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Old 12-06-2021, 09:59 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Default FINALLY, New Mandolin Day! And it's a doosie!

Well anybody that has been following my recent mandolin posts already knows that I bought and returned a Collings mandolin last week.

It was a pretty frustrating ordeal, as I thought I was guaranteed a great mandolin by buying one of their more popular, consistently good sounding models. Well to me, that mandolin was overly tight sounding, and not as good sounding as my surprisingly good sounding Breedlove mandolins.

Well, as I was preparing to return the Collings, a chanced into a MINT condition Gibson F5G for a reasonable price. I was a little gun-shy, but I sent the guy the money, and today, I received the mandolin.

Oh my, as soon as I tuned it up, the heavens parted with the tone that came of off this bad boy. And that was with worn blackened strings.

Besides the tone, the playability was very good too, not as much of a crossover style instrument as the wide-nut, radius-ed fingerboard, Breedlove models, but still very easy to navigate on. I was playing it less then an hour and found myself looking to improvise. And totally diggin' the tone. This is totally a rock and roll instrument.

So what does it look like? Glad you asked...









I needed to set up the mando to my playing height, and I also needed to push the bridge back about a 1/16 of an inch for perfect intonation, but it is is now perfect, and man what a machine!

I set it up with EJ74 strings just to get a feel for what it would sould like with Phosphor Bronze, and frankly, it will be hard to pull off these strings to try my favorite strings the Thomastik 154 flatwounds. It just has this organic woody warmth that comes through the brightness of the D'Addario EJ74 strings. It was exactly what I was looking for.

I couldn't be happier.
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Old 12-06-2021, 10:45 PM
Fishermike Fishermike is offline
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Gorgeous! Good for you!

I’ve been looking at a Collings MT for awhile now myself. Was the one that you weren’t impressed with new or used? What was the frustration, aside from it not having the sound you wanted?

Glad you were able to return it and get something that has the tone you were looking for, regardless.
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Old 12-06-2021, 11:34 PM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
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Very nice! What's the build year? I know you'll enjoy it!
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Old 12-06-2021, 11:52 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Originally Posted by Fishermike View Post
Gorgeous! Good for you!

I’ve been looking at a Collings MT for awhile now myself. Was the one that you weren’t impressed with new or used? What was the frustration, aside from it not having the sound you wanted?

Glad you were able to return it and get something that has the tone you were looking for, regardless.
My mando was a used 2013 MT, and it just didn’t have the tone I was looking for, it didn’t have the lower woody resonance, and I thought the Breedloves just had a nicer top end tone. The frustration was the wait combined with the string changes I needed to do to properly compare it to my other mandos. And getting it all done before my approval time ran out.

If it would’ve been my first mandolin. and I hadn’t had any expectations it might’ve worked out. But I have had a certain sound in my head that I've been chasing, and the Collings wasn’t getting me there. Who knows, it could’ve been a dud. I would recommend playing as many as you can, to get an idea of where you really want to go. And yes, the Music Emporium was who I bought it from, and were very easy to deal with on the return. I will have to pay shipping both ways, because they gave me free shipping when they send it to me. I don’t mind that as it was worth it for the lesson.

Last edited by rockabilly69; 12-07-2021 at 12:49 AM.
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Old 12-06-2021, 11:56 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Very nice! What's the build year? I know you'll enjoy it!
It’s a 2021, I can’t believe I found it at the price I found it. It differs from the slightly earlier models in that it has a Rosewood fingerboard. But I like the fingerboard, along with the fret work, t’s very comfortable to play. And the wood they used both in figure and weight is spectacular. I own and have owned many fine high end guitars, and this instrument is as good as I’ve ever picked up.
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Old 12-07-2021, 02:05 PM
Br1ck Br1ck is offline
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Wow, that's a nice mandolin. Dave Harvey makes good ones. Regarding Collings, I've played quite a few, mostly on the wall at Gryphon. Sometimes I like them, sometimes not so much. New, their adi tops work against them. A Carpathian spruce top always sounds better. The new adi tops are indeed tight. Not only time, but hard playing is needed. At my age, I don't want to wait three years. Been there, done that.

