Gibson has given three of its most-famous acoustic guitars the Special treatment, presenting the compact L-00, the workhorse J-45 and the iconic Hummingbird at a more accessible price point.
The Gibson Special acoustics all made in the USA at the company’s Bozeman, Montana facility. The designs are a little more pared back; here we have satin nitrocellulose lacquer, not gloss, and some of the aesthetics have been dialled back.
The Hummingbird, for instance, has single-ply body binding rather than the multi-ply binding you’d ordinarily expect and a simplified – but still decorative – stamped graphic pickguard design.
The idea is that these are pro-quality instruments, high-end acoustic guitars that are accordingly built with solid woods, guitars you would keep a lifetime, and yet are more affordable.
The updates are not all cosmetic. Gibson has given the Hummingbird and J-45 a “concert depth” body that it says gives it a “leaner and tighter” bass response – and also makes them a little more comfortable to play.
Sure, they are not cheap. But at $2,199, the Hummingbird Special considerably cheaper than the $3,999 Standard, and is less than half the price of the $4,599 Hummingbird Standard Rosewood. And the fundamentals are reassuringly familiar.
You will find solid sitka spruce tops as standard, supported by X-pattern scalloped spruce bracing, with solid mahogany used for the back and sides. Necks are utile and join the body with a compound dovetail joint set with hot hide glue.
The fingerboards are all rosewood, 12” as per Gibson’s house style. Bridges are rosewood, too, and there are TUSQ nuts, saddles and bridge pins. The scale length across the range is 24.75”.
All three ship with an L.R. Baggs Element Bronze under-saddle piezo acoustic guitar pickup and preamp, the controls for which are found secreted in the soundhole.
But for all the similarities, these are three quite different guitars, each offering an update on a classic design. The L-00 and J-45 Specials are being offered in Satin Wine Red and Vintage Sunburst.
The Hummingbird Special is resplendent in Satin Wine Red or the more traditional-looking Satin Vintage Cherry Sunburst.
Robi Johns, senior product development manager at Gibson Acoustic, describes them as guitars for all occasions, onstage, in the studio, or keeping you company at home.
“Gibson is very proud to now offer the individual magic of these three authentic and famous Gibson acoustics,” he says. “The Gibson Acoustic Specials arrive in a package that’s simply perfect for songwriting and rehearsing, as well as superior for home recording and live performance.”
The Hummingbird Special is priced £1,899/$2,199, while the Special J-45 and L-00 are priced at £1,699/$1,999, with that price including a premium soft-shell guitar case. For more details, head over to Gibson.
In other Gibson news, the Nashville-based guitar giant has also just launched the Platypus Firebird, a modern-day reproduction of a super-rare transitional Firebird from 1965 that has a non-reversed six-in-line headstock with a silhouette not unlike the Australian mammal it shares its name from.
