Gibson - Songwriter Recording Artist Antique Natural

The name ‘Songwriter’ lives up to its promise on this Gibson Recording Artist Antique Natural. Its Songwriter body shape – a modern square-shouldered dreadnought – draws on the timbers of the 1936 Gibson Advanced Jumbo, whilst its Antique Natural finish, applied over a glossy nitrocellulose lacquer, allows the wood grain to remain visible.

Each instrument is handcrafted by a luthier in Bozeman, Montana. The solid, heat-treated Sitka spruce top rests on a wide, scalloped X-bracing, inspired by the Gibson workshops of the 1930s, whilst the solid rosewood back and sides enclose a body featuring multi-strip binding on both the top and back. The neck is joined to the body via a compound dovetail joint, glued using heated hide glue.

The round-profile mahogany neck features a scale length of 647.7 mm and an adjustable truss rod concealed beneath a double-layered black bell-shaped cover. The ebony fingerboard features twenty standard frets, a radius of 304.8 mm and mother-of-pearl diamond-shaped inlays. The 43.82 mm bone nut and the gold-plated open-back Grover tuners ensure stable tuning.

The ebony belly-up bridge features a mother-of-pearl arrow inlay and TUSQ tuning pegs; the custom tortoiseshell pickguard echoes the original design, and the large mother-of-pearl rosette surrounds the volume and tone controls. The rosewood-veneered headstock features the Gibson logo and crown in mother-of-pearl.

The L.R. Baggs HiFi preamp and its dual pickups beneath the bridge plate minimise feedback on stage. The 6.35 mm jack output connects to a mixing desk or amplifier, whilst the gold-finished hardware rounds off the package.

The .012 to .053 strings, the strap button with a jack socket at the end, and the Gibson hard case round off a guitar that’s ready for both acoustic recording and live performance.