Gibson Super 400
| Gibson Super 400 | |
|---|---|
 Gibson Super 400 CES, manufactured in 1981 |
|
| General | |
| Type | Jazz guitar / archtop |
| Manufacturer | Gibson ; United States |
| production | since 1934 |
| Construction and materials | |
| Scale length | 25.5 inches (648 mm) |
| Body | Sound box with f-holes , sides and back made of maple , top made of spruce |
| neck | Set-in, five-striped maple and walnut neck |
| Fingerboard | Ebony , 20 frets |
| Mechanics | 3 × left, 3 × right; capsuled |
| Footbridge / bridge | Two-piece: ebony bridge with individual, gold-plated saddles ( Tune-O-Matic ) and gold-plated tailpiece |
| Pickups and Electronics | |
| Pickups |
|
| Tone control | passive
|
| Unless otherwise stated, the data come from the manufacturer's website (as of December 29, 2013) | |
The Gibson Super 400 , also abbreviated to Super 4 , is an 18- inch full resonance archtop acoustic guitar model manufactured by the American musical instrument manufacturer Gibson Guitar Corporation since 1934 . It is made by hand from solid wood according to traditional craftsmanship rules and has been one of the highest quality instruments in the company's product range for decades due to its high manufacturing costs and quality.
Construction and equipment
The Super 400 was developed as an acoustic instrument in the 1930s. Due to its body size (almost 46 cm lower width and 11 cm body depth) and the resulting full, loud sound, it was equally suitable as a solo instrument and as an accompanying instrument, for example in swing and in other styles of jazz , but also in country Music. The curved back and the 8.5 cm wide sides of the instrument are made of solid flamed maple . The hand-carved vaulted ceiling is made feinstjährigem Sitka - spruce manufactured. The neck is made of three-strip glued, strongly bolted maple wood and two-strip walnut wood. The fingerboard is made of ebony and has rectangular, diagonally divided (split-block) inlays made of real mother-of-pearl . A coating of the body with transparent nitro lacquer guarantees that the resonance body can vibrate freely . The metal parts ( tuning machines , tailpiece and bridge ) are real gold-plated. Only the best tonewoods are used for this instrument, which is reflected in its very high price. The design language of Art Déco can still be found in the metal elements and decorations .
Originally designed as a purely acoustic instrument, the Super 400 has also been available with two pickups since 1951 . Initially there were two single coil models ( single coil ) of the type P-90 , from 1954 two Alnico V single coil models, and in 1957 the version with two double coil pickups ( humbuckers ) of the type PAF (“Patent Applied For ”) . In 1939, Gibson introduced the first version of the Super 400 with body incision ( Cutaway ) before; Initially with a rounded body horn, from 1960 to 1969 with a tapering ("Florentine") cutaway, then again in the rounded shape.
Models
- Super 400 - the basic acoustic shape of the instrument without a cutaway , first built for guitarist Muzzy Marcellino in 1934
- Super 400 C - a variant with a cutaway , but without a pickup; from 1939
- Super 400 CES (Cutaway, Electric, Spanish) - the model manufactured since 1951 with a body cut and with two pickups as shown in the info box
Common body finishes for the Super 400 are Sunburst and Natural (a colorless clear finish , also known as blonde ; since 1937), more rarely are Wine Red (wine red) and Ebony (black).
Availability
The Super 400 has been built almost continuously in small series since its introduction in 1934. During the Second World War, the manufacture of "war-related" goods required production to be discontinued from 1941 onwards. Production was resumed in 1947. The world market accepts an average of 20 to 50 instruments per year. The waiting time for a new instrument is now around a year. Vintage instruments of this model are very sought-after by professional musicians and collectors alike and achieve high prices.
Well-known musicians with Super 400
Some of the most famous musicians who used the Gibson Super 400 as their main instrument for a while include country guitarist and singer Merle Travis (whose custom model was described in 1952 as "the most expensive instrument Gibson ever made") who have favourited rock 'n' roll musicians Scotty Moore and Bill Haley, and jazz guitarists George Benson , Kenny Burrell and Louis Stewart .
literature
- Tony Bacon, Dave Hunter: Totally Guitar. The definitive guide. Backbeat Books, London 2004, ISBN 1-871547-81-4 (English), Guitar Encyclopedia .
- Tony Bacon: guitar classics. All models and manufacturers. Premio Verlag, Münster 2007, ISBN 978-3-86706-050-9 .
- Electric guitars. Special issue of the magazine Guitar & Bass on the history of the electric guitar. MM-Musik-Media-Verlag, Ulm 2004, ISSN 0934-7674 .
Web links
- Super 400 on the Gibson website (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Franz Holtmann: Archtop Heaven - Super 400 CES & Tal Farlow 1965 . In: Stromgitarren , p. 142 f.
- ↑ Tony Bacon: Guitar Classics - all models and manufacturers , p. 131
- ↑ a b Tony Bacon: Totally Guitar - the definitive Guide , p. 393
- ↑ Bacon: Guitar Classics , p. 37
- ↑ a b Bacon, Hunter: Totally Guitar - the definitive Guide , p. 395 f.