Product Description

Here we have a vintage 1968 Gibson Johnny Smith archtop guitar. This artist model is in good overall condition with the original case.

This one was clearly someone's player, and most likely has been gigged quite a bit. The finish appears original and shows a number of dings, scratches, and checking over its surface. There are two deeper scratch or checking lines emanating from the bass side F hole that do not appear to be cracks through the wood.

The guitar has been refretted with gold wire. The pickguard is a replacement with replaced pots, but the guitar retains its original floating neck pickup. It's wired through the F hole to an endpin jack. The bridge, tailpiece, and tuning machines all appear to be original. Additionally the interior label appears to be replaced and is incorrectly numbered. The original headstock serial number reads 895649.

The Johnny Smith is really a unique model among other Gibson guitars, even if it appears familiar from the outside. It is a 17" cutaway archtop similar to an L-5, but it has a Super 400 headstock with Super 400 inlays. The scale length of this model is also 25", and the nut measures 1 3/4" wide. It has an X braced spruce top, curly maple back and sides, and a curly maple multi piece neck with ebony fretboard.

The guitar plays great up and down the neck. It has a warm mid-range sound with top end clarity. It is percussive and the top drives well. It has a nice acoustic tone too. It weighs 6lbs 10oz. The neck measures .830 to .945 at the 1st and 9th.

Overall a great player's Johnny Smith. Ships in the original hardshell case. The case is missing tolex along one side, but otherwise functions well.

Product Specifications

• Carved Spruce Top
• Curly Maple Back & Sides
• Multi Piece Curly Maple Neck
• Ebony Fretboard
• Super 400 Split Block Inlays
• Super 400 Headstock Shape
• Kluson Sealfast Tuners
• 25" Scale Length
• 1 3/4" Nut Width
• 12" Radius
• Floating Neck Pickup
• Tortoise Guard with Volume & Tone Controls
• Endpin Jack
• X-Braced Top
• Carved Wood Bridge
• Inlaid Wood Bridge Base
• L-5 Style Tailpiece With Johnny Smith Engraved Insert
• Lacquer Finish

Product Details