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Gibson MK-81 question


KevCan

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Howdy :)

I have an MK-81 that I purchased from a private owner about 20 years ago while living in the Pittsburgh, PA area and have recently been trying to research its birthdate. There is the MK-81 Gibson logo visible from the soundhole, and the serial number 102083 on the back of headstock ( there may be 2 little '' marks preceeding the serial number but not sure if they are part of sn ) there also is no "Made in USA" above serial number as I have seen on most pics of MK series guitars. Anyone got an idea of how old she might be? Also, would be interested in getting the adhesives used to hold pickguard and the spare bridges originally included with the MK Series if anyone knows where they can be had. BTW, she is in excellent condition and plays like a dream and looks great with the rest of my Gibson herd. Thanks

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The Mark guitars were only made from 1975-1979. I believe that a two digit number (which I think is actually a date code) followed by a six digit number beginning with a "1" narrows it down to 1975-1977. I think there is site with a Gibson serial number decoder out there. Maybe someone will chime in with a link.

 

Can't help you with what kind of adhesive Gibson used for the pickguards and such.

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Thanks for the fast reply...I've read the same about the serial numbers but mine has only the 6 digit sn 102083, like I posted though it appears to have those 2 little '' marks just prior to the serial number. I've also read that factory "seconds" were marked with a "2" between the uppermost tuning keys and under the serial number. This one does not. Thanks again.

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  • 2 months later...

Hello, I recently purchased a nice MK-81 in excellent condition. The first two digits are 00 ( so it's a 1976 model ). I do never part with this guitar. It's so special : the tone, the woods, the playability. I own a couple of gibson acoustics but this one is apart... It has its own sound. Above all don't compare with any other famous models..! If you need adhesive for the pickguard, you can find it at stewmac.com. Choose Pickguards, then Pickguards materials, after that Pickguards adhesive sheet. Very easy to install. Enjoy your MK-81, as I do with mine. We are both lucky guys...Cheers, Andrew.

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Hello, I recently purchased a nice MK-81 in excellent condition. The first two digits are 00 ( so it's a 1976 model ). I do never part with this guitar. It's so special : the tone, the woods, the playability. I own a couple of gibson acoustics but this one is apart... It has its own sound. Above all don't compare with any other famous models..! If you need adhesive for the pickguard, you can find it at stewmac.com. Choose Pickguards, then Pickguards materials, after that Pickguards adhesive sheet. Very easy to install. Enjoy your MK-81, as I do with mine. We are both lucky guys...Cheers, Andrew.

 

 

my MK-81 still has the 3 extra saddles and unused pickguard it came with. The extra saddles were two made of a grey-white plastic called "melamine", a second bridge made of ebony and bone, and the 4th ebony and bone bridge that came mounted at the bridge; the pickguard has "dots" of a sticky double sided tape. (see avatar on left)

 

be careful about the tape you use for the pickguard because it could react with the finish and stain it or dissolve it.

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my MK-81 still has the 3 extra bridges and unused pickguard it came with. The extra bridges were two made of a grey-white plastic called "melamine", a second bridge made of ebony and bone, and the 4th ebony and bone bridge that came mounted at the bridge; the pickguard has "dots" of a sticky double sided tape. (see avatar on left)

 

be careful about the tape you use for the pickguard because it could react with the finish and stain it or dissolve it.

Zurdo...do you have any saddles you want to sell???

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Zurdo...do you have any saddles you want to sell???

 

I should have said "saddles" (not bridges). I don't want to sell the spare saddles I have, they came with the guitar when I bought it in 1980.

 

 

what I might do is have them replicated in wood and bone to sell them to those that need a set. All four saddles are different in height.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi I have a mark 81 bought new in 75 or 76 ( can't remember exactly) serial number is 06183699. Have had the action set up twice and play it at folky type gigs still as an acoustic guitar . I.E. no on board pickup. I guess I am quite a heavy player even with finger picks and enjoy the volume the guitar can project. Still have all the original bridge inserts and case supplied with the guitar. Anyone know what it is worth ?.

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Hi I have a mark 81 bought new in 75 or 76 ( can't remember exactly) serial number is 06183699. Have had the action set up twice and play it at folky type gigs still as an acoustic guitar . I.E. no on board pickup. I guess I am quite a heavy player even with finger picks and enjoy the volume the guitar can project. Still have all the original bridge inserts and case supplied with the guitar. Anyone know what it is worth ?.

