30/12/12 1968 Gibson Johnny Smith

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1968 Gibson Johnny Smith
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Serial #: 512240

Body size at lower bout:17" Scale length: 25" Nut

width: 1 3/4"'

Materials: Handcarved bookmatched solid spruce

top; highly figured tiger flame maple sides and neck;
handcarved bookmatched flame maple back; ebony
fingerboard with mother of pearl block fingerboard and
peghead inlay; 7-ply body binding, 5-ply peghead and
fingerboard binding, 3 ply back binding, bound f-holes,
bone nut.

Hardware: Original hardware includes engraved gold-

plated tailpiece; solid ebony bridge with abalone inlay in base; gold Kluson Sealfast tuners; gold floating
Johnny Smith humbucking pickup with mini-jack mounted to pickguard; correct quintuple-bound tortoise
pickguard; original truss rod cover with "Custom" imprint.

Notes: With his peerless musicianship and innovative design ideas, it might be said that Johnny Smith was the
Les Paul of the archtop guitar. Never content to accept existing constraints as given, Smith worked first with
Epiphone, then Guild to create unique instruments tailored to his restless vision. By the end of the 50's, with
his career at its peak, Johnny finally sat down with the design staff at Kalamazoo to create one of the most
sought-after archtops of modern times: the Gibson Johnny Smith Model.

Introduced in 1961, the Johnny Smith represented the pinnacle of Smith's design creativity, in an instrument
that married classic body styling with unprecedented technical innovation. Four decades later, it's hard to
envision a time when the only floating pickups available were the DeArmond or the McCarty pickguard
pickup. The Johnny Smith debuted the world's first floating humbucking pickup, now the industry standard.
Taking inspiration from the past as well as the future, Smith resurrected the classic X-braced top, a design
used by Gibson in the 1930's. With it's increased sustain and warm, throaty tone, the X-brace has become

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the standard as well among contemporary archtop builders from Benedetto on.

While some of Smith's innovations were revolutionary, many more were evolutionary; incorporating a number
of ergonomic refinements designed to improve the playability of the instrument in subtle but significant ways.
Feeling constrained by the standard 1 11/16" nut, Smith again reached to past masters and revived the more
generous 1 3/4" fingerboard of the early 30's, a favorite of finger-style players. Similarly, Smith introduced a
25" scale, to facilitate stretch voicings without sacrificing response. Finally, the body was slimmed by 1/8th of
an inch to an even 3" depth, to make it just that much easier to hold.

The result is an instrument unique in playability, tonal response, and design aesthetics. The visual appointments
of the Johnny Smith are drawn from a number of Gibson paramount models. The 17" Venetian cutaway body
and deco tailpiece are those of the L-5C, the neck and peghead are from the Super 400, and the opulent 7-
ply body binding recalls the classic Epiphone Emperor.

This example is from the second to last year of production before the sale of the company, and is one of only
73 made in this configuration that year. It is in absolutely superb condition, only a few random dings and a
little plating fog away from the way it left Kalamazoo over three decades ago. The back and sides show some
nice tight flame figure with a three color sunburst. The serial number is stamped in the back of the peghead,
and the body shows a factory order stamp, but no sign of ever having had a paper label installed. The neck
profile is superb, tapering to a wonderfully flat contour at the back of the neck, with the original medium-
jumbo frets and no volute bump at the peghead. The tone is rich, warm and responsive. A gold strap button
has been added to the heel, a correct 5 ply toroise guard is installed, and the guitar is fitted with its original
deluxe plush hardshell case. A classic instrument in time-capsule condition, this guitar can satisfy the
requirements of both player and collector.

Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, crowned and polished; trussrod tension and neck relief
adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut
as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge radius inspected and recurved
as necessary; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and
hand polished.

This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel strings (.013-.056). The guitar will accommodate lighter or
heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 5/64" to 6/64" at the 12th fret, with
moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your
requirements with the adjustable bridge.

Case: Original Gibson black plush hardshell case.

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