Gary’s Story
In 1999 I found this guitar at Wildwood Guitars in Louisville, Colorado. When I learned its history, I was stunned. There had been enough of the exceptional close-grained Sitka spruce and quilted maple material selected for the earlier Custom Shop project to build a third exquisite archtop.
This was that third guitar. It was brand new and carried similar appointments: a close-grained Sitka spruce top, exquisite quilted maple back, black pearl and green abalone throughout, and extensive engraving.
One detail bothered me. Gibson was using a thick plastic material for its pickguards. It was much better than the material on my 1974 L-5, which eventually disintegrated, but on a guitar this expensive and special I did not want plastic. Many boutique archtop makers were using exotic hardwood instead.
I asked Jim Hutchins to make a custom pickguard from the same quilted maple woodstock used on the back of the guitar. He added the purfling and binding trim and a beautiful fleur-de-lis that echoes the bridge inlays and the etching in the tuner buttons.
The guitar has a big, bold voice with woody bass and bite. It is an exceptional player with a big and beefy ’59-style neck profile, and it has that deep edge that fine Super 400s possess.
After acquiring the L-5 and this third build, I searched for the second guitar from the set — the first Super 400. I eventually located it in California, but it had not been cared for to the standard I wanted, so I decided not to pursue it.
In my opinion, I have never seen a modern Gibson Super 400 CESN that comes anywhere close to this one.
