johnny_smith

Walk, don't run !

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Notes: Johnny Smith was born in Alabama in 1922. His father was a banjo player, hence his initial interest in music playing and his main influence was Django Reinhardt and Andres Segovia.
Hired by NBC in New York in the late fourties as their staff guitarist he was playing from small settings to full orchestra. He also formed a quintet featuring Stan Getz and in 1952 the number one album "Moonlight in Vermont" was released. At that time Johnny Smith won every jazz award: Best Jazz Record, Metronome Poll, Jazz Critics Award etc...
While he lived in New York he spent a lot of time in the workshop of his dear friend John D'Angelico from whom he acquired his knowledge of guitar construction. John headed him in the direction of achieving the sound and playability that he wanted.
In 1955 he has sent his own construction plans to Guild Guitars N.Y. to build his signature guitar but they have made changes of the inner construction and as a result the acoustic properties did not meet the high demand of Johnny Smith. Therefore he withdrew from Guild.
In 1961, Ted McCarty President of Gibson visited Johnny Smith and suggested the creation of his own model giving him free hands for the entire construction and design. At that time this offer was well received. He already retired from the active musician business and he intended to set up his own music store in Colorado. He defined all the dimensions the guitar should have and for increased sustain he resurrected the classic X-braced top, a design used by Gibson in the 30's. Also the top carving and even the binding was designed by himself. Only minor cosmetic modifications -which did not affect tone nor playability- were changed by Gibson and accepted by Johnny Smith. While some of Smith's innovations were revolutionary, many more were evolutionary. Feeling constrained by the standard 1 11/16" nut width, Smith again reached out to the past and he revived the more generous 1 3/4" fingerboard of the early 30's. Similarly, Smith introduced a 25" scale to facilitate stretch voicings without sacrificing response and the body depth was slimmed to 3".
Finally, the guitar debuted with the first floating humbucker and many visual appointments were drawn from Gibson's paramount models. The 17" Venetian cutaway body and deco tailpiece are those of the L-5C, the neck and peghead are from the Super 400.
The endorsement of Johnny Smith lasted until the end of the 80's when Gibson has shut down the Kalamazoo plant. It went on to the Heritage Company that was founded by the remaining Gibson staff who bought the Kalamazoo plant. Gibson themselves decided to produce a successor with the name "Le Grand" which is still in production.

Materials: 17“ wide and 3" deep body with handcarved, tap-tuned solid Spruce top, highly figured solid five-piece flamed Maple neck, highly flamed tiger striped solid Maple back, sides show some nice bird's eye Maple, straight-end Ebony fretboard, nut width 1 3/4“, scale lenghth 25" and 14/20 frets, pearl single and double split-block position markers, split diamond peghead inlay, 7-ply body binding, 5-ply neck, head and pickguard binding, bound f-holes, polished bone nut, solid Ebony bridge and base plate with tie pearl inlays.

Hardware: Original floating humbucker, period correct volume - reflector - knob, vintage correct “Custom“ engraved truss rod cover, original golden Kluson Sealfast tuners, Original Johnny Smith insert in tailpiece.

Facts: Original 60's Johnny Smiths are hard enough to find nowadays and a blonde one is the hardest to get of all. The serial number 832XXX on the orange oval label dates it back to 1969. The absence of the i-dot in the Gibson logo confirms that vintage. No "Made in the USA" stamp on backside of the headstock which started later in the early 70ties. This stunning example is one of just 20 built in its model year, and a total of only 77 blondes have been produced between 1961 and 1969 (compared with 395 sunburst examples in that time period).

Condition: The original natural finish has gracefully matured to a very nice honey blonde and it shows very little checking. There was a very professional refret at some point and the frets still have plenty of life left. The entire guitar is in perfect collector's condition. All original except for: the pickguard which has deteriorated - nothing new, they all do from that period - and has been replaced. The volume pot and the mini-jack were also renewed (original parts are still there and can be included if desired). The gold plating is still shiny. The tuners work very smooth.

Playability: Pure joy. Action is low with no buzz and the neck profile is a very pronounced D. The neck is straight and plays without any effort.

Tone: It is completely open and utterly balanced with superb projection and clarity. Great for sophisticated soloing with open voicings. Acoustically, it is very resonant and has lots of volume. Plugged in - well, it's a dream to hear and play.

Case: Original Lifton hardshell case with yellow plush interior. All latches and hinges work fine. Handle is still working but has signs of wear.

Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge round wound strings (.012-.054). The guitar will accommodate heavier or lighter gauge strings, according to your preference. The entire guitar is inspected, fingerboard and bridge has been oiled.

To Summarize: "Walk, don't run!" is the title of a song composed by J. Smith that can be interpreted in different ways. Nowadays, with its speed of time what else can be more nourishing than playing such a beautiful instrument and to leave all the haste behind. This instrument is unique in playability, tonal response, and design aesthetics and it has the vibes that only a vintage instrument can have. Without a doubt, one of the finest archtops we ever encountered.