John "Red Dog" Young
Professional Musician
San Clemente, CA
"In 1973 I found an old mandolin, all beat up and dirty in a paint bucket at a Kentucky flea market. I bought it for $30! The instrument was in need of help - no strings, no tuners, no nut, no bridge but had no broken wood or cracks. I took it to music stores but nobody could tell me much about it. I decided I wanted to clean it up so I stripped all the old varnish, sanded the top and launched into a refinishing project. After all, it was just a cheap old paint bucket mando! I was quite pleased with my refinishing effort and the tone from the instrument was fantastic!
About this time (1974) I landed a job at the new Gibson plant in Nashville. The kind folks at Gruhn guitar in downtown Nashville identified the instrument as a 1919-1924 Gibson A Jr. It was the Sears catalogue version of a mandolin for the common everyday man - no binding, no inlay in the headstock (apparently they were just labeled with a decal), plain Jane mando. But it also was a member of the acclaimed Lloyd Loar carved top instrument group! Wow!
I've played this thing for many years and now added a Myers mandolin pickup to capture the sound for some upcoming gigs! I've played it through mics but I move around too much so I wanted something on the instrument. Gregg Myers has been a pleasure to work with, the mandolin pickup works great and really captures the tone of this old wood! Thanks Gregg, for bringing this vintage classic to life!
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