gibson mandolins that have had top collapse-from hardly noticable to total failure. many sound better after the braces have been replaced.
to me, it sounds like it suffered a trauma. usually when the brace gives way, it takes a little time for the top to sink badly. if any thing ever goes wrong with my 1913 gibson, i'll send it back for warranty repair. the label clearly states "should this instrument, with proper care and useage, go wrong, we agree to repair it free of charge at our factory, or to replace it with another of same style or value."
good luck with it,
john |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 24 Jan 2005 3:53 pm
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| You had it insured?! Wow! I don't have any of my instruments insured. I always figured that insurance cost would be greater than the price of the instruments, over time. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 24 Jan 2005 5:35 pm
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| Quote: |
| You had it insured? |
I live in Los Angeles, where EVERY guitar player I know, without exception, has had instruments stolen at one time or another.
I was burglarized in 1969, and lost everything. It happened again in 1980, but this time I had insurance, and was able to replace it all. At the time I opted for fewer but better instruments, and so I actually upgraded from a Harmony mandolin to the Gibson.
I pay about $550 a year for around $70,000 worth of coverage, minus a $1,000 deductable. The mandolin is insured for $3,200.
At this point, I have such good security, including 4 security doors, 6 high tech unpickable (supposedly) locks, 2 alarms, one of which is silent but calls both the police and a private arned security service and a 75 pound put bull, that I'm not worried as much about theft, but about a possible fire. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 25 Jan 2005 3:15 am
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| Don't forget the mudslides, earthquakes, floods, droughts, race riots, LAPD, tsunamis and Jerry Garcia fans.... |
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John McGann
From:
Boston, Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 25 Jan 2005 4:50 am
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Mike- check out the Collings A model- half the price of the fancy F, but to my ears, better sounding (and feeling)- I've played a bunch of them and they are very consistent- loud, fat, warm, and as mandolins go, the price point (around $3k) is very good for an instrument of that quality...but don't go putting a humbucker in the top  if you are going electric might as well get a plywood box that will support the pickup better than a nice spruce top!
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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff. Joaquin Murphey transcription book, Rhythm Tuneup DVD and more...
[This message was edited by John McGann on 25 January 2005 at 04:51 AM.] |
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Dave Burr
From:
League City, TX
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Posted 25 Jan 2005 5:39 am
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John,
Considering your stature in the Mandolin community, I'm really interested to hear what you have to say about the Collings Mandolins. I'm supposed to pick up a new Collings MT this weekend. What are your feelings on the diffence in the MT and the MT2 (tonewise)?
Oh, and back to the subject at hand... Mike, I don't know if I would tell the insurance guy or the factory rep that you had a humbucker installed on the top of your old Gibson... They may determine that this caused the failure of the top.
Respectfully,
Dave Burr |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064
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Posted 25 Jan 2005 6:22 am
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| Mike, I don't know if I would tell the insurance guy or the factory rep that you had a humbucker installed on the top of your old Gibson... They may determine that this caused the failure of the top. |
What if Mike made the claim that the pickup was accidentally installed in the mando?
"I told the repairman 'I need to pick up my mandolin' and, because his cell service wasn't from Sprint technology  , he heard it as 'I need a pickup in my mandolin.'"
Collings mandos are made right here in Cedar Valley, TX. My friend Paul Skelton works there and he too says that the A-models are every bit as good as the F-styles, only without what he calls "the $3000 strap holder," meaning the scroll.
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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association
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Stephen Gambrell
From:
Over there
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Posted 25 Jan 2005 6:34 am
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| Not to drift off topic, but anything I've ever played with Bill Collings' name on it was superb! |
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Glenn Suchan
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 25 Jan 2005 7:42 am
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Mike,
I'm sorry about your mandolin. If you're not "locked-in" to one brand of mandolin, I can recommend a builder.
Martin Brunkalla of Brunkalla Violins builds violins which are widely regarded as excellent instruments. Martin also builds mandolins. Recently, a good friend of mine who plays violins and mandolins tried a Brunkalla mando at a gig and was very impressed...no, amazed by it's tone and volume. In case you're interested in a Brunkalla mandolin:
Brunkalla Violins
8015 S. Hill Rd.
Marengo, IL 60152-8252
http://www.brunkalla.com/
If you'd like, e-mail me and I'll give you my mando/fiddle pickin' friend's e-mail to get a reference on the Brunkalla instruments.
Best of luck and...
Keep on pickin'!
Glenn
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 25 Jan 2005 9:34 am
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This last weekend was the annual NAMM show, (Carter was there with a very nice new steel guitar) and I spent a major part of my time there looking at mandolins. The Collings was indeed excellent, as were the Breedlove and Rigel. The new National was something else, and when they get their fretboards streightened out, it will also be a serious contender.
I also saw some brands that I never heard of before that were also very good.
If everything I saw, as a matter of personal taste, I preferred the Rigel. But I'd be happy with any one of the ones I mentioned.
