A color check for the new F-5 production?
1922 Gibson F-4 "Cremona Brown"
© Frank Ford, 2003; Photos by FF

Finished in what was to become the standard color for the new F-5 developed by Lloyd Loar, this early 1922 F-4 may not be unique, but it's one for the collectors. It's the third one I've seen, and it's obviously all original, and in a perfect state of preservation. The ones I've seen have nearly sequential serial numbers, ending in 3,4,6, and are almost 300 instruments earlier than the earliest known signed Loar F-5.

This one has the earliest iteration of the adjustable bridge, but no truss rod. Soon after this series, the classic red sunburst F-4 would gain the truss rod and slimmer neck, and lose its top-of-the-line status. . .

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