Gibson Acoustic Presents New Guitars at Musikmesse 2008

Press release
Source: Gibson Guitar

Gibson Guitar, the world’s premier musical instrument manufacturer and leader in music technology, has announced that its acoustic division will unveil the new 2008 Designer Custom series guitars and also highlight the Elvis Costello model and its line of acoustic jumbos at Frankfurt, Musikmesse, March 12 -15, 2008 in Hall 4.2, Booth F 19.

Musikmesse guests and press will be the first to witness the exclusive unveiling of four re-designed 2008 Designer Custom Acoustic models including the 2008 SJ-200 Double Vine, the 2008 J-45 Custom Vine, the 2008 Western Classic 200 and the 2008 Hummingbird Custom KOA. The 2008 J-45 Custom Vine features original Rose Vine inlay, hand-engraved vine composed of gold MOP flowers, abalone leaves and MOP stems. An inlaid headstock and Custom Shop arrow bone top trim along with a design with open back waverly tuners creates this masterpiece.

The 2008 Hummingbird Custom KOA features new and original inflight inlays with an inlaid and engraved headstock. The exquisite guitar also features a Supreme KOA back and side, double Hummingbird bridge inlay and hand-inlaid and engraved pickguards. The new Custom SJ-200 Double Vine will leave any musician wanting more when they view the double inlaid headstock with MOP Imperial tuners, original abalone double vine inlay with MOP border and hand inlaid double vine pickguard and double 4-bar bridge inlay. The first 20 of these guitars will be shipped with numbered certificates to place them in Gibson’s illustrious history properly. The new 2008 Western Class 200 features classic PreWar Gibson MOP Script & Torch headstock inlay, multiple body binding, top trim, rosette and soundhole trim along with a three piece Indian Rosewood back with classic marquetry inlay borders.

Gibson Acoustic will also showcase the Elvis Costello Century of Progress Acoustic, one of the must important acoustic guitars, from one of the most original artists to emerge from the punk and new wave scene of the late ‘70s and early ’80s. This will be the first guitar in Gibson Acoustics’ new Songwriter Series. The new Elvis Costello Century of Progress acoustic is fashioned after Costello’s beloved 1936 model; it is a painstaking recreation of his favorite acoustic, used to record and perform many of the songs that made him the iconic musician that he is. Culling information from photos of Costello’s treasured instrument and the original blueprints from the 1930s, Gibson Acoustics’ team of master luthiers were able to successfully reproduce every attribute of Costello’s prized acoustic with flawless accuracy and immaculate attention to detail.

No feature was overlooked in the creation of the Elvis Costello Century of Progress acoustic. From the figured Hard Rock Eastern maple used for the back and sides to the Adirondack spruce used for the top and bracing, including vintage-style glue used to put it all together, the new acoustic also offers a distinct peghead veneer and pearloid fingerboard, adorned by diamond inlays within Madagascar rosewood rectangle fingerboard markers. The neck is crafted from one solid piece of Honduras mahogany, and hand-sanded to form a pronounced “V” profile.

The new Elvis Costello Century of Progress from Gibson Acoustic will be released in a very limited run of only 300 instruments, numbered from 001 to 300 with an exclusive black hard-shell case adorned with a special Elvis Costello/Gibson stamped commemorative plaque and certificate of authenticity. Each guitar’s label will also be personally autographed by Costello.

On another front, Gibson Acoustic’s Jumbo line is nothing short of legendary. From the singing cowboys of the 1930s to the cosmic cowboys of the 1960s—from Gene Autry to Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, to the Rolling Stones—Gibson’s Jumbo guitars have been at the heart of acoustic music since their debut in the 1930s. Like many of Gibson’s fine instruments, the acoustic Jumbos have advanced over time, providing players with a selection of instruments to fit all styles. It began with the first SJ-200—the “King of the Flattops”—in 1937, and continued with the J-185 in 1951, and the brand new J-165 in 2007. Now, further solidifying its place in history, Gibson Acoustic is proud to announce the redesign of the cutaway series of the Jumbo line, including the addition of the new Aura Pro Onboard Preamp System from Fishman. A very subtle reshaping of the soft cutaway in the SJ-200 EC, J-185 EC and the J-165 EC further enables the high-note, single-string runs and enhances the versatility needed to meet the demands of today’s wide spectrum of styles and players.

The redesigned guitars also carry Fishman’s new and improved Aura Pro Onboard Preamp System, which blends the natural sound from a guitar’s undersaddle pickup with one of four studio-mastered Aura Images— digital algorithms created using the world’s fines guitars and studio microphones. The result is brilliant, true-to-life studio-quality sound ideal in any amplified environment. The system’s smaller, soundhole-mounted design puts slider controls within easy reach, allowing players to maintain a natural playing position.

Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Gibson’s HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar and the Gibson Robot Guitar represent the biggest advances in electric guitar design in over 70 years. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.’s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Maestro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Echoplex, Electar, Flatiron, Gibson Baldwin Music Education, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Oberheim, Sunshine Piano, Take Anywhere Technology, Baldwin, J&C Fischer, Chickering, Hamilton, and Wurlitzer.

Visit Gibson’s website at www.gibson.com.