The Gibson Byrdland appeared in 1955 as a custom order for Billy Byrd and Hank Garland. These two were top Nashville session guitarists who wanted full archtop tone, but in a more comfortable thinner body and a shorter scale length – 23.5 inches, rather than Gibson’s standard 24.75 inches – to allow easier access to complex chords fingerings. The Byrdland was the first of Gibson’s thinline archtop guitars, with many more to follow. The design was so successful that it was quickly promoted to production status.
Venetian
Here is a rare beauty – a Gibson Custom Le Grande archtop electric model from 2008, the successor to the classic Johnny Smith model built from 1961 to 1989. The Le Grande made its debut in 1993 and while it hasn’t appeared on Gibson’s website or catalog since around 2010, is still available on special order. The ‘stock’ finish is a Vintage Sunburst, with the Natural finish seen here as an extra-cost option. Always intended for the serious professional guitarist and never in mass production, the Gibson Custom Le Grande features a 17 inch wide body with carved, solid Sitka Spruce top, carved solid and highly figured Maple back and figured maple sides.
This instrument has sold
MORE →Now discontinued, the Taylor 526ce Mahogany Top steel string guitar has featured both Venetian (rounded) and Florentine (sharp) cutaways over its life. Dating to June 18 2014, this Taylor 526ce is in very good, original condition with only very minor wear. At the time this guitar was built, the 526ce model sported a single layer black pickguard, ivoroid binding and a uniform brown tint finish without edge-shading.
This instrument has sold
MORE →Here we have a Taylor 416ce Ovangkol built during 2011, with a Sitka Spruce top, Venetian-cutaway Grand Symphony body and the Expression System pickup and preamp set. This model was introduced in 2011 and discontinued around 2017. One of the last list prices for a new 416ce was US$2399.
This instrument has sold
MORE →Here’s a real beauty – a Gibson ES350 Electric Archtop built during 1951 at the historic Parsons Street shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The ES-350 was built from 1947 to 1956, and for 1957 received a thinner body and new name – the ES-350T, the T standing for Thinline. This model was played extensively by top artists like Barney Kessel, Chuck Berry, B B King and Tal Farlow. At its 1947 introduction, the Gibson ES350 was named the ‘ES-350 Premiere’ and was a full body, single cutaway archtop with a single P-90 pickup in the neck position. For 1949, it received a second pickup. Construction was typical of Gibson’s electric archtop production, with Laminate Maple for the top, sides and back, part of an attempt to reduce feedback at stage volumes.
This instrument has sold
MORE →The Taylor 322ce 12 fret is a very comfortable small bodied guitar with a dark and earthy vibe. This guitar features a Tropical mahogany top and Tasmanian Blackwood sides and back. Both wood sets have a darker complexion and the shaded edge burst finish along with the black pickguard and body binding really tie the whole package together. The Grand Concert body shape of the Taylor 322ce 12 fret is compact and comfortable but still produces a good amount of volume for a small guitar. The blackwood provides a meaty midrange with a little bit of treble sparkle and the mahogany top smooths out the overall tonal range with some natural compression.