Empire Guitars Acoustic 1914 Gibson A-1 Mandolin

Summary: This is a beautiful vintage Gibson A-1 Mandolin that was built around 1914 and it has stood the test of time. With over 100 years of play and love, this incredible Gibson was made to last for another 100 years. The generous 1 7/32″ nut width with radiused fingerboard is also favored by many contemporary players for its notable ease in fingering. With smooth low action over original frets, and a comfy gentle “C” profile neck, the instrument has a brilliant clear voice with excellent depth and projection. Even the original Gibson fiber case has survived the decades in good condition. A rare and exceptionally attractive example of prewar Gibson craftsmanship at its finest.

Body: A style with a fully bound arched spruce top, arched birch back and birch sides.

Neck: 2-piece mahogany neck with a dark center stripe and an ebony fingerboard, 20 frets, 13 7/8” scale length, 1 7/32 nut width.

Pickups/Hardware: Original open back tuning machines, original raised tortoise plastic pickguard with the marking “Pat.Mar.30.09”, original “The Gibson” tailpiece cover and original pearloid “The Gibson” headstock logo.

Cosmetics: This instrument is in pretty good shape considering it is over 100 years old. There are normal signs of wear, a few dings, and nicks on the body, lots of wear around the headstock, scratching on the pickguard and some tarnish on the tailpiece. There is some shrinkage in the binding near the nut and there is some separation on the heel of the neck where the back of the instrument meets the neck. The frets have a lot of wear on random positions of the fretboard.

Playability: This vintage Gibson plays well but there is a lot of fret-wear. There is a bit of buzzing on the on the first fret on the two bass strings.

Modifications: The strap button at the end of the instrument looks like it has been chipped around the edges.

Weight: 2.4 lbs.

Case: This wonderful Gibson comes with the original vintage hard-shell case & we will ship it fully insured and well packaged.