Gibson Style A Snakehead Carved Top Mandolin (1927)
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Gibson Style A Snakehead Model Carved Top Mandolin (1927), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 81387, black top, dark stained back and sides finish, maple back and sides, spruce top, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is an extremely clean, great-playing and sounding original Style A mandolin from mid- 1927, one of the cleanest we have ever had. Built in the "post-Loar era" at Gibson these still "Loar-pattern Snakeheads" are generally considered the best-sounding oval-hole A style mandolins ever made, and this one certainly bears this out. This is a really superb example of Gibson's continued craftsmanship at the tail end of the mandolin era, as the company's focus had shifted to banjos and then guitars.
"Snakehead" instruments are nicknamed for their Loar-designed peghead that angles inward towards the tip, a feature inexplicably abandoned by Gibson not long after this one was made. They are revered for their unmatched tone and projection and have the other advanced features of the era including the adjustable truss rod in the one-piece mahogany neck, raised adjustable bridge, and very slim neck profile. The top on this Style A bears a striking black lacquer finish, bound in white celluloid with a thin double inlaid soundhole ring with a broad celluloid center. The tailpiece has the engraved "The Gibson" cover plate and the tuners are simple strips with composite buttons. The headstock has a silkscreen "The Gibson" logo oriented straight across instead of the slanted angle used previously.
These distinctive "snakehead" A mandolins have long been sought after by discerning players. Lloyd Loar's tenure as acoustic engineer at Gibson has become so mythical that separating fact from fiction can be difficult. Even so the mandolin family instruments made during and just after the his tenure in Kalamazoo are the most perfectly realized in Gibson's history, and have become the template for many others since.
The mandolins of this period show the influence of a master player on both design and execution, although other Gibson employees (especially Thaddeus McHugh and Lewis A. Williams) actually engineered many of the technical improvements. Loar was primarily concerned with 'voicing' the instruments properly; the Master Model Style 5 line was his greatest contribution but all Gibson mandolin family instruments were refined and improved at the same time. Even this fairly basic "A" model has sonic and playing improvements benefitting from "Master Loar's" input that are still evident today, nearly 100 years on.
Overall length is 25 3/4 in. (65.4 cm.), 10 in. (25.4 cm.) wide, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 14 in. (356 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/16 in. (27 mm.).
This is a lovely, beautifully all original "Snakehead" A showing only very light wear, really looking not much used over the last nearly 100 years. The finish is very clean with some extremely light checking and the most minor scuffing and edge rubs along the back but no serious wear.
There is no evidence of any cracks or separations along the back/edge seams as is common with these. All hardware is original, clean and intact including the tuners, bridge, tailpiece and cover. The original celluloid pickguard has some scuffing but no signs of deterioration. The mandolin has been neatly refretted with correct style wire and plays and sounds spectacular, with a powerful ringing tone. It still resides in its original hardshell case, lightly worn but fully intact. This is simply one of the nicest "Snakeheads" we have ever had. Overall Excellent + Condition.
This is an extremely clean, great-playing and sounding original Style A mandolin from mid- 1927, one of the cleanest we have ever had. Built in the "post-Loar era" at Gibson these still "Loar-pattern Snakeheads" are generally considered the best-sounding oval-hole A style mandolins ever made, and this one certainly bears this out. This is a really superb example of Gibson's continued craftsmanship at the tail end of the mandolin era, as the company's focus had shifted to banjos and then guitars.
"Snakehead" instruments are nicknamed for their Loar-designed peghead that angles inward towards the tip, a feature inexplicably abandoned by Gibson not long after this one was made. They are revered for their unmatched tone and projection and have the other advanced features of the era including the adjustable truss rod in the one-piece mahogany neck, raised adjustable bridge, and very slim neck profile. The top on this Style A bears a striking black lacquer finish, bound in white celluloid with a thin double inlaid soundhole ring with a broad celluloid center. The tailpiece has the engraved "The Gibson" cover plate and the tuners are simple strips with composite buttons. The headstock has a silkscreen "The Gibson" logo oriented straight across instead of the slanted angle used previously.
These distinctive "snakehead" A mandolins have long been sought after by discerning players. Lloyd Loar's tenure as acoustic engineer at Gibson has become so mythical that separating fact from fiction can be difficult. Even so the mandolin family instruments made during and just after the his tenure in Kalamazoo are the most perfectly realized in Gibson's history, and have become the template for many others since.
The mandolins of this period show the influence of a master player on both design and execution, although other Gibson employees (especially Thaddeus McHugh and Lewis A. Williams) actually engineered many of the technical improvements. Loar was primarily concerned with 'voicing' the instruments properly; the Master Model Style 5 line was his greatest contribution but all Gibson mandolin family instruments were refined and improved at the same time. Even this fairly basic "A" model has sonic and playing improvements benefitting from "Master Loar's" input that are still evident today, nearly 100 years on.
Overall length is 25 3/4 in. (65.4 cm.), 10 in. (25.4 cm.) wide, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 14 in. (356 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/16 in. (27 mm.).
This is a lovely, beautifully all original "Snakehead" A showing only very light wear, really looking not much used over the last nearly 100 years. The finish is very clean with some extremely light checking and the most minor scuffing and edge rubs along the back but no serious wear.
There is no evidence of any cracks or separations along the back/edge seams as is common with these. All hardware is original, clean and intact including the tuners, bridge, tailpiece and cover. The original celluloid pickguard has some scuffing but no signs of deterioration. The mandolin has been neatly refretted with correct style wire and plays and sounds spectacular, with a powerful ringing tone. It still resides in its original hardshell case, lightly worn but fully intact. This is simply one of the nicest "Snakeheads" we have ever had. Overall Excellent + Condition.