Guitar of the Day: 1923 Gibson Lloyd Loar F-5 Mandolin | Norman's Rare Guitars

It’s #WeirdAssWednesday!!! #GuitarOfTheDay: 1923 Gibson F-5 Mandolin in Original Cremona Sunburst finish with Lloyd Loar signature on the label. Store manager, Mark Agnesi, showing you how our #Gibson #Mandolin sounds like here at #NormansRareGuitars! For any questions you may have or price inquires please give us a call at 818-344-8300. So what do you guys think?
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[@joemamma3288]

Man that was awesome. I vote for an occasional Mandolin Monday.

[@jamiej14544]

That mandolin is 95 years old and had all that time to cure and produce those classic bell like tones that make it truly a classic. The Lloyd Loar Mandolin is the other flagship Gibson instrument, along with the Les Paul, SG and J-200 flat top guitars, thanks to Bill Monroe playing it. Worth in excess of 150k.

[@jCd1058]

One of my son's most valued possessions is the 1923 Gibson A-style mandolin he inherited from his great grandmother's estate via his great uncle. He learned on a much less expensive instrument during his second year of college. He would die for a Lloyd Loar F-5!

[@MichaelEdelman1954]

Speaking as a mandolin player of 30+ years... not bad!

[@Chrispy_tV]

Leave the mandolin, take the cannoli.

[@andrewpappas9311]

Norman's Rare Mandolins

[@RockHardRiffs]

Pretty damn freaking good for playing less than 24 hours. Bravo! Very cool!

[@HBSuccess]

I saw David Grisman play in Ithaca NY last winter (special guest of Tommy Emmanuel) , and he talked about selling his Loar. For anyone wondering what this is worth.... rumor has it Chris Thile (Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek) laid down around $250-300K for his '24 Loar...(the range is a buck and a half to "whatever the market will bear") with the best of the lot commanding the most... but all of them a trade for a decent house in most parts of the USA. But unlike vintage guitars, the players who buy Lloyd Loar Gibson F5s PLAY them. They tour with them and they record with them, and they do maintenance and repairs on them as needed. These mandos are not going to wind up locked up in Japan or Saudi Arabia. I'm no expert but if you check the Mando forums and etc the hardcore F5 fans know the whereabouts of every signed Loar, and the subtle variations in sound from each of them. There are builders today who are duplicating these instruments with similar results - still not cheap, you'll pay $20K or more for a John McClanahan F5 (he builds them in literally - a mini barn shed, out behind his single-wide trailer). Check out

[@WildwoodSon]

Gibson introduced the F-5 mandolin in June of 1922 so I suspect that Loar was employed by Gibson before that date. Beautiful mandolin, and not bad playing from a "beginner." Thanks for sharing.

[@mikeymojo8299]

#WeirdAssWed

[@MrStephen54]

Mark,,when you talked through the history..pure captivation..Norm should be so proud he's got you in there...well done sir,,]

[@SuperRandomName101]

Man these joints are so informative . I love em

[@robtsologtr]

He mentions a Loar A model. There was one. It was a special order. It showed up at Elderly Instruments a few years ago, a fellow wanted to consign it, turns out he didn't have permission to so it went back. While in Lansing Mike Kemnitzer of Nugget Mandolins visited, and took it to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, MI for MRI scanning. At one time Tut Taylor had it - he loaned it to Sam Bush, there are early Bush pictures (probably when he was with the Bluegrass Alliance) with it.

[@davidcheever665]

Outstanding....and truly appreciate the history and info you provide on all these G.O.T.D. vids......

[@toddflowers8052]

That is the nicest example of an F-5 from that era I've ever seen !Very cool !

[@crusherbmx]

It's beautiful!! And good job, Mark! Mandolins are fun to play.

[@RRStout]

Brilliant !!! Way to go Mark, you are the man !!!

[@mikejohnston8275]

The fact we get to see this sort of instrument and get a history lesson in one free video is awesome, you definitely earned an invitation to slashes party

[@mattluscombe2071]

That just proves what a talented musician Mark is - absolutely f ing awesome!! Keep up the good work. Happy Birthday Nico

[@prestonmoore6120]

This is fucking crazy. Loar mandolins are legendary