The First Quality Music Blog

Howdy folks.  Just wanted to give everyone a short clip of the new Gibson F-10 Mandolin.   You can check out all the details at the First Quality website.

Have you ever wanted to get a Gibson Mandolin, but wanted a little wider neck?  A little larger frets? Maybe a scooped fingerboard or a pickguard added. For our banjo playing friends maybe a Granda Flying Eagle but in a Tenor or a Plectrum or maybe a Walnut neck instead of  Curly Maple.  Now you can!  Gibson Original Instruments have opened up their Custom Shop and now you can custom spec your favorite Bluegrass Instrument.  Give us a call and let us help you build the instrument of your dreams.   Ask for Jeff or Murrell  at 800.635.2021

Tim Finch and the Eastman Road Show arrives a day early to get everything set up for the First Quality Music / Eastman event.  This is sure to be one heck of an event. We thought Tim was only bringing 50 instruments but he showed up with 85! Tim has brought with him an array of instruments that he takes to shows.  We cannot post our sale pricing on our website but will have the inventory listed on firstqualitymusic.com and you can call for the details.

For those that can’t make it to our store on Saturday be sure to check out our website to see the full product list that will be available during our Eastman Day sales event!  Sales prices will be available by phone for one-day only. First come first serve, make sure and call early to get our one-day prices before they are all gone becaue  at 5:00 pm they head off to the next show.   Phones open up at 10:00 a.m.   800.635.2021

PT10 Mini Tuner

UPDATE:The PT-10 is now available! Check it out on the FQMS Website here: http://www.firstqualitymusic.com/c_4/p_IT-PT10.aspx

WoW!  what can we say! Mark Wilson and the fine folks at Onboard Research have done it again with an awesome little tuner, the PT10 Mini. We have seen the prototypes and they are great. The good news is that they will be available in just a few days for immediate shipment here at First Quality Music. I got with Mark and asked him to share with us how they came to the new design, here are Mark’s comments:

Competition keeps progress flowing, and we have greatly benefited from the influx of lowcost tuners that adopted the clip-on approach to tuning.  We at OnBoard have gotten feedback over the years from thousands of PT1 users who described the features and capabilities that they liked, as well as the little things that did not like.  So we decided to design a tuner that was small and compact, very lightweight, with a very bright backlight, a clamp that won’t loosen up and fall or get knocked off an instrument, and nestle it snugly behind the instrument’s headstock where it can be seen by the musician but not be distracting to an audience.

Plus, while we were at IBMA, someone approached us with the idea of a light that would change when the string went in-tune, and suggested this approach would make tuning faster because the switch in backlight colors could be seen in peripheral vision, allowing the musician to stay in better contact with the audience during necessary tune-ups.  We implemented a design that glows red when out of tune and snaps to green when the string goes into tune, and the effect is stunning.  It really does make tuning easier and faster.

Lastly, although many people prefer the Intellitouch arrow display, we heard from other people who expressed appreciation for the traditional needle style of display.  Therefore, for the Intellitouch PT10 Mini. we are tipping our hat to the needle displays of the world and offering what we believe is the best one available.

Of course, the PT10 Mini comes with OnBoard’s exclusive Lifetime “No Questions Asked” Warranty\ that will apply anytime, for any reason for anyone.

Tight accuracy, durable, lightweight, attractive, snug, with a lifetime warranty and priced right: the Intellitouch PT10 “Mini” from OnBoard Research

The PT10 Mini Tuner by Onboard Resarch has a Retail Price of  $39.95 First Quality will offer them at $29.95.

The new Sam Bush 1934 Limited Edition Fern has arrived at First Quality Music.  Just a limited run of 25 instruments will be hand signed, the mandolin was inspired by Newgrass master mandolin player Sam Bush and created under the watchful eye of Gibson’s master luthier David Harvey.  Gibson created a marriage of the Gibson Fern and the now famous Sam Bush model mandolin.  This mandolin features many of the same appointments as the instrument depicted in the 1934 catalog, including the figured maple body chassis with a red spruce top, the mother of pearl block fingerboard inlays and the Fern peghead inlay made from genuine abalone pearl. The instrument’s stunning nitro-cellulose lacquer finish — painted in a ’30s Iced Tea burst color — is also faithfully recreated, giving the instrument its alluring vintage patina.  You can check out this beautiful instrument on our website, and if you in the Louisville area be sure to stop by our showroom where we’ll be happy to let you see (and pick) it first hand.

I’ll be heading up to Beanblossom with some special discounts on Friday the 18^th.  I’ll be at the Plate Mate, Tone Ring Mate booth with our friend Mitch Meadors.  Drop by and say howdy if you can and pick up our 2009 First Quality Music catlaog and a discount coupon just for our Beanblossom buddies.  Hope to see you there!

