1930s EM-150

Gibson
The Gibson Company pioneered new designs in acoustic mandolins, and also built one of the earliest and most successful mass-produced electric mandolins: the EM-150. Introduced in 1936, this hollowbody, 8-string instrument at first featured the same "Charlie Christian" pickup used on some of Gibson's archtop guitars, with a notch cut in the pickguard to accommodate the pickup. See the top photo for an example. EM-150s built between 1941 and 1949 have a rectangular screw-pole pickup; post-1949 instruments have a "soapbar" pickup similar to the P-90 used on the Les Paul guitar. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe these pickups are not identical to P-90s in that they have only four poles as opposed to six.) Gibson discontinued the EM-150 in 1971. The instrument's simple design—a standard A-style mandolin with a few extra holes for pickup, jack, and volume and tone knobs—is probably still the most common configuration for electric mandolins, and has been copied ad nauseam by low-end manufacturers of every stripe. Used ones range from $750 to about $1500; the older Charlie Christians are more desirable and therefore more expensive.


1941 EM-150

1956 EM-150


EM-200


1959 EM-200

It's often mistakenly called the EM-250, but EM-200 is the correct model number. Also known as the "Electric Florentine," this mandolin is much harder to find than its acoustic/electric cousin. It's probably the first 8-string solidbody ever produced, definitely one of the best looking, and certainly the best known. Like the later EM-150s, it featured a sawed-off P-90 pickup. It was available in sunburst and, I think, red finishes as well as the black pictured here. Jeff Bird of the Cowboy Junkies uses an EM-200; Nash the Slash once played one, but no longer does. The most famous EM-200 owner I can think of is rockabilly/swing guitarist Brian Setzer, but he no longer owns his—Mandolin Bros. sold it a few years back.
      Gibson produced the EM-200 between 1954 and 1971. (A couple of early examples—presumably prototypes built for guitar shows—were labeled EM-150; Gibson apparently later decided to continue the acoustic/electric EM-150s and give the Florentine its own model number.) They usually range from $1500 to $2500.


EMS-1235

Half mandolin, half guitar. Gibson made these from the late '50s till 1961. Semi-hollow design with a spruce top.


???

 
1938 H-1E
Just when I thought I'd seen it all, along come a pair of Gibson electric mandolas sporting Charlie Christian pickups. The H-5 model on the left was custom-built in the 1930s for Dave Apollon. The one on the right is a 1938 H-1E.

Wow! A custom 1930s blond F5 with a Charlie Christian pickup. I can hardly believe my eyes.

Gibson_EM100.jpg (73377 bytes)
EM-100 (EM-125)

Zoom in on this puppy and you'll see its distinctive pickup: it resembles the Charlie Christian, except that the ends are rounded. This is an EM-100; they were introduced in 1940, renamed EM-125 the following year, and discontinued after 1943. Meanwhile the EM-150s started sporting P-90 pickups.

EB-0

This is another doubleneck; one neck is a short-scale bass, and the other is an 8-string mandolin with a P-90. There's only one, and it belonged to the late Govt. Mule member Allen Woody.

???

On July 2, 1937, Gibson shipped its first electric mandocello (it was, however, not the world's first; that distinction probably goes to Vivitone). Anyone seen it? I swear it was around here the other day...