1986 Epiphone/Gibson Nouveau NV6R Nouveau NV-6R Natural/Rosewood

I apologize in advance for telling you folks what some of you already know and others of you don’t want to know, but it’s stuff which anybody who is considering buying this guitar ought to know, so here goes:

Sometime around Norlin's 1987 sale of Gibson, the decision was made to produce the Nouveau line of guitars. There are stories of this line of guitars being commissioned by BB King to commemorate the old blues singer Art Nouveau. The Gibson Nouveaus were going to consist of cost-effective necks and bodies made in Japan and assembled and finished in Nashville and branded as American Made.

The Nouveau was produced briefly between 1986 and '87 under the Gibson name before moving strictly to the Epiphone line in 1987. Like the C.F. Martin Shenandoah Series, the bodies and necks of the standard production Gibson Nouveau 6-string NV-6 models were shaped in Japan, with the instruments then finished and assembled at the Gibson Shop in Nashville. According to Jim Hatlo and Phil Hood, from Frets, "Gibson provided the first complete showing of its Nouveau line of acoustic guitars and mandolins at the Jan. '87 NAMM Winter Market at the Anaheim Convention Center, in California. The Nouveau series now includes maple, rosewood, and mahogany bodied dreadnoughts, jumbos, and cutaways, all with SOLID spruce tops. There's an archtop electric, too."

Gibson made relatively few—some accounts say 139--of these high-quality Gibson Nouveau acoustic guitars across several months of 1986/87. Presumably they were to compete directly with Martin Guitar's Shenandoah line, also being made in Japan and assembled in the USA. Gibson moved this line to Epiphone by late 1987, apparently when they realized they were losing money from the primo parts and wood used to make these first prototypes. In 1988 Gibson substantially stripped down the guitars and they were re-branded as an Epiphone Korean-made budget line, now with laminated woods rather than the original solids. It’s now very unusual for any of the original Gibson Nouveau guitars to come onto the market.

This rather confusing history is not helped by Gibson’s not using their already mixed serialization “system,” instead having separate serial numbers for the bodies of the guitars (given only on the paper labels visible through the soundholes) and the necks ultimately installed on those bodies (with the numbers embossed on the neck blocks). The numbers were typically 7 digits for the body and 6 digits for the necks, apparently randomly distributed, none of them correlating with the current Gibson or Epiphone serial numbers. The paper labels also said “NOUVEAU by Gibson” on these original models, presumably designating the actual maker.

This particular guitar is the GIBSON NOUVEAU NV-6 R (as opposed to the NV-6, which has mahogany back and sides). It has a square-shouldered dreadnought 15.75” body, gloss finish, an X-braced solid Sitka spruce top, solid rosewood back and sides, round sound hole with three-ring rosette, multi-ply white body binding, mahogany neck, 14/20-fret ebony fingerboard with MOP custom shape inlays, open-book Gibson-style headstock with black headstock overlay; it has a MOP "Nouveau" logo across the top and MOP diamond inlay with a vertical "Gibson" logo on the headstock, six-per-side chrome tuners, an ebony bridge, and a tortoise pick guard. Although the tuners on the 12-string model are labeled Gotoh, the tuners on the NV-6, while identical in appearance, are unlabeled. This NV-6 has a full 25.5" scale and a comfortable 1.68" nut width, perfect for most players.

Cosmetically and structurally it is also in very good condition: the original binding and tortoise pick guard look great, and the finish is the same story, with only a few very faint scratches on the back. While there is some faint fret wear on the first three frets, there are no buzzes or intonation issues. The action is currently set up at a fast and comfortable 3/32” at the 12th fret low E, and there is a working truss rod and room at the saddle for any tweaking desired. Regrettably the paper label has been lost, but the specs all correlate with the original Gibson prototypes of 1986-87. A great guitar for both flatpickers and strummers, it excels at up-tempo bluegrass but is just as good on softer, slower folk tunes. With new strings it will produce nice mids, crisp highs, and booming lows - it has many of the performance characteristics of other higher-end Gibsons.

The case is possibly the original hard shell case in good condition except for some fraying on the edges. Otherwise it is in very good shape, inside and out, with all hardware working and a soft blue plush interior. It affords excellent protection for this quality vintage instrument.

Buyer pays a flat rate of $75 for insurance and shipping to the lower 48 states; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary. Payment by Paypal is preferred; cashiers and personal checks are acceptable, but checks must clear before the guitar will be shipped.

I have tried to be perfectly clear and accurate in describing this vintage guitar, so its return will not be accepted unless it can be shown that it was egregiously misrepresented in this listing. Please check out the pictures and ask any questions you might have before offering to purchase it.

Thank you for your interest in this cool vintage guitar.