The best of the best just got better.
Gibson Acoustic’s guitar workshop in Bozeman, Montana, is known for crafting some of the finest instruments ever produced in the 120-plus-year history of this storied company, and for fans of great vintage-spec flat-tops the True Vintage series is the cream of the crop. Now Gibson is releasing an extremely limited edition of just 167 pieces each of three selected True Vintage models, the J-45, SJ-200, and Hummingbird, all of which will receive deluxe upgrades worth as much as $1,500.
A Gibson True Vintage acoustic is already the closest thing to hopping into a time capsule and traveling back to the era when your favorite classic flat-top was born, but add these limited deluxe treatments to the brew and each model offers a rare opportunity for both players and collectors. Each Limited Edition True Vintage SJ-200 and J-45 will be built with a top made from solid Red Spruce, a rare and highly prized tone wood, and will be constructed with hot hide glue, just like back in the day. Their sibling the Hummingbird will wear a solid premium Sitka Spruce top with special Cherry Burst finish that matches the finish on the first run of Hummingbirds back in 1960. All will come with a custom-made, period-correct case (recreated from meticulous study of the original cases), and a Certificate of Authenticity. Each will also be labeled inside the body as a limited run of 167. Additionally, upon filing his or her warranty registration card, each customer will be sent a specially designed jacket embroidered with the model name of the guitar they have purchased and an embroidered custom-run case cover.
Of course, keep in mind that these Limited Edition upgrades are being applied to guitars that are already the most accurate vintage reproductions that Gibson’s Bozeman luthiers can create. According to Mike Voltz, Production Manager of Gibson’s Acoustic Division, all have period-correct details such as binding that is applied over the fret ends, traditional tuners, genuine bone nut and saddle, extra dark vintage-look amber toner, and a traditional orange label. Mahogany graces the back and sides of the Hummingbird and J-45, while the SJ-200 sports AAA-grade flame maple. The fingerboards and bridges on all the models are made from solid AAA Madagascar rosewood, and each employs historically accurate construction methods, such as hand-scalloped top bracing, wide X-bracing on the J-45, thin back braces on the SJ-200, and plenty more. “These are for the true collector,” Voltz says of the standard True Vintage range. “They’ve got that vibe.”
The SJ-200, or Super Jumbo, was born in 1937 when “Singing Cowboy” star Ray Whitley commissioned Gibson to build a grand, 17"-wide flat-top with a unique rounded profile and deluxe appointments. Soon other stars placed custom orders for similar guitars, and in the hands of Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers and Ray “Crash” Corrigan this guitar—eventually made an official model as the SJ-200 — became the ultimate badge of acceptance for Country & Western artists. These early examples were generally constructed with rosewood back and sides, but following WWII the SJ-200 was reintroduced with solid maple back and sides, a move that gave the big-bodied guitar more brightness and definition. Post-1947, the spruce-and-maple SJ-200 retained its status as “King of the Flat-Tops”, a claim justified by its use by Porter Wagoner, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Pete Townshend, Graham Nash, and Emmylou Harris, among many others. This is the version of the guitar that is accurately presented in
today’s SJ-200 True Vintage model.
Having evolved out of an earlier form of the Jumbo, the J-45 is the prince of a range of Gibson flat-tops now referred to as “Round-Shoulder Dreadnoughts”. This elegant workhorse debuted in 1942, and became an instant favorite for its rich, warm, vocal tone and excellent projection. Today, the J-45 is played by the likes of Bob Dylan, Ralph McTell, Billy Jo Armstrong, and Lucinda Williams. Carrying accurate touches such as a soft-V neck profile, teardrop tortoise pickguard, four-ply top binding, and banner headstock inlay (declaring “Only A Gibson Is Good Enough”),
the J-45 True Vintage is an accurate representation of the instrument that became the standard of hard-gigging bluegrass, folk, and country artists of the 1940s and ’50s.
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With its split-parallelogram mother of pearl fingerboard inlays, crown headstock inlay, and elaborate three-point tortoise pickguard with engraved hummingbird motif,
the Hummingbird True Vintage takes us back to the subtle glamour of this Gibson model of 1960. Built to the Square Shoulder Dreadnought body styling that evolved out of the earlier, more rounded-shoulder profiles of guitars such as the J-35 and J-45, this is still a big-bodied flat-top at 16 1/4"-wide across the lower bout, and it carved a niche for itself particularly as a punchy yet smooth folk and rock and roll rhythm guitar as a result. It has been used by the likes of Keith Richards, Marc Bolan, Sheryl Crow, John McLaughlin, and Jimmy Page. Where the J-45 represents the workman-like ethos of the early post-War era, the Hummingbird captures a measure of the pastoral whimsy and brave new horizons of the 1960s — along with a solid chunk of woody acoustic tone.
Three classics of Gibson’s flat-top heritage, rendered with period-correct accuracy befitting their respective “Golden Years,” the True Vintage Hummingbird, J-45, and SJ-200 represent phenomenal achievements in contemporary acoustic guitar production. Given the deluxe upgrades and custom appointments of this Limited Edition series, they present an opportunity that all collectors of fine acoustic guitars will not want to miss.