Gibson Style A-1 Snakehead Model Carved Top Mandolin (1924), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, black lacquer finish, birch back and sides, spruce top, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
A great-playing and sounding original Style A mandolin from late 1924, just at the the end of of the "Loar era" at Gibson. These are generally considered the best-sounding roundhole "A" style mandolins ever made, and this one certainly bears this out. This Style A is a fine example of Gibson's craftsmanship at the apex of the mandolin era, just before the company's focus shifted to banjos and then guitars.
These "Snakehead" instruments are revered for their unmatched tone and projection and have all the most advanced features of the era, including the adjustable truss rod, raised adjustable bridge, and slim neck profile. Top is a black lacquer finish with thin double inlaid wood soundhole ring with a wide celluloid center band; "The Gibson" logo is silver paint in straight-accross script. The tortoise celluloid pickguard is fully intact and is held with the new-style screw bracket clamp. These distinctive "Loar era" A mandolins have become ever more sought-after by discerning players.
Lloyd Loar's tenure as acoustic engineer at Gibson has become so mythical that sometimes separating fact from fiction is difficult. Certainly the mandolin family instruments made during the period of Loar's employment are the most perfectly realized in Gibson's history, and have become the template for most similar instruments since.
The mandolins of the "Loar era" 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 of the early 1920's. Loar was primarily concerned with 'voicing' the instruments properly; the Master Model Style 5 line was his greatest contribution with their violin-style F-hole tops, but all Gibson mandolin family instruments were refined and improved at the same time.
Overall length is 26 7/16 in. (67.1 cm.), 10 1/4 in. (26 cm.) wide, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 13 3/4 in. (349 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/8 in. (29 mm.).
Very nice overall; some fairly heavy wear to the back and a ding near the soundhole, otherwise finish is quite clean. Tuners are period Waverlys but possibly not original to this mandolin; all other parts original. Complete with a fine original case. Excellent Condition.