 

I see MK-81 selling between $800. and $1,900. but that doesn't mean they are "worth" that little or that much. Considering that lesser acoustic guitars sell for a lot more, the MK-81 remains "undiscovered", especially in recording.

 

don't use eBay as a measuring stick for prices, because eBay is for bargain hunters, not really for serious players. Even established guitar brokers will appraise their value on DEMAND, instead of SOUND and QUALITY.

 

 

if you're looking to sell it and make a lot of money, you might as well put it away and find the money selling something else. Also, don't butcher the instrument adding a pickup, leave it original, a future buyer will appreciate it. And don't lose the bridge inserts / saddles. They are as good as gold.

 

 

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don't use eBay as a measuring stick for prices, because eBay is for bargain hunters, not really for serious players.

 

I think ebay is a pretty accurate indicator of what guitars sell for in the marketplace especially if you look at the "sold" listings..you can ignore the listing prices...have not seen bargains on ebay for a long time...

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ScreenShot2013-04-14at80116AM_zpse07b6726.png

 

I wonder who provided those Gibson Shipping Totals? It states that only 1 MK-99 was shipped but I have seen three MK-99 since 1980 online. One of those three was shown in a collector's website in Japan. I think this proves the argument that during Norlin's ownership of Gibson, and during the Mark Guitar project, MK guitars went out the back door un-recorded, whether given as demonstrators to their Sales Reps, or as NAMM show displays or whatever.

 

 

 

 

 

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The 1970s was just a strange time at Gibson. They moved production to Nashville while Norlin was thinking about getting out of the guitar business. It seems though the Gibson R&D team was working overtime. Look at the electrics like the RD Artist which Robert Moog helped develop. They also gave us the L6-S, S-1 and Maurauder. Gibson electrics were even now sportig bolt-on necks. Unheard of. It seems at every turn Gibson was turning to the laboratory and science. So the Mark Series fits right in with its hydrid X and fan bracing and varying width bridge.

 

I think the jury is kinda still out on the Mark Series - whether they were a brilliant attempt to pull sound out of a guitar or just an addity of the decade - a phaase Gibson was going through and quickly abandoned. Purists were offended mainly by the whole concept of a guitar born in a lab (like most builders were actually tap testing wood). But with the passage of years and the ability to look at things maybe a bit more objectively there is no denying the Mark guitars were extremely well-built and had a big and bright sound.

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I've got a MK-72....here are some salient points......

1. Some of the most beautiful Rosewood I've ever seen. Has lots of black in it, just like Brazilian. That's why a lot of folks think that the 72's and 81's used Brazilian, but I'll bet it is E.I., still beautiful

2. Very EVEN across the strings, no booming bass, no scintilating highs, ringing over tones, throbbing after notes, wolf tones, etc., etc. This is why the Recording studio guys like these so much, easy to record.

3. Nice volume, chording and comping are a joy on this, again very even tones.

4. Easy play neck

5. I'm a bit of a "tone" collector, so I can say, this guitar does NOT sound like a ladder braced or X-braced guitar, like no other guitar I've played. My friend has 12 "Dreadnaughts" they all sound pretty much alike.....to each his own....

 

Just think what could have been done with this guitar if Gibson had stuck with it, continued to develop it and refine it over the years???. Or in Ren's hands???? There are several luthiers who did take up the flag after Gibson abandoned their project, and are producing world class instruments. Their refinements have brought this type of guitar into the present. I really have to high-five Gibson for this one. While most guitar makers are making guitars the same way Martin did 180 years ago, Gibson took a chance, and tried something new. So, CUDOS!!!

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I've got a MK-72....here are some salient points......

1. Some of the most beautiful Rosewood I've ever seen. Has lots of black in it, just like Brazilian. That's why a lot of folks think that the 72's and 81's used Brazilian, but I'll bet it is E.I., still beautiful

2. Very EVEN across the strings, no booming bass, no scintilating highs, ringing over tones, throbbing after notes, wolf tones, etc., etc. This is why the Recording studio guys like these so much, easy to record.

3. Nice volume, chording and comping are a joy on this, again very even tones.

4. Easy play neck

5. I'm a bit of a "tone" collector, so I can say, this guitar does NOT sound like a ladder braced or X-braced guitar, like no other guitar I've played. My friend has 12 "Dreadnaughts" they all sound pretty much alike.....to each his own....

