With its oval soundhole, the Model 525 is based on a Gibson F-4 mandolin. It is otherwise nearly identical to the 524 model. One exception would be the headstock cosmetics: the 525 lacks the tortoiseshell overlay and has no binding on its plain black headstock.

Perhaps because of the lower demand for an oval-holoe mandolin and therefore lower production numbers, the 525 seems to be a bit harder to find than the common 524.