Gibson - Dove Original Antique Natural

The Gibson Dove Original, in Antique Natural, bears its finish like a signature: a glossy nitrocellulose lacquer that reveals the wood’s grain when held up to the light. The rounded shoulders of this Square Shoulder model evoke the model’s historic lineage.

The mahogany neck, with its rounded shape and adjustable profile thanks to its truss rod, is joined to the body by a compound dovetail joint that distributes the tension of the strings across the 25.5-inch (647.7 mm) scale length. The rosewood fingerboard, with a 12-inch (304.8 mm) radius and twenty standard frets, features mother-of-pearl parallelogram inlays that guide the eye without interfering with playing. The bone nut, 1.72 inches (43.81 mm) wide, stabilises the tuning, whilst the Grover Keystone tuning machines lock in the pitch.

Beneath the top, the LR Baggs VTC system houses its volume and tone controls right at the soundhole of the guitar. The 6.35 mm jack output features a strap lug; the Dove bridge rests on a bone saddle and Tusq tuning pegs; and the nickel hardware – from the Dove truss rod cover to the matching pickguard – ties the whole look together. The multi-ply binding on the top and the single-ply binding on the maple back emphasise every contour.

The hand-carved X-bracing beneath the Sitka spruce top allows the bass tones of strumming and plucking, characteristic of the folk style, to resonate. The standard strings, gauged from .012 to .053, complete the package, which is supplied in a hard case along with the Gibson accessory kit for day-to-day maintenance.