“An elegant piece that represents one of the most legendary names in guitar design”: Gibson celebrates its 130th anniversary and honors the firm’s founder with limited edition Orville Gibson J-45
The celebratory six-string has been given some ultra-luxurious inlay appointments that pay tribute to the Gibson founder’s earliest instrument designs
(Image credit: Gibson)
Gibson is celebrating its 130th anniversary with a limited edition guitar that honors its founder, Orville Gibson.
The J-45 Orville Artisan 130th Anniversary is an acoustic guitar that marries the classic J-45 workhorse design with aesthetic details that pay tribute to Orville Gibson’s legacy. Only 30 units will be produced.
At its heart, the $12,000 round shoulder acoustic pairs mahogany back and sides with a Sitka spruce top. It offers multi-ply top and back binding, single ply fretboard and headstock binding, and traditional hand-scalloped X-bracing.
Further up the guitar, there is a SlimTaper neck with a 12" radius, 20-fret ebony fingerboard. Other specs include Waverly open-back tuners, as well as cream Tusq with abalone dot bridge pins. But in truth, it's the visual appointments that really make this instrument shine.
There are over 100 pieces of shell inlay across the fingerboard and peghead. Notably, the 'Harp Lady' abalone/Mother of Pearl inlays are inspired by some of Orville's earliest harp designs.
The design continues on the belly-up bridge, while an abalone Gibson logo can be found atop the headstock. Elsewhere, the guitar’s pearl tear drop pickguard also features a “130” inlay and border, with the same border wrapping its soundhole.
(Image credit: Gibson)
The J-45 was first released in 1942 and became renowned for being a utilitarian instrument for musicians of all kinds. Its round shoulder design and 24.75” scale length helped the guitar transcend genre borders, and it has since become one of the most popular acoustics of all time.
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“This limited-edition guitar is an elegant piece that represents one of the most legendary names in guitar design,” says Gibson.
(Image credit: Gibson)
Adding to those words, Robi Johns, Senior Product Development Manager, Gibson Acoustic Guitars says, “This Custom Anniversary model celebrates Orville Gibson’s history-making propensity to build instruments that are not only superior in performance, but also so magically ornate to ascend the instrument into the world of fine art.”
The J-45 Orville Artisan 130th Anniversary acoustic guitar is available now for the princely sum of $11,999.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
