![the flatiron mandolin company the flatiron mandolin company](https://image.made-in-china.com/202f0j00cfhYCiZasLzV/Pango-Music-All-Solid-Wood-a-Mandolin-PMA-014-.jpg)
#The flatiron mandolin company free
Any more questions, please feel free to send an email to me. I am asking $1770 including shipping and Paypal fees.į you pick it up it will be $1730. These mandolins are hard to come by at the moment. He can also vouch for the playability and tone of this mandolin. You can find a video of the exact same model being played here:įrank is minding it for me in Bledsoe Kentucky so if you live close to him you can pick it up. I am selling this as I commissioned this great mandolin but no longer need it as I already have a great Collings MT mandolin. Mandolin case:Travellite F5 mandolin case Tuners: Gold plated plate! Grovers 309 with ivoroid buttonsīinding: Triple bound on front and headstock and on the back, no binding on fretboard Inlays:Inlays: computer cut maple wood fern inlay on headstock, MOP dots ( as shown in third photo) Headstock dark ebony color with light wood veneerīack, Sides and Neck:Local Curly Maple (Sugar Maple)įingerboard:12" radiused unbound ebony fretboard Normally this would sell for $2500 new.Ĭolour:light orange (was amber) on front back and sides red as per photo it is loud and is well balanced across the strings. You might enjoy looking at that too.I have for sale a mint 2016 Gray A5 mandolin. thanks Greenspan and Bernanke!įlatiron F5 Artist 85100109 is featured on the cover of my book The Mandolin Handbook. Prices for quality mandolins have certainly gone up.
![the flatiron mandolin company the flatiron mandolin company](https://www.guitar-list.com/sites/default/files/styles/logo-pic/public/flatiron-label.png)
It would have been a great investment to have bought a couple of them. While digging around I uncovered my original warranty card and the actual receipts from when I bought my mandolin. If nothing else, the photography is beautiful and even those "not in the know" about Bozeman Flatirons will have something to drool over. I hope that this brochure and the first-hand historical information it presents, in the words of Steve Carlson, will clarify certain details regarding particulars of each model at the time. The brochure is a beautiful 6 page, full-color, offset printed single sheet which folds down to 8.5" x 11". Play one someday, if you can pry it out of the hands of the owner, and you will know what I mean. But, the Flatirons, pre-Gibson made in Bozeman, will never be forgotten! They were in a class all their own because of their amazing tonal qualities and craftsmanship. Probably that was smart corporate marketing strategy. Some years later, Gibson began the downgrading and dismemberment of the Flatiron trademark. This is before Gibson acquired the company, probably recognizing that their F5s were being slaughtered in the market by this upstart.
![the flatiron mandolin company the flatiron mandolin company](https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--pkx1jSdA--/a_exif,c_limit,e_unsharp_mask:80,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_south,h_620,q_90,w_620/v1455044194/b6sazu722dbcxgl9ovts.jpg)
On the back of the brochure, on page 6, you see the address of the company and please note that there is no mention of Gibson. I assume that was his way of signing the text. For example, the opening sentence on page 5 states in part, "In the early part of 1981 I started working on our carved top project." In the lower right corner of that page is a black and white photo of a Steve Carlson signature shot through the bass side f-hole. It is not specifically signed by Steve Carlson but, in context, it is clearly written by him because it is written in first person. (Clicking on the image will bring you a larger version) Later in the next paragraph he states, "In 1986 we will present two new models." which is future tense. I am pretty sure it has to be from late 1984 or early 1985 because on page 5 Carlson states, "The majority of time from May of 1983 to June of 1984." so we know we are past June 1984. Recently, when digging through my accumulation of books and old catalogs I discovered the 1985 Flatiron Mandolins brochure which I picked up at Jackson's music before I got my mandolin. In a previous article I told the story of how I came to become the curator and player of a 1985 Flatiron F5 Artist. Steve Carlson is a mysterious figure in this story and very little can be found on the internet which sheds light on the story. There is an underground, cult-like flock of mandolin insiders who recognize the Bozeman Flatiron mandolins as probably the greatest revival of commercial mandolin quality since the Lloyd Loar period at Gibson.