 

Just think what could have been done with this guitar if Gibson had stuck with it, continued to develop it and refine it over the years???. Or in Ren's hands???? There are several luthiers who did take up the flag after Gibson abandoned their project, and are producing world class instruments. Their refinements have brought this type of guitar into the present. I really have to high-five Gibson for this one. While most guitar makers are making guitars the same way Martin did 180 years ago, Gibson took a chance, and tried something new. So, CUDOS!!!

 

 

 

 

who is Ren? [crying]

 

 

you are describing the sound of the Mark guitars exactly. a very BALANCED sound, just as described in the MK guitar lit.

 

but please don't even mention Martin, I mean Martin? A Norlin Mark guitar is like a Lexus when compared to a Martin which is more like a pickup truck. [flapper] I can't believe how people fall for a Martin, they willinglly pay a Mortgage for the Decal on the headstock and they walk away so proud with a cheep can of sardines. [biggrin] Status purchase. Somebody slap me! I think that there are many way-better cans of sardines to be had and they come with an mother-of-pearl logo inlay. .

 

 

 

 

 

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I have never been able to cozy up to the Mark guitars. Just something about the low end that does not work for me.

 

But I would also say the Mark guitars were the best acoustics to come out of Gibson since probably 1967 and would remain the best until the later 1980s.

 

That the Mark guitars did not quickly beoome the next big thing in guitars probably had something to do with timing. Gibson just could not undo the damge done to their reputation which had begun faltering in the late 1960s and was blown all to pieces in the early 1970s. Martin was going through the same thing when they got slammed for abandoning maple bridge plates and producing guitars with intonation problems due to improperly placed bridges. If there was a bright spot in the 1970s it was Guild guitars. It could have been worse though. Imagine the beating these companies would have taken if we had the internet and forums back then. The mind wobbles.

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I think the headstock design and the bridge were just too out there for Gibson and Martin-type traditionalists. I kind of like the headstock, because of the straight run string path, and the old style gibson script. The Bridge is an aquired taste, but modern luthiersusing th Kasha bracing system use a variation of that bridge shape so there must be something to it!!n Just too radical visually for the average buyer. The guy I got my 72 from had a MK-35 that sounded quite thin to me, so I wouldn't be interested in that, I would love to play a maple backed one for kicks!!

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the Mark guitar headstock design is one of the most beautiful Gibson headstocks ever designed, and the "Fan Jet" bridge has a sonic purpose Schneider used the same bridge on prototype classical guitars he made for Segovia, one of those is pictured below.

 

 

 

 

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who is Ren? [crying]

 

 

you are describing the sound of the Mark guitars exactly. a very BALANCED sound, just as described in the MK guitar lit.

 

but please don't even mention Martin, I mean Martin? A Norlin Mark guitar is like a Lexus when compared to a Martin which is more like a pickup truck. [flapper] I can't believe how people fall for a Martin, they willinglly pay a Mortgage for the Decal on the headstock and they walk away so proud with a cheep can of sardines. [biggrin] Status purchase. Somebody slap me! I think that there are many way-better cans of sardines to be had and they come with an mother-of-pearl logo inlay. .

 

 

WHO IS REN?

 

Master Luthier Ren Ferguson Retires from Gibson Guitar01.11.2012

After 25 years of service to Gibson Guitar’s acoustic division, Master Luthier Ren Ferguson has retired from the company.

 

“Ferguson has been an integral part of arguably one of the best periods of acoustic guitar building for Gibson,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “His vision has been and will continue to be central to the success of Gibson acoustics.”

 

Ferguson joined Gibson when, in 1986, the company acquired Flatiron Mandolin, where he was head luthier. For the last quarter-century, he has spearheaded building and design for Gibson Acoustic in Bozeman, Montana.

 

“I will always be a Gibsonite at heart,” Ferguson said. “These guitars are a part of who I am. The tradition of decorative art that are a hallmark of Gibson fits perfectly with my interests in engraving and carving.”

 

Gibson would like to extend our sincere and deep appreciation to Ferguson for his years of commitment, passion and tireless enthusiasm for the acoustic guitars built in Bozeman.

 

“What we’ve learned from Ren combined with the support from Gibson allows us to continue crafting the highest quality acoustic instruments,” said Dennis O’Brien, general manager for Gibson Acoustic. “We are blessed to have enjoyed his energy, optimism and humor for the past 25 years. He will always be a friend to Gibson.”

 

Gibson expects to continue to work with Ferguson as a contractor for special projects. In the meantime, he will look to expand his own brand and creative outlets – including his own signature guitars, as well as black powder gun building and engraving.

 

Gibson’s best wishes go out to Ren Ferguson and his family in all their future endeavours.

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