"120 Years of Tone & Splendour"
Looking at this mandolin is like watching stars at night; the longer you look, the more detail fills the eye. The inlay work is delicately cut from abalone, mother of pearl and silver, adorning the mandolin from top to bottom, beginning at the headstock, trailing down the ebony fretboard and ending at the tortoise shell pick guard. The fretboard, top and back is tastefully dressed in three-ply, Ivoroid, Black, Ivoroid binding while 14k solid gold side dots add a dash of jewelry worthy of a century mark celebration. Every detail in this very limited mandolin has been carefully selected to be a testament to Gibson’s 120 years as the most accomplished mandolin makers in history.
Of course, it's not all about ornamentation. Gibson built its reputation on great tone and performance as well. To maximize resonance and tone, the mandolin's top is made from book-matched red spruce and its body handcrafted from highly figured maple, giving a perfect balance of full bodied warmth and clarifying attack, both projected brilliantly through the F5's tuned body chamber. As you would expect, all of Gibson's traditional, tried and proven construction methods are present, including a vintage rounded V neck profile, compound dovetail neck fit, and 2 foot compensated height adjustable ebony bridge.
Finally, because this is a special celebration that can only occur once, we've commemorated the set with some very special additional details; the mandolin comes in a black, hard shell case lined in Olive and embroidered in a 120th Anniversary of Gibson motif and features an authentic, vintage 1894 nickel coin inlaid into the back of their headstock. To verify the set and each instrument in it as authentic, each mandolin comes with a reproduction "Nickel a Day" vintage Gibson advertisement from 1894, which framed and matted with the serial number hand written by the craftsmen who built it.
Finish: Black top with Red Walnut back and sides
Top: Book-Matched, Solid Red Spruce
Back and Sides: Highly Figured Maple
Neck: Highly Figured Maple with Ebony Fretboard and 14k Gold Side Dots
Neck Inlay: Updated Vintage Tree of Life; Mother of Pearl, Abalone and Silver
Peg Head: F Style
Peg Head Inlay: Updated Wire and Torch; Mother of Pearl, Abalone and Silver
Binding: Top, Back, Neck and Peghead; 3 ply Black, Ivoroid, Black
Neck Fit: Compound Dovetail
Hardware: Satin Gold
Bridge: Ebony 2 Foot Compensated Height Adjustable
Tailpiece: Gold Plated 2 Piece Gibson Style
Nut: Mother of Pearl
Pick Guard: Tortoisoid Inlaid with 120th Anniversary Motif, Mother of Pearl and Brass Inlay
Other: Authentic 1894 Nickel Coin Inlaid in the Back of the Headstock
Collateral: Comes with a black, hard shell case lined in olive with an embroidered 120th Anniversary motif, a framed 'Nickel a Day" vintage Gibson ad reproduction framed and matted with the mandolin's serial number hand written in the mating by Gibson Original Instruments craftsperson, serving as verification of the instrument's authenticity.