The instrument was primarily used in an ensemble setting well into the 1930s, and although the fad died out at the beginning of the 1930s, the instruments that were developed for the orchestra found a new home in bluegrass. The famous Lloyd Loar Master Model from Gibson (1923) was designed to boost the flagging interest in mandolin ensembles, with little success. However, The "Loar" became the defining instrument of bluegrass music when Bill Monroe purchased F-5 S/N 73987 in a Florida barbershop in 1943 and popularized it as his main instrument.
Is there an answer to this question (If it cannot be answered, say "unanswerable"): What instrument did artist Bill Monroe use?
F-5 S/N 73987