Whether Peghead Nation Irish Mandolin instructor Marla Fibish is leading an Irish session in her native San Francisco Bay Area, playing original and traditional tunes and songs in Noctambule (her duo with husband Bruce Victor), or teaching Irish mandolin at well-known music camps like the Swannanoa Gathering, Lark Camp, and Mandolin Symposium, her 1922 Gibson A oval-soundhole mandolin is always close at hand. For over 35 years, Fibish has owned the mandolin that she fondly recalls her grandfather playing in the 1960s and ‘70s, and it has become a key element of her musical voice.
Gibson A models from this era are a common choice in Irish music circles, despite the mandolin being a relative newcomer to the music. As Marla demonstrates, Gibson A models have a characteristic ringing tone and sustain that fits in well with the more traditional instruments like fiddles, pipes, and button accordions that have long been found in Irish music.
In this video, Fibish talks about how she came to own the family heirloom, the origin of much of the wear on the instrument’s top, her preferred setup, and the pick she’s used for over 15 years. She also plays the Irish jig, Humours of Ballyloughlin.
To hear more of Marla playing this mandolin, check out Noctambule’s new album, The Waking. MarlaFibish.com, NoctambuleMusic.com

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