The Flatiron mandolins were founded in the mid 1970s and in 1987 Gibson acquired the brand and started making mandolins in their Bozeman Montana factory. In 1996 production moved to Nashville, Tennessee. This A5’s serial dates to 1991 making it a Gibson era, Bozeman, Montana hand built instrument. This A5 plays and sounds wonderful. The instrument exhibits a beautiful flamed maple back, sides, and neck, along with a rich Ebony fingerboard and bridge. The double bound binding is starting to age to a pleasant cream/yellow color.
This Flatiron A5 Mandolin is in very good condition with a few cosmetic signs of wear. There are light pick scratches on the body, three tiny marks (bass side) by the 11th fret, light scratch (treble side) by the 1st fret, and two tiny visible lines where on each side of the headstock by where the two piece are glued on to the three-piece headstock. Original hard-shell case is included.