The Flatiron Has Landed

[HHP]

My Flatiron A5 mandolin arrived today. This is one of those "if I ever see one for sale, I'm buying it" instruments. Thanks to Fiddler's Green Music in Austin, real nice folks and a very good selection of instruments. The set up is just about perfect.

If you are unfamiliar with Flatiron, they began building mandolins in Montana in the late 70's-early 80's. They were the first to offer high grade mandolins other than Gibson for many decades. They were considered much finer than their Gibson counterparts and led to their being purchased by Gibson in the late 80's. One of Flatiron's founders, Bruce Weber, currently owns Weber Mandolins

This one is a late model, built in Nashville at the Gibson works while it was under the supervision of Charles Derrington. Derrington famously restored one of Bill Monroe's F5 Loars that a vandal had smashed with a fireplace poker. He brought back a lot of the Loar formulas for carving the tops. This one doesn't even say "Flatiron" on the label, only "Gibson Master Model".

Overall, very fine shape. Can't imagine it is a 20+ year old instrument.



The Burst is a little lighter than most Gibsons but attractive as it lets the grain show through better.

Conventional tailpiece engraved with "The Flatiron"



Headstock has the logo and the traditional fleur d'lis that Gibson used in the 20's and later was co-opted by Kentucky. Truss rod cover not original but doesn't look bad.



Fretboard extension is scooped so the pick won't hit the board when playing in that area.



Back and sides are traditional tiger maple with pretty nice grain.



Neck is slight V shape and is also nicely figured.



Given that this is the standard configuration for A Style mandolins now, its funny that Gibson never produced this style in numbers in the 20's. The shape and configuration come from 1 mandolin built by Lloyd Loar referred to as the Griffith Model.

[slopeshoulder]

Beautiful Mando. Congratulations!

[HHP]

Had a little time to play. Realized my fingers are not acclimated to the skinny little neck. Was able to get through a few simple tunes.

Reaction is this is a LOUD mandolin. Probably due to its X bracing. Big bass response but still have very clean, clear trebles. Easy to play once you figure where your fingers might land on the fretboard. Did notice picks have a big impact on sound. My usual 4mm is clean but a little too revealing of my degraded skills. Dropped down to a 1.26 Celluloid and the sound warmed and sweetened a bit.

[darylcrisp]

beautiful!
love those Flatirons.

that one looks awesome. flat or radius fretboard?
d

[HHP]

Originally Posted by darylcrisp

beautiful!
love those Flatirons.

that one looks awesome. flat or radius fretboard?
d

Its flat. I think that was mostly true with Flatirons though they could have offered some radiused models over the years. Their specs are all over the board looking at old catalogs.

[fatt-dad]

sweet mandolin!

f-d

[Mandobart]

Very nice indeed! You did well, that is definitely a "if you ever see it buy it" mando!

[leew3]

Congrats, it's a beauty and the scooped fretboard should really let you fly!

[HHP]

Originally Posted by leew3

Congrats, it's a beauty and the scooped fretboard should really let you fly!

"Flying" is not on the immediate menu. Its coming back but my fingers can't quite find their way around yet.

[ziapack]

That is a sweet Mandolin, and a great score, enjoy. I have 2 Flatirons, quality instruments that will serve you well for many years.

[H165]

I have a Flatiron bouzouki, but I've never put in the time to learn how to play it right. This thread reminded me....I might as well sell it. The mando seems a better choice for expanding my range of playable-by-my-jam-gang-members instruments.