This Gibson F-5L Fern mandolin has the ‘L’ designation, for Lloyd Loar; the F-5L model was introduced in 1978 as a return to the specifications Lloyd Loar used on his original F-5 Master Model instruments between 1922 and 1924.

While Gibson arguably invented the modern mandolin with the combination of violin and mandolin elements, and Gibson mandolins were the standby for perhaps a century, Gibson mandolins have been hard to come by for some time. This is partly due to a focus by a lot of the musical world on guitars, but also partly due to the devastating effects of the 2010 floods in Nashville. These floods destroyed key elements of Gibson’s mandolin and banjo production, and it was two years before we started seeing any mandolins from Gibson – no banjos have been made since.

The Gibson F-5L Fern mandolin features the classic F-style scroll body, with a carved spruce top, flame maple sides and a carved flame maple back. The neck is flame maple with a rounded V profile, bound ebony fingerboard, and a lovely fern inlay on the headstock. Of course, it sounds like a Gibson F-5 mandolin – lots of volume, presence and projection, with a great mix of brightness and depth.

Plays extremely well straight from the case, and we will of course adjust the setup to the player’s requirements.

*Note Gibson has discontinued all mandolin production.

Gibson F-5L Fern Mandolin Features:

• Flame maple neck with bound ebony fingerboard, bound headstock with The Gibson and Fern inlays.
• Frets: 29 nickel silver frets.
• Body: Classic Loar – style F-5 body with scroll; carved spruce top, carved flame maple back, flame maple sides. Tone bar bracing with two F-holes.
• Gold Grover tuners with pearlescent buttons, gold plated tailpiece, bound faux tortoise pickguard with gold-plated bracket.
• Rosewood adjustable bridge with gold plated supports and thumbwheels.

 The example shown is built during 2014 at Gibson’s Nashville shop.