1946 Gibson SJ Southern Jumbo Sunburst, Good, Hard, $4,000.00

No FON: Those of us who love old Gibson flat tops are particularly fond of the “Banner Gibsons”. They were made during the WWII years when there was a shortage of labor and materials. Despite the challenges Gibson still cobbled together great guitars with care and ingenuity in very small numbers. The “banner” refers to Gibson’s corporate marketing slogan “Only a Gibson is Good Enough” which appears in a banner across the headstock. That slogan would probably be there to this day if not for “Epiphone – When “Good Enough” isn’t Good Enough” which appeared in 1945. The Gibson banner disappeared in 1946 and in 1948 the corporate logo was modernized to the one we’re familiar with today. But in those two years when the “script logo” was used without the banner, the guitars continued to be made to the same specs and much the same care as the war years. This 46/47 is one of those guitars and, despite some dryness cracks that are well repaired; it is still a solid, great sounding guitar that has not had much play over the years. The center seam has been reglued and cleated. There’s a four inch crack coming off the waist on the bass side, glued and oversprayed, a four incher off the wing of the bridge on the treble side, and another near the waist on the treble side. There is some tear-out near the pickguard. With the exception of the touchup, the top is mostly original with some light checking. The back and sides are completely oversprayed for almost no reason as is part of the back of the neck. Now for the good stuff. The neck is a nice “D” profile with some heft but not nearly as big as the wartime years. There’s an adjustable truss rod again, absent during some of the war years. It’s set up perfectly with low action. The original bridge is “ramped” just slightly. Probable neck reset but the frets look original and there’s plenty left. The soundboard is lively and it delivers the Gibson crunch as you’d expect.

I traded into this out of the collection of a former colleauge. He claimed this guitar was given to him by someone we’ve all heard of but I have sworn not to tell (call or email me for a guffaw). This very fair price includes a slightly used Martin Geib-style case with the cushioned green plush interior.