Gibson Johnny Smith Double 'Sunburst' Preowned 1968

The Gibson Johnny Smith Double is one of the rarest and most historically significant archtop electric guitars Gibson has ever produced - an instrument that debuted the world's first floating humbucking pickup when the single-pickup model was introduced in 1961, and which became one of the most sought-after and collectible archtop electrics of the entire decade in its dual-pickup Double configuration introduced from 1963. Serial number 561579 dates this example to 1968, when production of the Double was measured in the dozens per year - making any surviving example a genuine rarity of the highest order. The guitar's visual and technical specification was drawn from the very pinnacle of Gibson's archtop tradition: the 17" Venetian cutaway body and engraved gold Johnny Smith medallion tailpiece are derived from the L-5C, the five-piece maple and walnut neck and elongated headstock with split-diamond inlay are from the Super 400, and the seven-ply body binding recalls the classic Epiphone Emperor.

The carved solid spruce top with X-bracing - Johnny Smith's own preference and a design he resurrected from Gibson's 1930s tradition - delivers the warm, throaty, and harmonically complex archtop voice that made the Johnny Smith one of the most tonally distinctive and musically sophisticated archtop electrics of its era, with a natural acoustic resonance and depth that most laminate-top archtops simply cannot match. The dual floating mini-humbucker pickups with Alnico V magnets - original with replaced covers - provide the clear, warm, and beautifully defined floating pickup voice that Johnny Smith himself helped develop, with two volume and two tone controls plus a three-way pickup selector mounted entirely on the quintuple-bound tortoise pickguard. The original mini-jack output has been converted to a standard 1/4" jack through the tailpiece with no new hole drilled - a thoughtful and reversible modification that eliminates the need for an adapter cable without compromising the guitar's originality. The replacement pickguard was hand-made in New York to the exact specifications of the original. Includes non-originl Gibson hardshell case.

Features

• Carved solid spruce top with X-bracing over figured maple back and sides delivers the warm, throaty, and harmonically complex archtop voice that Johnny Smith himself championed - a genuine acoustic resonance and tonal depth that distinguishes this instrument from every laminate-top archtop alternative.
• Dual floating mini-humbucker pickups with Alnico V magnets - original pickups with replaced covers - provide the clear, warm, and beautifully defined floating pickup voice that Johnny Smith helped develop and that defined the sound of sophisticated jazz guitar in the 1960s.
• Output converted to standard 1/4" jack through the tailpiece without drilling any new holes - a thoughtful, reversible, and non-invasive modification that makes this guitar immediately compatible with standard amplifier cables.
• Replacement pickguard hand-made in New York to the exact specifications of the original, preserving the guitar's visual authenticity while replacing a component prone to shrinkage and cracking with age.
• A genuinely rare and historically significant instrument produced in tiny numbers in 1968 - one of only a few dozen Double examples from this model year, combining the pedigree of the Super 400 headstock and neck with the L-5C body in one of Gibson's most tonally sophisticated and collectible archtop designs.

• Model: Gibson Johnny Smith Double
• Year: 1968
• Serial number: 561579
• Body: 17" fully hollow, single Venetian cutaway
• Top: Hand-carved solid spruce, X-braced
• Back & sides: Figured maple
• Neck: 5-piece maple/walnut
• Fingerboard: Bound ebony
• Fingerboard inlays: Split-block mother of pearl
• Scale length: 25"
• Nut width: 46mm (1-3/4")
• Headstock: Elongated, split-diamond inlay
• Tuners: Gold Kluson Sealfast
• Body binding: Multi-ply black and white (top and back), single-ply white (f-holes)
• Pickups: 2 x floating Johnny Smith mini-humbucker, Alnico V (original, replaced covers)
• Controls: 2 x volume, 2 x tone, 3-way pickup selector - all pickguard-mounted
• Pickguard: Quintuple-bound tortoise replacement (hand-made in New York to original specs)
• Bridge: Floating adjustable ebony with pearl inlay
• Tailpiece: Engraved gold Johnny Smith medallion, L-5 style (1/4" jack conversion through tailpiece, no new hole drilled)
• Hardware: Gold
• Finish: Sunburst
• Made in: USA (Kalamazoo, Michigan)