View the first collector’s article published on IbanezMandolin.com. We are featuring an interview with Dan Cole about buying an Ibanez 524 Mandolin new in 1977. Here is an excerpt from the interview:

I thought it was a great dollar value and was a beautiful instrument. Honestly, I really wanted a Gibson. After all that was what Bill Monroe played, but a Gibson was simply out of my budget. I did find a poster of Bill playing an Ibanez. I still have it somewhere and I guess that legitimized my new mando. If it was good enough for Bill Monroe, then it must be OK.

Read the full interview.