In the world of full-size archtops, the Gibson Super 400 is one of the undisputed leaders! With its large body, this is a guitar that begs to be played by a virtuoso jazz guitarist, but the real Elvis adept will also enjoy this guitar!

The Gibson Super 400 was introduced in 1934 as the largest and most advanced archtop in the Gibson line. The model remained Gibson's flagship archtop guitar for decades, and was joined in 1951 by an electric variant with pickups, the CES. The Super 400 is also a highly influential guitar model that has inspired many master luthier such as Elmer Stromberg and John D'Angelico.

The guitar is constructed from a solid maple back and sides with a solid spruce top. The Sunburst finish gives the guitar a classic and stylish look, especially in combination with the cream-colored binding that can also be found on the tortoise pickguard. The Venetian cutaway provides optimal accessibility to the higher frets, and was again the standard style on the Super 400 from 1969 after a move to the sharper Florentine cutaway. The gold-colored tailpiece with Super 400 engraving, together with the gold-colored Kluson Sealfast tuners, is also proof of the status of the model, which finally also features a beautiful mother-of-pearl inlay on the fingerboard and headstock.

The sound of this instrument is simply exceptional: clear, warm and deeply resonant. Perfect for jazz, but this guitar can also get quite bluesy. The beautiful appearance of the guitar completes the experience surrounding this guitar, and makes this Super 400 a true masterpiece.

This Super 400 CES was built in 1974, and is one of only a few dozen examples built that year. The paint shows the crackle that we know so well from vintage Gibsons. The guitar has two original Patent No. humbuckers, and also has its original electronics. These pickups are unpotted, and have therefore become somewhat microphonic. The guitar was also originally equipped with a pickguard, but unfortunately this is now missing.

However, the guitar is otherwise very clean and plays and sounds like a top model should. The guitar comes with TFOA passport in a case.

photos of: Actual Instrument