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Hi all!

My wife took us to a small local event this summer featuring a large Gibson collection and Dave Harvey, a Gibson luthier who (I think) heads up their mandolin division. Among other things he played this beauty and it sounded amazing: I forget at this point which "L" version it was but it was on the early side due to the arched top and back. My understanding is that Gibson morphed this into a flat top/arched back version (Robert Johnson?) and then later it seems it went to flat/flat combo.

I've always had a soft spot for this early Gibson shape and have a feeling I'll be building one of these versions in the future, but before I go much further I was curious if anyone has built one of these? It seems there were tons of variations along the way so would love to hear any thoughts on things to do and/or avoid.

Thanks!

M friend Carter Ruff ( http://submusicworks.com ) is also partial to that Gibson shape. He's built several, including some with carved arched backs.

Thank you!!

He does beautiful work, wow! And he's done an arch top with a wood combination I was wondering about, i will definitely contact him.

Here's a photo of one he built. This one doesn't have a carved back.

He was very helpful - thanks for the contact!

Best,

Clay

Glad to hear it Carter is a really nice guy.