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1979 Gibson Super V/BJB
Status: SOLD For instruments now available, please visit our Instruments page here. To be notified of examples of this model or similar instruments as they arrive, please contact [email protected]. Please be specific on which instrument(s) you're looking for, and we'll be happy to contact you as soon as they become available.
Serial #: 70539112
Finish: original sunburst finish
Body size at lower bout:17" Body depth: 3" Scale length: 25.5" Nut width: 1 11/16"'
Materials: Handcarved bookmatched solid spruce top; solid carved maple back and sides; 3 piece tiger flame neck with walnut centerstripes; solid ebony fingerboard with Super 400 style block fingerboard inlay; Super 400 style split diamond peghead with Gibson logo and block-and-wedges inlay on the back; deluxe 7-ply body binding, 5-ply peghead and fingerboard binding, 3 ply back binding, bound f-holes, solid bone nut.
Hardware: 100% original hardware includes gold adjustable finger tailpiece; solid ebony bridge with pearl inlay in base; gold Kluson Sealfast tuners; gold floating Gibson BJB humbucking pickup with full size 1/4" jack mounted under pickguard; quintuple-bound tortoise pickguard ; original engraved brass truss rod cover.
Notes: Introduced in 1979, Gibson's Super V/BJB was a premium grade archtop that combined a number of Gibson' best loved designs. The Super V offered Super 400 styling on the more manageable 17" body of the L-5C, along with the solid carved body, long scale, parallel bracing, and all gold hardware. The electric (CES) version of the Super V was built until 1993, but the acoustic Super V/BJB with its floating gold humbucking pickup is a much rarer bird, having been discontinued a full decade earlier after a scant four years in production. This guitar is one of only 43 Super V/BJB models built in that first year, making it one of the rarest Gibson archtops of the postwar era.
A well-maintained example, the guitar shows no pick or thumbwear, and just a scattering of buckle dents on the back, along with a bit of typical weather checking in the original violin sunburst finish. The instrument 100% original hardware and case, and the adjustable finger tailpiece, now a Gibson standby, also made its debut on this model. The only signs of repair are a pair of dowel marks faintly visible in the lower back of the neck, where a repair was seamlessly executed long ago. The neck profile is slim and comfy, and the tone of the hand carved.top is woody, with fine projection. Unlike the LeGrande, which borrowed some of its features, the Super V/BJB features a standard 1 11/16" nut width, and parallel bracing for volume and cutting power. Finally, the guitar is fitted with a custom engraved brass truss rod cover bearing the name "H. Mann" (Herbie? Hummy? ) Whomever the first owner actually was, the next one should be a very happy man, or woman, indeed.
Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, crowned and polished; trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge radius inspected and recurved as necessary; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.
This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel strings (.013-.056). The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 5/64" to 6/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.
Case: Original Gibson black plush hardshell case.
