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Dan Beimborn
I'm the designer and author of this site, and also the guy who does all of
the data entry. This database was originally going to be just a guide to the
old Gibson mandolins, but I'm happy to say it got nicely out of hand from there.
I have 2 CDs in release with a fair amount of old Gibsons on them that you
can look at on my CDs page. I occasionally perform and teach Irish Mandolin
& Bouzouki.
I also host the very busy Mandolin Cafe
site on this server.
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Scott Tichenor has done many things for the mandolin world, including creating the wonderful
Mandolin Cafe website. He is a very helpful and
encouraging person who helped to put me in touch with the right people, gently nagged me to
keep things moving, and generously donated funds to get this web site off the ground.
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Darryl Wolfe, author of the F5 Journal, has
probably done more research on vintage Gibson mandolins (especially the F5 mandolins signed &
dated by Lloyd Loar) than any other person alive. He contributed lavish details on the F5 mandolins
(and many others) to this database, and many remarkable pictures & historical anecdotes that
pepper this collection. If you have an interest in F5 mandolins, Darryl's books & photographs
have no equal in the mandolin world.
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Stan Werbin, owner of Elderly Instruments in Lansing,
Michigan, gave the mandolin archive copies of Elderly's detailed records on Gibson Mandolins. The
initial data comprised records on over 500 instruments, including many observations & crucial
pieces of information that can be found nowhere else. Stan also very generously donated the use
of Elderly's extensive photographic archives of musical instruments that have passed through their
hands on the way from one musician to another.
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Frank Ford is one of the founders of Gryphon
Strings in Palo Alto, California. World-reknowned as a repair technician, Frank has also kept
careful notes on over 2,000 Gibson instruments that appear in this archive. You are invited to join
many another musician or instrument fananatic in viewing Frank's magnificent
Frets.com web site.
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Lowell Levinger, in addition to being a heck of a nice guy, presides over one of the
finest inventories of prime Gibsons at his Players
Vintage Instruments web site. Lowell has provided the archives with a number of photographs,
descriptions, and opinions on features of vintage instruments.
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Stan Jay, owner of Mandolin Bros. in Staten Island,
New York is known to many as a poetic penner of magnificent musical instrument descriptions.
Mandolin Brothers is known as a great place to look for vintage musical instruments. Their
Mandolin Listings are capable of
sucking you in for hours at a time.
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Charles Johnson, has been playing, collecting and selling mandolins and other fine instruments for 20 years. His website Mandolin World Headquarters was a pioneer in internet marketing, having been online since 1995. There is always a fine selection of mandolins available, both Gibsons and small shop builders. Charles has provided the archives with a number of photographs and descriptions of vintage Gibsons.
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George Gruhn is a new contributor to the Mandolin Archive, and one of the most knowledgable
and experienced experts on vintage musical instruments in the world.
Gruhn Guitars has been a fixture in Nashville for over 20 years,
and continues to be one of the must-stop Mecca destinations for musicians around the world.
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Ken Waltham is a well-regarded collector of Gibson instruments with an
uncanny knack for finding the best and most unusual instruments around. Ken has
provided us with especially nice Loar period instruments, Fern F5s, and details
on unusual truss-rod Gibsons.
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John West
Collects all sorts of musical instruments, including an unparalled assortment of the
earliest Gibson mandolins. Much of what we know about the Orville label Gibson
instruments has been thanks to John's careful documentation and his remarkable
collection of them. John also has several very nice Martin instruments and is
involved with the organization of the
Wintergrass Festival held every year in
Tacoma, Washington.
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