Gibson SJ Southern Jumbo Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1955), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # W1739-9 (FON), sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany back, sides and neck, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, original brown hard shell case.
Clean! This super well preserved Gibson flat top is a lovely 1955 example of the SJ "Southern Jumbo" which sometimes feels like an overlooked model the Gibson's flat-top pantheon. Introduced during WWII, by the 50's this model sat in the middle of the Jumbo flat top line, not as simple a working man's guitar as the J-45 but not as yee-haw fancy as the 17" SJ-200 or J-185. It features a flashier look compared to the J-45 but is built on the same formula; a sunburst spruce top on a 16" slope-shouldered mahogany jumbo body, with a mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard.
The cosmetics of this mid-50s SJ are fancier than the J-45 all around. There are multiple layers of binding around the top, back and sound hole and the bound fingerboard is fitted with pearloid double parallelogram inlays. The rosewood bridge is a top-belly design, which looks pretty much like an upside-down Martin bridge. The neck on this example is a medium "C" profile a bit chunkier than many early '50s Gibsons, and very comfortable to play. The tuners are individual Kluson Deluxes as seen on many mid-line Gibsons.
The previously plainer SJ headstock was upgraded in 1955 to feature a pearl "Gibson" logo and crown inlay. This early 1955 example is one of the first with this headstock decoration and the new larger pickguard added at the same time. This is fitted like the pre-war J-55 and SJ-100 style pieces entirely covering over the sound hole rings, presumably because hard-strumming "Cowboy" players tended to chew that area up. Apparently this was a short lived production oddity as this guitar is the first one we have seen like this.
This 1955 SJ has simply not seen too much use, and survives in far cleaner condition than most. It sports a very sharp look but, more importantly, a big powerful sound. Among SJ fans perhaps most prominent is Don Everly, who used a 1953 SJ to create the famous open-tuned chord hooks on the Everly Brothers' early records. This guitar has plenty of ring with that same punch when pushed. This is a stunning looking, fine playing and great sounding 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 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This is one of the nicest, most original and best preserved 1950s Gibson flat tops we have seen in a while, and we see a lot of 'em! The finish still shines like Ike was in the white House and it's hard to believe it has been around well over 65 years now. There are some very minor dings, dents and handling marks overall, most noticeably a "case lid ding' on the back edge of the top and a couple of scratches on the lower back and lower side. Other than that the guitar really shows only minimal wear; the back of the neck has a couple of tiny dinks.
Everything on the instrument is original, down to the bridgepins and endpin. The top center seam shows some minimal flex with a check running through the finish; the seam is fully sealed but this is visible on close inspection. The neck has never been reset; the original bridge has been lowered just slightly giving it a slight slope from the pins forward. The frets and fingerboard show hardly any wear, the action is very comfortable and this is a really fine playing and sounding guitar, quite the finest of this newly upgraded second-half-of-the-'50s SJ variant we have ever seen. It rests in the original brown HSC that has some external wear but is also nicely preserved overall. Overall Excellent + Condition.