Murrell Thixton

This is your chance to get face to face with an Eastman factory representative. Talk guitars & mandolins, and learn about the new items that will be offered in the coming months. Our rep, Tim Finch, is bringing an array of electric, acoustic & archtop guitars, oval hole & f-style mandolins, and mandolas that you certainly don’t want to miss. We will also be having a one day only sales event! Read below for more details!
Date: JUNE 20, 2009One Day Only Sales Event – Showroom and Phone Orders

Time: 10 am – 5 pm

We will be hosting one of the biggest Eastman sales events EVER! There will be over 50 instruments on hand, current and older models, and they will all be offered at incredibly low sale prices. Our factory rep is also bringing numerous scratch-n-dent items that will be available for purchase at prices that are sure to be easy on your wallet. As if having a sale of this magnitude wasn’t enough, we will also be having a mandolin giveaway (must be present to win)! Don’t miss this opportunity to meet musicians around the area and take advantage of this incredible sales event by Eastman and First Quality Music!

For those that can’t make it to our store on Saturday be sure to check out our website Friday evening to see the full product list that will be available during our Eastman Day sales event!  Sales prices will be available by phone for one day only. First come first serve, make sure and call early to get our one day prices before they are all gone.   Phones open up at 10:00 a.m.

Mandolin builder Paul Duff, his wife Maria and the rest of his group Bluegrass Parkway stopped by for a visit before heading off to Lexington for their performance at the Festival of The Bluegrass.   Paul took a moment to pick us a tune on our Old Growth Gibson Master Model mandolin.  We caught our pal Nathan Livers passing through and asked him to set in with Paul and mate Donal Baylor on a jam of Gold Rush.

Bluegrass Parkway’s banjo picker Mick O’Neill was sampling some instruments in the First Quality banjo room and we caught him playing Sunflower Dance.  Give a listen.

We just got in our first shipment of new Jam Master Gibson Mandolins,  all we can say is WOW!  Dave Harvey and Crew down at Gibson Original Instruments have sure done a fine job on these new offerings.  Below is some information on these fine instruments. Check them out on line.

Jam Master Series Standard F-style Mandolin
The new Jam Master Series Standard F-style mandolin descends straight out of Gibson tradition, delivering a fresh new take on one of Gibson’s most popular mandolin lines. Each F-style mandolin is crafted with all the artistry of a world-class mandolin maker, along with a no-nonsense, hard-traveled, but much-loved look that lets these superb instruments sit in at any occasion. Stripped-down appointments offer a simple yet elegant look, while making way for the performance-enhancing elements that players of the Jam Masters Series will certainly appreciate. F-holes remain unbound, there’s no neck or headstock binding, no position markers on the fretboard (side dots only), and no inlay on the peghead, just the timeless Gibson logo decal. All of the notable luthiery features you do find, however, are in the tone and playability departments.

Bigger Frets, New Satin Finish Equals Improved Performance
Each new F-style Jam Master Standard Mandolin features a top carved from solid spruce, trimmed with simple single-ply binding to contrast its classic Gibson Sheraton Brown color with satin lacquer finish. The back and sides are constructed from figured maple, and the figured maple necks are hand-shaped to Gibson’s popular “rounded V” profile, with a 1 3/16″ width at the nut providing enhanced comfort and finger room across the radiused ebony fingerboard. Thirteen of the mandolin’s 20 frets clear the body, and are a little bigger than the traditional frets typically fitted on vintage mandolins – a modification that improves fingering for many players and playing styles, and one that many contemporary players are sure to appreciate. Advanced constructional features include Gibson’s time-tested tone bar bracing, a radiused dovetail neck joint, and a genuine bone nut all help to enhance the instrument’s resonance and projection. An adjustable ebony bridge and nickel Grover tuners round out the package.

Test Drive a Jam Master Mandolin at Your Nearest Gibson Dealer
The first 100 Jam Masters Series F-style mandolins will be signed by Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments’ Master Luthier David Harvey. Every instrument in the series will come in a snug pouch-plentiful padded travel bag, making it ready for the road and easy to haul from site to site. Contact a Gibson Dealer near you, or visit one of the internet dealers, and let the jamming begin.

See all the photos on firstqualitymusic.com

This week we had some very special guest stop by the shop here at First Quality Music. Bluegrass group “Men Of The Week” paid us a visit while here in town playing a show for a Kentucky Derby Festival party. Mandolin player Leevon DeCourley got a treat when we handed him our Gibson Master Model “Old Growth” prototype. He put a few chops on it and didn’t want to put it down.  Dillon Scott is the banjo player and we asked him to test drive our new Sullivan “Prewar” prototype banjo.  We’ve been working on this one for sometime now and we’re just putting the final touches on it. C.J. Lewandowski is the guitar player of the group and he chose a Martin D28 Marquis Madagascar to pay along with their fine Fiddle player, Gerald Jones.  Their web address is www.myspace.com/menoftheweek  Here is a small video clip of their visit.