The Eastman MDC805 Mandocello is a wonderful, rich sounding instrument that works well as a solo, ensemble or accompaniment instrument in a wide range of styles and genres, from Celtic to Classical, Latin and back again. The Mandocello had been in existence for some centuries in Europe, beginning with flat back and then bowl back. However, in 1905 Orville Gibson’s company began producing mandolin family instruments, including Mandocello models that drew from his blending of violin and guitar concepts.
Gibson
Built from 1992 to 1994, the Gibson Starburst Standard uses a cutaway mini-Jumbo body built of Maple, and as its name suggests features arrays of star shaped inlays. This model was popular, and Jorma Kaukonen apparently had several that he used regularly, including the blue-finished model in the Homespun Tapes clip linked here. The Gibson Starburst was a model produced for a short time in limited numbers in Bozeman, Montana and was designed chiefly by Ren Ferguson. Intended to mark the 100th anniversary of Orville Gibson’s first guitar sales, the Starburst aims towards players who need to amplify their guitars. As such, its wood choices are intended to reduce resonance and volume and thus reduce feedback.
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MORE →Here we have a rarity – a Gibson ES-335 Dot P90 model, from the now closed Memphis Tennessee plant, a blend of the ES-335 and the single coil P-90 equipped ES-330. This model was produced by the Memphis plant for a short time during 2019 and there’s no sign that it will appear again any time soon.
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MORE →The Gibson Gary Moore Les Paul was built from 2000 to 2002 at Nashville, Tennessee and reflects but doesn’t copy Moore’s 1959 Burst originally used by Peter Green in Fleetwood Mac. Taking a regular Les Paul body and neck, the Gibson Gary Moore model does away with body and neck binding, and has a wiring or magnetic configuration that mimics the ‘out of phase’ tone on Peter Green’s Burst. Green felt that the pickup had been physically reversed, but in reality one of the pickup magnets may have been reversed as a manufacturing error.
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MORE →Here’s a lovely Gibson J185 Custom Quilt, one of a run of 65 instruments built with sides and back of a fantastic AAA grade Quilted Maple set. Gibson introduced the J-185 in 1951 and was built until 1958, and production resumed again with updated specs in 1990. During 1962, a new Everly Brothers J-180 was designed. Based on the J-185, that model featured an adjustable bridge, star inlays, and top and bottom pickguards, and that was built till 1972.
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MORE →Introduced in early 1958, the Gibson ES335 was an immediate hit with most players who had been using full bodied archtop guitars, because it addressed very real issues with increasing stage volumes. It was adopted by players in almost every genre, from country to jazz, R&B to rock. Originally equipped with a stop tailpiece and adjustable tune-o-matic or ABR bridge, in 1965 Gibson switched to a traditional simple trapeze tailpiece, and continued to do so until discontinuing the model in 1981. In the meantime, many guitarists removed the trapeze and had stop tailpieces installed on their ES335s.
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