Gibson Super 400

Last updated
Gibson Super 400
S400-5.JPG
A Super 400 in Red Wine
Manufacturer Gibson
Period1934–present
Construction
Body typeSolid wood hollowbody/archtop w/parallel top bracing, acoustic/electric guitar
Neck jointDovetail joint/glued-in, 5-piece
Scale 25.5"
Woods
Body Maple sides and back, spruce top
Neck5 piece/maple-walnut-maple-walnut-maple
Fretboard Ebony
Hardware
BridgeGold ABR-1 bridge on floating ebony base; tailpiece is engraved gold-plated nickel
Pickup(s) Optional P90 or humbucker/2015 model standard is a set of "57 Classics"
Colors available
Various

The Gibson Super 400 is an archtop guitar. It is a highly influential guitar model that inspired many other master guitar builders (including Elmer Stromberg and John D'Angelico). [1] It was first sold in 1934 and named for its $400 price, [2] like many Gibson guitars of that era.

Contents

The Super 400 features solid carved-wood construction, and at the time of its introduction was the largest guitar that the Gibson Guitar Corporation had produced. Until 1939, it had a hand-engraved tailpiece and a hand-engraved finger rest support. During the very early production stock the truss rod cover had engraved "L5 Super"; on later guitars this was changed to "Super 400".

In 1939 the guitar was changed. The upper bout was enlarged, and the hand-engraved tailpiece was replaced with the one still fitted today on current Super 400s. The f-holes were slightly enlarged and a cutaway option also became available. This was called the Super 400P (for Premiere), later changed to C for Cutaway.

During the 1950s, Gibson released the Super 400 CES (Cutaway•Electric•Spanish). This had a slightly thicker top to reduce feedback, two P-90 pickups, and individual tone and volume controls, along with a three-way toggle switch. Later, the P-90 pickups were replaced with Alnico V pickups, then in 1957, humbucking pickups.

There have been variations in the limited edition custom models. In 2000 Gibson offered the Super 400 with a Charlie Christian pickup. The Super 400 is still available today, with two humbucker pickups. [3] The full acoustic version is no longer available.

The 1963 Gibson Super 400 CES Florentine model belonging to Scotty Moore played an important role in Elvis Presley's stage performance, the '68 Comeback Special.

See also

Related Research Articles

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

The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961, following on from the 1952 Gibson Les Paul. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG Standard is Gibson's best-selling model of all time. SG stands for "solid guitar".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson L-5</span> Guitar

The Gibson L-5 is a hollow body semi-acoustic guitar first produced in 1923 by the Gibson Guitar Corporation, then of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The first guitar to feature F-holes, the L-5 was designed under the direction of acoustical engineer and designer Lloyd Loar, and has been in production ever since. It was considered the premier guitar of the company during the big band era. It was originally offered as an acoustic instrument, with electric models not made available until the 1940s.

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

The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typical design features a solid mahogany body with a carved maple top and a single cutaway, a mahogany set-in neck with a rosewood fretboard, two pickups with independent volume and tone controls, and a stoptail bridge, although variants exist.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epiphone G-400</span>

The G-400 is an Epiphone solid body electric guitar model produced as a more modestly priced version of the famous Gibson SG. Currently, Epiphone is a subsidiary of Gibson and manufactures the G-400 and other budget models at a lower cost in Asia. Visually and ergonomically, it is almost identical to a 1962 SG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P-90</span> Guitar pickup

The P-90 is a single coil electric guitar pickup produced by Gibson Guitar Corporation since 1946, as well as other vendors. Compared to other single coil designs, such as the ubiquitous Fender single coil, the bobbin for a P-90 is wider but shorter. The Fender style single coil is wound in a taller bobbin, but the wires are closer to the individual poles. This makes the P-90 produce a different type of tone, somewhat warmer with less edge and brightness. As with other single-coil pickups, the P-90 is subject to mains hum unless some form of hum cancellation is used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-125</span>

The Gibson ES-125 is an archtop, hollow body electric guitar model that was produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-175</span> Hollow body guitar by Gibson, 1949 to 2019

The Gibson ES-175 (1949–2019) is a hollow body Jazz electric guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The ES-175 became one of Gibson's most popular guitar designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-330</span> Electric Spanish thinline guitar by Gibson

The Gibson ES-330 is a thinline hollow-body electric guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It was first introduced in 1959 and the guitar had the same dimensions as the ES-335.

The Gibson Les Paul Junior is a solid-body electric guitar introduced in 1954 as an affordable, entry-level Les Paul. It was first released with a single-cutaway body style; models with a double-cutaway body style were later introduced in 1958. The Junior continued through the first three years of the Les Paul/SG body redesign. The initial run was discontinued in 1963.

The Gibson Melody Maker is an electric guitar made by Gibson Guitar Corporation. It has had many body shape variations since its conception in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-135</span>

The Gibson ES-135 is a semi-hollow body electric guitar made by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. Originally introduced in 1956, it was discontinued in 1958. Some guitars were stamped with and marketed as an ES-130. The original run amounted to 556 instruments produced. The model, with some modifications, was reintroduced in 1991 and remained in production until 2004.

The Gibson Les Paul Custom is a higher-end variation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was developed in 1953 after Gibson had introduced the Les Paul model in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gretsch White Falcon</span>

The Gretsch White Falcon is an electric hollow-body guitar introduced in 1954 by Gretsch.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-137</span>

The Gibson ES-137 is a semi-hollow-body guitar which was manufactured in Gibson's Custom Shop Memphis factory as a limited production run from 2002–2013. It was a relatively new design in Gibson's ES line which was not based on a vintage instrument, as many of Gibson's instruments are. The ES-137 is available in two models, Custom and Classic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Spirit</span> Guitar model (produced 1982-86)

The Gibson Spirit was a guitar model sold under Gibson and Epiphone USA nameplates in the 1980s. This article does not refer to the made-in-China Spirit guitar sold under the Gibson Baldwin Music Education nameplate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson The Paul</span> Electric guitar manufactured by Gibson

The Paul is an electric guitar made by Gibson, manufactured from 1978 to the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-225</span>

The Gibson ES-225 is a thinline hollowbody electric guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation between 1955 and 1959. It is notable as the first thinline hollowbody guitar produced by Gibson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-350T</span>

The Gibson ES-350T is an electric guitar model from Gibson Guitar Corporation, released in 1955. The ES-350T is a further development of the Gibson ES-350 model from 1948 and as such has a completely hollow body. The unique feature of the Gibson ES-350T at the time of its market introduction was the reduced width of the rims. As a result, the guitar has a thinner body compared to instruments with a resonance body that is of full thickness. The ES-350T, together with its sister models Gibson ES-225 TDN and Gibson Byrdland, was one of the first models of the thinline guitar type.

References

  1. Shaw, Robert; Tamborrino, Michael (2004). Classic Guitars. Pomegranate. p. 25. ISBN   978-0-7649-2888-8.
  2. Freeth, Nick (2000). The electric guitar. London: Salamander. p. 20. ISBN   1840652144. OL   18893573M.
  3. "Super 400 CES: The faithful recreation of a classic". Gibson.