I bought something called "VENSON" for 100 bucks just to tide me over temporarily. This is all mahogany, and the top is a solid piece, not lamenated. You can see the cross section of the wood through the F holes. I also made arrangements to get a Godin electric. This is, for my purposes, perhaps the most practical mandolin on the market.
Like I said earlier, if the insurance company will honor the claim, I'll get a really fine one. But if they don't, the Godin will certainly suffice, and the Cheapie is not bad. (The guys at the Rigel and Gibson booths were both very inpressed at how nice it was, considering the price. The Gibson guy said it was better than their $300 Epiphone.)
BTW I've always played A models. There is a picture of me from 1975 on my web site (www.mikeperlowin.com) with a 20's vintage Gibson A-2-Z, that I eventually sold in order to by my 2nd steel. |
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Orville Johnson
From:
Seattle, Washington, USA
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Posted 25 Jan 2005 11:53 am
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| mike, what company do you have your insurance with? i'm looking around for the right place to insure my stuff. thanx. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 25 Jan 2005 11:57 am
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Orville, I'm insured with CLARION, who specializes in musical instrument insurance.
Their phone number is 1-800-848-2534, or 1-800- VIVALDI. |
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Terry Edwards
From:
Florida... livin' on spongecake...
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Posted 25 Jan 2005 2:58 pm
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Tim O'brien always played an A model and I can think of no better player or tone.
Terry |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 26 Jan 2005 7:09 am
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Hey Mike, mandolin was my first instrument and still the tops in my book. I have an old Gibson F style from the 30's with a Fishman bridge P/U unit installed and a couple of others but if I were to buy another today for all around use it's have to be the Rigel. I've played a few of the newer ones and like yourself I prefer the Rigel. Gene Johnson of Diamond Rio plays one as does Chris Theil the young virtuoso picker. They're a very nice instrument and sound great ampliphied and look nice on stage as well. If you like A styles, that Fender A-style with the pickup isn't too bad either. Guitar Center sells 'em for $239.00 or so. I bought one for gigs where I really needed a lot of volume without worrying about the feedback problem from contact type pickups and they work well....JH
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Livin' in the Past and Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 26 January 2005 at 07:12 AM.] |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 26 Jan 2005 12:26 pm
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Glenn, that Brunkalla looks yummy, but at $4k+ it's way out of my price range. If the insurance company honors the claim, it will cover the cost of the least expensive Rigel A model. If the insurance company does not honor the claim. I'll stick with the Godin, which is more than adaquate for my purposes.
Since the top of the Gibson is beyond repair, but the neck and hardware are OK, if the insurance company does not honor the claim I may attempt to build a solid body electric, using the old neck and hardware. |
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Mark Ardito
From:
Chicago, IL, USA
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Posted 26 Jan 2005 12:40 pm
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Mike,
Sorry to hear about your loss. That really stinks!
I have had issues with "lack" of humidity with one of my Mandolin's. What I have found are these rubber tubes with a sponge inside and holes all around it. You run it under water and then dry it off. Then you just stick it into the F-Holes on your Mando and put it in the case. In the winter months I do this. Haven't had a problem since.
If you are looking for a recommendation, I would put my $.02 for Bill Bussmann at Old Wave Mandolins in New Mexico. I have one of his F style Mando's and it is "like butta". The smoooooooothist Mando I have ever played! http://www.zianet.com/Bussmann/
Mark
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Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com
http://www.arditotech.com
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 26 Jan 2005 3:36 pm
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Those Zoinets look nice too. However I need one with a pickup. That's why I'm definately getting the Godin electric, regardless of whether or not the insurance company will honor my claim.
I saw about half a dozen excellent mandos at NAMM, and I'd be happy with any of them, but I really liked the Rigel more than the others.
The Collings', Breedloves, Webers, and new Nationals are all tied for 2nd place, and the Michael Kelleys and Eastmans (Eastmen?) are tied for very close 3rd. But all are truly excellent.
So many mandolins, so little time..... |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 26 Jan 2005 7:44 pm
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Shouldn't this be in Extended Family?  |
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Glenn Suchan
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 27 Jan 2005 6:22 am
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Mike,
If you want to salvage parts from the Gibson, why not have a new acoustic body made? The body alone may not be too expensive from some of the lesser known luthiers. You might get lucky and end up with a really good sounding acoustic mando. 'Just a suggestion but it might be worth a try. Best of luck, amigo.
Keep on pickin'!
Glenn[This message was edited by Glenn Suchan on 27 January 2005 at 06:28 AM.] |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 27 Jan 2005 12:16 pm
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Mike, you could probably buy a top already carved from Stewart/MacDonald and glue it on yourself and just make it an acoustic Gibson...JH
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Livin' in the Past and Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 27 Jan 2005 3:41 pm
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| Excellent suggestion Jerry. I will definately investigate the feasability of this. |
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