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)