But there are two schools of mandolin tone, old school tone typified by Gibson and modern championed by Collings. The modern tone is brighter. For those of us who have picked up a Gibson, hit a G chop chord, and had an immediate woah moment, well no Collings will float your boat. I'm not at all saying I wouldn't be thrilled with a Collings. Different animals is all. If you hear Gibson, buy one or forever wish you had one. Now I've not played any of the luthiers who have built old school mandolins so I can't say.

Northfield is a brand I've been impressed with, but they are still a chunk of change. Right now I own four mandolins. My 1913 Gibson A 1 is typically what some would call tubby, a rather derisive term, but it's in no way modern. It is a superb celtic and old timey instrument. Then there is my first good mandolin, my redwood topped and x braced Silverangel. It is still the mandolin I recommend for someone looking to move from their import. It is very warm and rich, almost a modern oval hole tone, but still powerful enough to cut. You can find the A models around $1200-1400.

My home built F is very bright and loud. A pro I know loves it in his string band. This is the one that three years down the road and many hours later, has developed a much rounder tone. Then my recent Weber Yellowstone sits toward the Gibson range, but not quite having the Gibson chop. Very nice nonetheless. Just the chop is worthy of envy, and a Dave Harvey era Gibson is a beautiful thing. Play it hard and often. It probably need a good thrashing.
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Old 12-07-2021, 03:28 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Originally Posted by Br1ck View Post
....For those of us who have picked up a Gibson, hit a G chop chord, and had an immediate woah moment, well no Collings will float your boat.

....Just the chop is worthy of envy, and a Dave Harvey era Gibson is a beautiful thing. Play it hard and often. It probably need a good thrashing.
That is EXACTLY what happened to me. I hit a chord, and literally said out loud, SOLD!!! The thing that gets me, is how the woody sound shines through the phosphor bronze strings, instead of being overly shrill like the Collings was to me. I do have a set of Thomastiks waiting to be put on this thing, but right now I see no reason to change the EJ74s out, as they sound great. And the Thomastiks are on my Breedlove FF so I have that sound covered.

I sat here yesterday doing what I do with my favorite guitars exploring the F5G's fingerboard, looking and listening for cool sounding chord shapes, and I had a ball.

I originally set my budget to top out at $3500 but I had to up that to get into this thing. It wound up costing my $4060 (that's total with shipping), but I paid with it with a cashback card through paypal, which gave me $75 back, so I just barely slipped in for under $4000 And yesterday, a close friend, came over and bought from me, the A model Breedlove that started this whole ordeal, for the same amount I paid for it, so that put a little money back in my account. That little Breedlove was to me, better sounding than the Collings, but for my ear, not in the same league as this Gibson, so I hope my buddy gets a lot of enjoyment out of it. It's a fine mandolin, and in the few weeks I've had it here, helped me to write two songs that are keepers, and one of those songs is now in my live set.

Funny thing, even used, this thing cost me almost as much money as I spent on my most expensive guitar purchase, and within minutes, I realized it was one of the best musical equipment purchases that I have ever made.

I was told the Dave Harvey mandolins have been consistently good, and looking at it, front to back, left to right, the fit and finish of this one is exemplary! Go Gibson!

The one thing I wish it had was a pickguard as I like to plant my pinky when I play, so I may down the road have one installed on it, but I want to spend times with it to see if I can adapt before I make that decision.

It's funny that I wound up with a Gibson, because my favorite electric and acoustic guitars have always been Gibsons. They just have my ear. So this F5G is in good company...


with my 1978 L5s


vaguely familiar headstocks


my all time favorite acoustic guitar 1964 J45


my all time favorite gigger 2015 Custom Shop 50's reissue J45

Last edited by rockabilly69; 01-04-2022 at 08:47 PM.
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Old 12-07-2021, 03:39 PM
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David Eastwood David Eastwood is offline
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Slightly off topic, but that L5S is stunning.

