1906 Gibson A-3 Carved-Top Mandolin

Update 2026: I first worked on this in 2018 and then a friend of mine bought it from the owner in 2022. This is a repost, in a sense, and I've borrowed my description from the original posting and updated it where needed.

Overview: A customer brought this pretty thing by for spiffing-up and I'm certainly glad he did. It's not often that I get to work on Gibson mandolins that are this early in production. 1906 was the last year old Orville was on the label in the soundhole and both the serial number and factory order number confirm the year of build.

Unlike later Gibsons, this one was built with a much shallower break-angle of the neck to the body and thus the bridge is lower and more similar to the height on other makes' flattop and bowlback instruments. It doesn't suffer for sound, though: it's loud and proud of it with a sweet, punchy voice that a lot of teens-era Gibson A-models would love to have.

Repairs included: There was old work done to the instrument in the past, but what it needed from me was relatively simple -- I reset the neck (and at the same time glued-up the heel crack), gave it a fret level/dress, and set it up with 34w-10 strings (I think it may have 32w-9 on it at the moment).

I mention the old work because when I was going to reset the neck, I removed the binding on the fretboard and after I did so, the fretboard extension from the joint onward practically fell off. It's comprised (like the rest of the board) of funky old ebonized maple, and apparently had been halfheartedly-reglued at some point in the past. On the underside, a number of small hairline cracks told the story of some heavy-handedness in trying to get the neck off in the past. However, the detached end of the board made my work a little easier, at least.

It was still a tricky job to get it all back together without too much fuss and while I was tempted to knock the neck angle back farther, I decided to play it safe and leave it around the factory angle. That angle works well in winter (with lower humidity) but for summer I had to make a second bridge that's a hair lower due to top swell with increased humidity (currently on it in the photos).

So: it's ready to go, looks grand, and plays sharp. What more is there to ask?

• Weight: 1 lb 10 oz
• Scale length: 13 7/8"
• Nut width: 1 1/4"
• Neck shape: deeper V
• Board radius: flat
• Depth at first fret: 0.92"
• Depth at seventh fret: 1.02"
• Body width: 10 3/8"
• Body depth: 1 5/8"
• Top wood: solid spruce
• Back & sides wood: solid birch
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: rosewood
• Fretboard: ebonized maple
• Neck wood: mahogany
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16”
• String gauges: 34w-10 (or 32w-9)
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: very low/narrow

Condition notes: There are small scratches, scuffs, tiny nicks and dings, and whatnot throughout the finish but overall it looks really good. The heel has a repaired hairline crack lower-down (just beyond the dovetail). I did a repair job to the hanger-posts on the tailpiece in the past and it's still going strong.

It comes with: It has a newer, rectangular hard case.

Consignor tag: RRED