Gibson EM-150 Hollow Body Electric Mandolin (1955)
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Gibson EM-150 Model Hollow Body Electric Mandolin (1955), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # W900-12, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, maple back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown hard shell case.
Gibson's EM-150 was the company's longest-serving electric Mandolin, in production from 1936 through 1971. This mid-'50s version is basically a standard A-50 style hollow body acoustic mandolin mounting a 4-pole P-90 pickup (sometimes waggishly referred to as the "P-45" or "P-60" although that's not an official Gibson designation!). With the combination of this pickup and a fully hollow body the sound is warmer and mellower than many other electric mandolins, with more acoustic character.
The fittings and cosmetics are typical Gibson for the era with a dark sunburst finished top in a dark stained maple rim, single binding on the front and back, beveled-edge b/w/b pickguard, adjustable rosewood bridge and "clamshell" tailpiece. The single-bound rosewood fingerboard has pearl dot inlay. The headstock sports a gold Gibson script logo and is fitted with Kluson Deluxe strip tuners. The black plastic covered pickup is wired to standard tone and volume controls with numbered amber "hatbox" knobs. While not a particularly rare Gibson this is a fine player's example of the company's most popular electric mandolin, still one of the better instruments of its type ever made.
Overall length is 26 1/4 in. (66.7 cm.), 10 3/8 in. (26.4 cm.) width, and 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 14 in. (356 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
Overall this mandolin presents in very nice all original condition with only minor wear overall. There is one major repair to the treble side rim, which suffered a long crack running from just below the tailpiece to under the pickguard bracket; the mandolin was likely dropped on the jack long ago. The repair is completely solid but visible as the wood was not lined up perfectly and the area has been touched up and noticeably buffed out.
Then rest of the finish is completely original and shows typical checking and some small dings and dents, but no major wear. All hardware is original and complete; the tailpiece cover has some light corrosion. The original frets have been polished a bit, the fingerboard has some kick-up over the body (more on the bass side) but the mandolin is fully playable. This is a cool and useful instrument, complete with the original brown, pink lined deluxe rectangular HSC, a luxury almost never ordered with this instrument. Inside is a virtual history of Gibson mandolin strings in several vintage packages! Overall Very Good + Condition.
Gibson's EM-150 was the company's longest-serving electric Mandolin, in production from 1936 through 1971. This mid-'50s version is basically a standard A-50 style hollow body acoustic mandolin mounting a 4-pole P-90 pickup (sometimes waggishly referred to as the "P-45" or "P-60" although that's not an official Gibson designation!). With the combination of this pickup and a fully hollow body the sound is warmer and mellower than many other electric mandolins, with more acoustic character.
The fittings and cosmetics are typical Gibson for the era with a dark sunburst finished top in a dark stained maple rim, single binding on the front and back, beveled-edge b/w/b pickguard, adjustable rosewood bridge and "clamshell" tailpiece. The single-bound rosewood fingerboard has pearl dot inlay. The headstock sports a gold Gibson script logo and is fitted with Kluson Deluxe strip tuners. The black plastic covered pickup is wired to standard tone and volume controls with numbered amber "hatbox" knobs. While not a particularly rare Gibson this is a fine player's example of the company's most popular electric mandolin, still one of the better instruments of its type ever made.
Overall length is 26 1/4 in. (66.7 cm.), 10 3/8 in. (26.4 cm.) width, and 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 14 in. (356 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
Overall this mandolin presents in very nice all original condition with only minor wear overall. There is one major repair to the treble side rim, which suffered a long crack running from just below the tailpiece to under the pickguard bracket; the mandolin was likely dropped on the jack long ago. The repair is completely solid but visible as the wood was not lined up perfectly and the area has been touched up and noticeably buffed out.
Then rest of the finish is completely original and shows typical checking and some small dings and dents, but no major wear. All hardware is original and complete; the tailpiece cover has some light corrosion. The original frets have been polished a bit, the fingerboard has some kick-up over the body (more on the bass side) but the mandolin is fully playable. This is a cool and useful instrument, complete with the original brown, pink lined deluxe rectangular HSC, a luxury almost never ordered with this instrument. Inside is a virtual history of Gibson mandolin strings in several vintage packages! Overall Very Good + Condition.