Gibson SJ Southern Jumbo Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1953)
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Item #6948
Gibson SJ Southern Jumbo Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1953), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.
The SJ or "Southern Jumbo" sometimes feels like a bit of a forgotten model in Gibson's postwar flat top line; not as simple a working man's guitar as the more austere J-45 but not as yee-haw fancy as the 17" SJ-200 or J-185. The SJ features same construction as the more familiar J-45 with a sunburst spruce top on a 16" slope-shouldered mahogany jumbo body, with a mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard.
The cosmetics of the SJ are fancier than the J-45 all around; there are multiple layers of binding around the body and soundhole; the fingerboard is bound with pearloid double parallelogram inlays. The rosewood bridge is a top-belly design, which looks rather like an upside-down Martin bridge. This 1953 model is extremely well preserved and has a very sharp look but more importantly a big warm sound. Don Everly used a 1953 SJ to create the famous open-tuned chord hooks on the Everly Brothers' early records, and this guitar has some of that same punch when pushed. This is a superb example of this classic Gibson flat top-the kind of guitar that makes you want to sit around singing country songs all night, even if you're in the middle of the city.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 16 3/8 in. (41.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 15/16 in. (12.5 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.). This guitar is in splendid condition overall, a lovely and original guitar with just some light touch up here and there. There is a very neatly patched jack hole in the usual place on the lower side, and some very small filled-in finish touch-ups to a few top dings and edge spots. Other than that this is a superbly clean guitar, with only some very slight divoting to the fingerboard and a few pick scrapes as play wear. The finish is still bright and clear with only very slight checking to some areas of the top. The bridge appears to never have even lifted, has never been cut down and the action is superb with no sign of a neckset having been performed. The frets have only some very light wear in the lower positions, with a bit of crowning work. The sound is fabulous as well, with a sweet and chunky midrange character typical of Gibsons from this period, with a lot of power. We love old SJ's and this is one of the nicest 1950's examples we have had. Overall Excellent Condition.
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The SJ or "Southern Jumbo" sometimes feels like a bit of a forgotten model in Gibson's postwar flat top line; not as simple a working man's guitar as the more austere J-45 but not as yee-haw fancy as the 17" SJ-200 or J-185. The SJ features same construction as the more familiar J-45 with a sunburst spruce top on a 16" slope-shouldered mahogany jumbo body, with a mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard.
The cosmetics of the SJ are fancier than the J-45 all around; there are multiple layers of binding around the body and soundhole; the fingerboard is bound with pearloid double parallelogram inlays. The rosewood bridge is a top-belly design, which looks rather like an upside-down Martin bridge. This 1953 model is extremely well preserved and has a very sharp look but more importantly a big warm sound. Don Everly used a 1953 SJ to create the famous open-tuned chord hooks on the Everly Brothers' early records, and this guitar has some of that same punch when pushed. This is a superb example of this classic Gibson flat top-the kind of guitar that makes you want to sit around singing country songs all night, even if you're in the middle of the city.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 16 3/8 in. (41.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 15/16 in. (12.5 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.). This guitar is in splendid condition overall, a lovely and original guitar with just some light touch up here and there. There is a very neatly patched jack hole in the usual place on the lower side, and some very small filled-in finish touch-ups to a few top dings and edge spots. Other than that this is a superbly clean guitar, with only some very slight divoting to the fingerboard and a few pick scrapes as play wear. The finish is still bright and clear with only very slight checking to some areas of the top. The bridge appears to never have even lifted, has never been cut down and the action is superb with no sign of a neckset having been performed. The frets have only some very light wear in the lower positions, with a bit of crowning work. The sound is fabulous as well, with a sweet and chunky midrange character typical of Gibsons from this period, with a lot of power. We love old SJ's and this is one of the nicest 1950's examples we have had. Overall Excellent Condition.