Mando's not bad either
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Old 12-07-2021, 03:49 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Slightly off topic, but that L5S is stunning.

Mando's not bad either
They are my favorite electric guitar David. I've loved them since I first picked one up in 1976. It took me many years to find the two that I have. Literally five years of combing the internet, almost nightly, when I came home from my gigs. I did it as a way to burn off the gig energy.

That fireburst that you commented on is the better sounding of my two, but my cherry sunburst is in better condition. They both play great with extremely low actions and their sound is perfect for the way that I use them (clean fingerpicked electric guitar fills).

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Old 12-07-2021, 04:52 PM
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Originally Posted by rockabilly69 View Post
They are my favorite electric guitar David. I've loved them since I first picked one up in 1976. It took me many years to find the two that I have. Literally five years of combing the internet, almost nightly, when I came home from my gigs. I did it as a way to burn off the gig energy.

That fireburst that you commented on is the better sounding of my two, but my cherry sunburst is in better condition. They both play great with extremely low actions and their sound is perfect for the way that I use them (clean fingerpicked electric guitar fills).
The cherry one is even more spectacular.

I first came across the L5S when I saw Kevin Peek playing one with John Williams in Sky, getting the most glorious liquid sustain out of it.

That sound (and image) has stuck with me for 40 years.
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Old 12-07-2021, 07:15 PM
Fishermike Fishermike is offline
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Originally Posted by rockabilly69 View Post
My mando was a used 2013 MT, and it just didn’t have the tone I was looking for, it didn’t have the lower woody resonance, and I thought the Breedloves just had a nicer top end tone. The frustration was the wait combined with the string changes I needed to do to properly compare it to my other mandos. And getting it all done before my approval time ran out.

If it would’ve been my first mandolin. and I hadn’t had any expectations it might’ve worked out. But I have had a certain sound in my head that I've been chasing, and the Collings wasn’t getting me there. Who knows, it could’ve been a dud. I would recommend playing as many as you can, to get an idea of where you really want to go. And yes, the Music Emporium was who I bought it from, and were very easy to deal with on the return. I will have to pay shipping both ways, because they gave me free shipping when they send it to me. I don’t mind that as it was worth it for the lesson.
Got it. Thanks for the info! Yes, I may plan a trip to Nashville in the spring to play a bunch of mandos (and guitars, of course!). Not many mandolins to try in my neck of the woods.
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Old 12-07-2021, 07:27 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Got it. Thanks for the info! Yes, I may plan a trip to Nashville in the spring to play a bunch of mandos (and guitars, of course!). Not many mandolins to try in my neck of the woods.
There were a few mandos here that I tried out, but buying the F5G was a total crap-shoot for me
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Old 12-08-2021, 06:04 PM
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Beautiful Mandolin. I am soooo jealous.
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Old 12-08-2021, 07:23 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Beautiful Mandolin. I am soooo jealous.
Thank you. I was looking for a mandolin that would really excite me to play. I wanted something that would inspire me to write some songs, and be big enough sounding to hang when mixed with loud rock and roll instruments. I sure delivers, I can't say enough good about this mandolin. I LOVE it!

I wrote my first song with it today...

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Old 12-09-2021, 04:43 PM
Br1ck Br1ck is offline
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I really hate Gibson as a company, ever since way back when they told Gryphon that they had to buy a certain amount of cheap electrics to get one Les Paul. Anyone aware of Gryphon realizes they sold L 5s, banjos, and mandolins. Les Pauls were their budget electrics. They are not guitar center and don't have space for a bunch of $500 electrics. Then of course there is recent history.

But when it comes to mandolins in the bluegrass vein, they make a fine product. That price is very good considering an F 9 is what, $5200 or so? Nice back on it too. I'd have bought that F 9 for $3600 with only a small regret for it being austere.

$4000 isn't chump change, but I was told by a guy that he had never regretted buying fine instruments. As a Master Model F from 20 years ago. What he paid seems like a bargain.
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