2006 Gold Tone GM-70 F-Style Mandolin

May 24, 2021

2006 Gold Tone GM-70 F-Style Mandolin

My friend Gus has owned this GM-70 since new. He bought it so he'd have something respectable to teach students with and, well, it is respectable. It's got that bluegrass pop and sizzle and is about as loud as an old Strad-O-Lin but with a bit more focus and sculpt to the tone. Plus, of course, it's an F-style instrument and looks the biz.

It's clean and looks only "shopworn" save that the leather strap reacted with the finish inside the scroll. You can't actually see this unless you're really looking for it but the finish is a bit alligatored/weirded-out inside the scroll's cut-out. Otherwise it's a very clean instrument that looks like it hung-out on the wall at a music shop for 6 months.

I gave it a glorified setup and restring and now it's ready-to-go and playing fast and easy. It's solid-woods throughout and spruce over maple with a good sunburst.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, restring, cleaning, and setup.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid flamed maple

Bracing type: tonebar

Bridge: rosewood (ebonized)

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: maple

Action height at 12th fret: hair-under 1/16" (fast)
String gauges: 36w-10 lights

Neck shape: medium-bigger C/U

Board radius: flat

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight