Chart-topping, multiple award-winning country singer Margo Price has teamed up with Gibson to produce a signature J-45 acoustic guitar.
Price, whose debut record, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, graced Album of the Year lists across the board, is known for expanding the boundaries of country, Americana, and rock. “I’ve been playing Gibson guitars for over two and a half decades so it’s an absolute dream come true to have a signature model,” says the guitarist.
With a shallower body than a standard J-45, Price says her signature model “has the duality of being durable and lightweight. It’s got a slim body, so my tiny hands can reach everything they need to but it still has a really clear, loud sound that cuts through with a lot of clarity. It’s a real workhorse, just like me.”
With a Heritage Cherry Sunburst finish reminiscent of Gibson’s Hummingbird model, this is one of the sharpest-looking J-45s Gibson has produced. The guitars are handcrafted at Gibson’s acoustic facility in Bozeman, Montana.
The signature model is inspired by Price’s mid-’60s J-45, a guitar she calls her “main baby.” She felt an instant connection with the instrument: “From the moment I played that first chord, it just felt like it belonged in my hands,” she recalls. “I've put a lot of wear on it.” Gibson also took some cues from Margo’s first ever guitar, a 1956 Gibson LG-3 she found in her grandmother’s house.
Price’s signature acoustic is distinctive for its double pickguard adorned with redtail hawks, which have a symbolic meaning.
“To me, they are otherworldly, and they always come to me in my time of need with messages of strength and perseverance,” she explains. “They pass over me at the most kismet times, reminding me to find strength in my vulnerability and to open up and connect to those around me. I hope this guitar will remind those who play it these lessons as well.”
The guitar’s red spruce top is paired with mahogany back and sides. The rounded profile mahogany neck sports a rosewood fingerboard, and good resonance is encouraged thanks to traditional hand-scalloped advanced X-bracing. Hardware-wise, you get Grover strap tuners with white buttons, a bone nut and bone saddle, and TUSQ bridge pins.
As well as the J-45’s famously sweet acoustic tone, Margo Price’s version comes equipped with LR Baggs’ popular Element VTC undersaddle pickup and preamp.
Price hopes to inspire young women and girls to take up the guitar. “Women are writing the best songs. Women are making the best records,” she enthuses. “I think there's never been a better time for a girl to pick up a guitar.”
The Margo Price J-45 sells for $3,999.
Gibson also recently released the Acoustic Specials series, offering lower-priced takes on its most beloved acoustic designs.
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