Description
What makes this guitar special: The ultimate in big body archtops, the Super 400 is Gibson's largest hollowbody ever built. Featuring all solid wood construction & finished in a beautiful natural finish, this one is absolutely gorgeous in every way. The guitar has some modifications which it make it more of a "player's grade" model. The neck pickup is not original & is a newer Gibson '57 + Classic from 2011. The master volume & tone controls were of course added at the same time the pickup was installed, however, the knobs appear to be vintage; perhaps from the same period as the guitar itself. The guitar was refretted with slightly bigger frets than what it would have originally had, but it's a much better player as a result. The slender profile neck is smooth & very comfortable to play up & down the fretboard. The carved top resonates beautifully when strummed & even though it's unoriginal, the humbucker gives off a warm, rich tone. Professionally set up by our luthier with fresh strings & low action, so it plays & sounds fantastic!
Cosmetic Condition: Great shape for its age with a gorgeous patina. Various minor nicks, chips, dents & dings; surface scratches, weather checking & some mild finish wear around the volume knob. Overall the guitar looks fabulous for pushing 60!
Neck: Slender profile, flame maple neck with 5-ply binding & tortoise side-dots. Ebony fingerboard with mother of pearl split block inlays. Frets are unoriginal, but are all in great shape with no wear. 5-ply bound headstock with mother of pearl split diamond inlays Gibson logo. 2-ply Custom truss rod cover has a small crack on one side, but the truss rod itself is in fine. Original Kluson tuners show a bit of tarnish in the gold, but are all in perfect working condition. 1 11/16" nut width; 25 1/2" scale length. Neck is straight & plays great up & down the fretboard.
Body: Single cutaway, hollow body archtop. Carved solid spruce top with 7-ply binding & dual F-holes with 3-ply binding. Original gold trapeze tailpiece with SUPER "400" engraved in the crossbar. The compensated ebony bridge appears to be unoriginal. Original tortoise pickguard with 5-ply binding. The pickguard was routed for the pickup, but was tastefully done. The guard is actually in great shape with no cracks & only slight warping, which is typical. Carved solid maple back with 3-ply binding & solid maple sides with lots of stunning flame figuring all around the rims. The strap button near the neck is not original. Guitar weighs 7 lbs 9 oz.
Pickup: Unoriginal Gibson '57+Classic humbucker with gold cover & cream bezel - 8.75K ohms. Master volume & tone controls with vintage gold "top hat" knobs; side-mounted input jack. All electronics are in good working condition.
Case: Original Lifton hardshell case included. The case is also in great shape with all the latches present & just a bit of wear & tear along the edges.
