Custom Gibson F-4 c.1921 w/OHSC and DeArmond Pickup

The Gibson Company built its reputation by crafting some of the finest mandolins ever made and this Gibson F-4 Mandolin from around 1921 is a prefect example of why. Beautifully lightly figured maple sides and back are adorned with one of the best looking sunbursts to come through the shop in a long time and the vintage D'Armond pickup just completes the eye catching look.

The intricately inlaid mother of pearl flowerpot is still in excellent condition and serves as a great example of old time hand done craftsmanship. We restrung it with J73 and were very pleased by the low action and ease of play. Classical mandolin players take note- the acoustic tone of this mandolin is as lively and rich as one would expect from a Lloyd Loar era Gibson F-4. Tonally the trebles are crisp and clean and the bases boomy but yet still mellow and full. Yet although it isn’t a bluegrass mandolin there is still a lively chop and fiddle tunes sound absolutely great.
You probably noticed the D’Armond pickup which is not only eye catching but more importantly functional and crackle free. We plugged it into an acoustic amp and the result was a wonderfully clean tone that surprised us all. If we had an electric amp in the store we would have plugged it into that too and put some neat effects on it but don’t tell anyone.

The instrument does have some issues including a few soundboard cracks along the center seam, bass side of the neck, and at the lower bout point- none of which should be of major structural concern. In addition the original pickguard has been shaved away around the sound hole to accommodate the vintage D’Armond pickup. Extensive play has left the neck almost bare of finish and a number of mysterious small holes on the back of the headstock have been filled and repaired. The nut has been shimmed up at one time which does make for buzz free playing. The fingerboard has been refretted with jumbo frets at sometime in the instruments lifetime resulting in some binding cracks and the tuners and bridge have been replaced. The serial number has been redrawn over with black sharpie and so we are basing the estimated year of production off that and any sort of physical identifying markers. With all that said- this is still one amazing instrument.

After playing this mandolin for a few minutes it becomes immediately understood why many of us are still seeking out these historic Gibson instruments.


Spec Details:
Top Wood Spruce
Back and Sides Wood Maple
Scale Length 14"
Width at Nut 1-1/4"
Body Binding Ivoroid
Headstock Inlay / Logo MOP Flowerpot
Neck Binding Ivoroid
Fingerboard Inlay MOP Dots
Pickguard Original Tortoiseshell
Tuners Replacement F-Style Tuners
Electronics Vintage DeArmond Pickup
Case Original Hardshell Case