1995 Flatiron 2MC
This Flatiron mandolin doesn’t look like much but I’ve always thought they were one of the great unsung instruments. The design was based on a model called the Army-Navy that Gibson designed to be sold inexpensively to soldiers and sailors during World War I. Gibson only made the model from 1918 to 1922 and it was quickly forgotten. In 1977 Steve Carlson revived the style for his new Flatiron line of mandolins. I’ve played a handful of Gibson Army-Navys over the years and I have to say they didn’t really sound that good. They tended to be too lightly built and just had thin, reedy tone. But somehow Carlson saw the merit in the design and managed to make a new mandolin that sounded better than the original. The Flatirons were a little more heavily built, which gave them a louder, richer tone and a nice sustain. These mandolins aren’t great for bluegrass, but I think they are good for blues, jazz, old-time and especially Celtic styles.
This particular model is the 2MC, which was the middle of the line. The cheapest model was the 1N, which had no binding and used very plain maple for the sides and back. The fanciest model was the 3 Series that used highly figured maple in the back and sides, binding around the top and back and a soundhole rosette. The 2MC used some nice curly maple for the back and sides, and featured a very simple top binding. Some time in the mid-1980s Flatiron started making some very well-done carved top mandolins. In 1987 the Flatiron company was purchased by Gibson, who had stopped making mandolins when they moved teh factory from Kalamazoo to Nashville. For a while Flatiron made both Gibson mandolins and instruments under their own name. Sometime around 2000 the Flatiron brand was discontinued, which was too bad. I could see why Gibson didn’t want the confusion of offering two styles of carved mandolins, but these flat mandolins were too good to let die. This particular mandolin is priced at $625, which is a great price for an all-solid wood, American-made mandolin. It can be found at Gryphon Stringed Instruments.
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