Gibson Chet Atkins SST

Last updated
Gibson Chet Atkins SST
Gibson Chet Atkins SST.jpg
Gibson Chet Atkins SST in ebony color
Manufacturer Gibson
Period1987–2006
Woods
Body Mahogany
Colors available
Natural, ebony, white, burgundy, cherry

The Gibson Chet Atkins SST was a solid body acoustic-electric designed by the musician Chet Atkins and manufactured and marketed by Gibson. The steel-string model was introduced in 1987 and was discontinued in 2006. [1] The Chet Atkins CE was the original nylon string version of 1982 and possibly the first of its kind.

Contents

Design

The SST was a design that combined Gibson's steel-string acoustic and electric guitar technology. [2]

The guitar had a solid spruce or cedar top and a mahogany body. Unlike most acoustic-electrics, the SST had no resonating chamber or soundhole. The acoustic sound came from a bridge mounted transducer manufactured by L.R. Baggs for Gibson with a proprietary active pre-amp. The SST had controls for volume as well as boost and cut for both treble and bass signals.

The SST was offered in five finishes: natural, ebony, white, burgundy and cherry sunburst. It had mother of pearl inlays on the fretboard, headstock, and bridge and features gold plated hardware. Early models had an ornate headstock and a fake sound hole with the knobs mounted on the front of the guitar. Later models had star inlays and a Les Paul style headstock. It also sports Chet Atkins's signature above the fretboard.

The SST quickly became popular among rock and country players because high volume levels could be reached without any feedback, whereas most traditional acoustic electrics will emit moderate to high levels of feedback when they come near amplifiers, speakers or microphones. This ability made the SST suitable acoustic guitar for live music.

Notable SST Players

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric guitar</span> Electrical string musical instrument

An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickups to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical signals, which ultimately are reproduced as sound by loudspeakers. The sound is sometimes shaped or electronically altered to achieve different timbres or tonal qualities from that of an acoustic guitar via amplifier settings or knobs on the guitar. Often, this is done through the use of effects such as reverb, distortion and "overdrive"; the latter is considered to be a key element of electric blues guitar music and jazz, rock and heavy-metal guitar-playing. Designs also exist combining attributes of the electric and acoustic guitars: the semi-acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guitar</span> Fretted string instrument

The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted and typically has six or twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A guitar pick may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically, by means of a resonant hollow chamber on the guitar, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Stratocaster</span> Solid body electric guitar

The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured the Stratocaster since 1954. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top "horn" shape for balance. "Stratocaster" and "Strat" are trademark terms belonging to Fender. Guitars that duplicate the Stratocaster by other manufacturers are sometimes called S-Type or ST-type guitars. Many prominent rock musicians have been associated with the Stratocaster for use in studio recording and live performances, most notably Eric Clapton, Buddy Holly, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mark Speer and George Harrison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-335</span> Semi-hollow electric guitar

The Gibson ES-335 is a semi-hollow body semi-acoustic guitar introduced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES series in 1958. It features a solid maple wood block running through the center of its body with upper bouts that are hollow and two violin-style f-holes cut into the top over the hollow chambers. Since its release, Gibson has released numerous variations of and other models based on the design of the ES-335.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archtop guitar</span> Type of steel-stringed acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar

An archtop guitar is a hollow acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with jazz, blues, and rockabilly players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Firebird</span> Solid body electric guitar

The Gibson Firebird is a solid-body electric guitar manufactured by Gibson beginning in 1963.

Variax was the name of a line of guitars developed and marketed by Line 6 between 2002 and 2023. They differed from typical electric and acoustic guitars in that internal electronics processed the sound from individual strings to model (replicate) the sound of specific guitars and other instruments. The maker claims it was the first guitar family able to emulate the tones of other notable electric and acoustic guitars. It also provided a banjo and a sitar tone. The Variax was available primarily in electric guitar models, but acoustic and electric bass guitar models have also been available in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Flying V</span> Electric guitar

The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model that was originally introduced by Gibson in 1958. The Flying V offered a brand new, radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Explorer, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designed in 1957 but not released until 1982. The initial run of guitars used a distinctive wood of the Limba tree marketed by Gibson under the trade name "korina"; later models used more conventional woods.

The Jackson Soloist is an electric guitar model introduced by Jackson Guitars in 1984, although prototypes were available before then. The design is a typical "superstrat"; it varies from a typical Stratocaster because of its neck-thru design; tremolo: Floyd Rose or similar, Kahler; or a fixed Tune-O-Matic; premium woods; a deeper cutaway at the lower horn for better access to the higher frets, and a sharper body with squared-off edges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of guitars</span> Overview of and topical guide to guitars

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to guitars:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inlay (guitar)</span> Decorative material set into the wooden surface

Inlay on guitars or similar fretted instruments are decorative materials set into the wooden surface of the instrument using standard inlay techniques. Although inlay can be done on any part of a guitar, it is most commonly found on the fretboard, headstock—typically the manufacturer's logo—and around the sound hole of acoustic guitars. Only the positional markers on the fretboard or side of the neck and the rosette around the sound hole serve any function other than decoration. Nacre, plastic and wood are the materials most often used as inlay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Jaguar Bass</span> Electric bass guitar

The Fender Jaguar Bass is an electric bass guitar currently manufactured in Mexico by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

A solid-body musical instrument is a string instrument such as a guitar, bass or violin built without its normal sound box and relying on an electromagnetic pickup system to directly detect the vibrations of the strings; these instruments are usually plugged into an instrument amplifier and loudspeaker to be heard. Solid-body instruments are preferred in situations where acoustic feedback may otherwise be a problem and are inherently both less expensive to build and more rugged than acoustic electric instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Coronado</span> Electric guitar

The Fender Coronado is a double-cutaway thin-line hollow-body electric guitar, announced in 1965. It is manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The aesthetic design embodied in the Coronado represents a departure from previous Fender instruments; the design remains an uncharacteristic piece of Fender history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epiphone Genesis</span>

Epiphone Genesis refers to three Genesis Series models ever produced

The Gibson ES series of semi-acoustic guitars are manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duesenberg Guitars</span> German electric string instrument manufacturer

Duesenberg is a brand for electric string instruments founded in 1986 and located in Hannover, Germany. The headquarter is in Hannover, Germany, they are known for using a Plek machine for the levelling of frets and setup. Duesenberg has uploaded a factory production video of how their guitars are made, revealing that most of the production of the guitars is done in Croatia, while the final setup and assembly is done in Germany.

Classical electric guitars, also known as nylon-string electric guitars, represent a unique fusion of traditional classical guitar design and modern electric guitar technology. These instruments combine the rich and warm tonal qualities of nylon-stringed classical guitars with the versatility and amplified sound capabilities of electric guitars. By integrating nylon strings with onboard electronics, pickups, and preamp systems, classical electric guitars offer musicians a wide range of sonic possibilities for various musical genres and performance settings.

The Yamaha Corporation is a multinational corporation and conglomerate based in Japan with a wide range of products and services, predominantly musical instruments, motorcycles, power sports equipment and electronics.

The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele, is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful solid-body electric guitar. Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music. Many prominent rock musicians have been associated with the Telecaster for use in studio recording and live performances, most notably Bruce Springsteen, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Keith Richards and George Harrison.

References