One hundred years ago, the archtop mandolin was still a relatively new instrument. This new style—with its carved top and carved back—was spearheaded by a clever luthier named Orville Gibson. This Gibson A-4 rolled out of Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1911. At that point, demand for "The Gibson" mandolins greatly exceeded Orville's production capacity, so he sold the designs and rights to The Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Co., Ltd. With enough capital to expand and hire skilled workers, this Gibson restructuring ushered in the classic era of Gibson mandolins.
This A-4 features the turn-of-the-century A-style teardrop shape with a carved Spruce top, carved Maple back, and a bound oval soundhole. There is a particular throaty, round tone to these old oval soundhole mandolins, and this one sounds fantastic. It is perfectly suited for old-time and traditional styles of music, but it has a warmer, more resonant tone that shines across the board. In 1911, the A-4 was Gibson's top-of-the-line model, so this one features a black top finish and Fleur-de-Lis inlay on the peghead.
Despite the years, this 1911 Gibson A-4 remains a functional, usable instrument by today's standards. A testament to Gibson quality, it still has its original tailpiece, pickguard, and tuning machines. The bridge has been swapped out for a proper intonated adjustable bridge—a design Gibson didn't use until 1921, but is now considered standard on a mandolin. The pickguard has crumbled on the bridge end, which gives it a distinctive and vibey "shark bite." The tailpiece is tarnished, and the engraved tuner buttons feel somewhat brittle as you turn them. But this mandolin holds tune, plays nicely, and produces a rich, warm sound.
This 1911 Gibson A-4 includes a modern hardshell case and a cheesy replacement pickguard we chose not to install. It shows some scuffs and cosmetic signs of its age (see photos), but it's in impressive shape for such an old instrument. There are a few breaks on the fingerboard binding, and there is a cosmetic crack on the side end around the tailpiece. In that location, there also appears to be a small repair to the back edge, which is typical of old Gibson mandolins.
All-in-all, this Gibson A-4 is a great-sounding, great-playing prewar mandolin. It has sincere charm and the authentic mojo of a well-played 100-year-old instrument. True to the Gibson reputation, it is still holding strong and will likely exceed expectations.