1913 Gibson H2 Archtop Mandola

Shop friend Kenji brought this spectacular H2 mandola in for a board plane, refret, and setup work. It's so dang clean that it hurts! And the finish? Oh, my, so pretty. Jose did all the work and then also replaced the (later-addition) adjustable bridge's top with a fresh ebony one with proper, mandola-intonation compensation. It had a normal mandolin one on there which would have made the Ds play flat and the As play sharp. As per the usual, Jose did a fantastic job.

This might be the cleanest old Gibson 'dola I've had through the shop and it doesn't hurt that it now plays like a champ, too. I can't overstate how nice it is to have fresh wire in a Gibson mando-family fretboard. It really bumps-up the feel and gives every note a bit more definition and sustain.

It's got a solid (carved) spruce top over solid birch back and sides. The neck is mahogany and the board and bridge are ebony. This one has the Handel tuners with their crazily-engraved buttons. The fleur-de-lis and inlaid "The Gibson" in the headstock are icing on the cake.

Its 2422 factory order number points to a 1913 build.