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1941 Gibson Special #7 Model
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Body size at lower bout: 17", Scale length: 24 3/4" Nut Width: 1 11/16" Neck depth, 1st/10th frets: .97/1.10
Materials: Solid carved bookmatched spruce top; solid birdseye maple sides; flame maple back; 5 piece maple neck; Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with diamond mother of pearl fingerboard inlays; 'The Gibson' diagonal pearl script logo; triple-bound neck, bound body.
Hardware: Original hardware includes compensated adjustable Brazilian rosewood bridge, nickel trapeze tailpiece, adjustable truss rod. Vintage correct Mirabella bound tortoise pickguard, Golden Age engraved open-back tuners. K&K Twin Spot soundboard pickup, with Vintage Jack 1/8" endpin jack.
Notes: Among the rarest and most tantalizing prewar archtops produced by Gibson, their 'Special' models stand in a class by themselves. Beginning with a 'Black Special' as early as 1934, these guitars were supplied only to dealers and limited to stock on hand, first come first served, and never listed in Gibson's standard catalogs. By 1940, a Special #3 and #5 were offered as dealer's specials, corresponding roughly to Gibson's L-30 and L-50 models. And by March of 1941, the largest and most ornate version made it's debut: the Special #7.
Issued in only three short batches, the Special #7 never exceeded 100 examples in total, according to Gibson expert Joe Spann. Featuring a 17" L-5 size body, advertised with 'carved top and back', examples of the Special #7 varied extravagantly in virtually every other respect: indeed, we've never seen two of them with identical appointments. Known affectionately as 'floor sweep' guitars, these models gave Gibson the chance to clean house as never before, as this intriguing example demonstrates in spades.
After no small digging, we've been able to piece together sources for the various components of this distinctive instrument at least as far as the 1920's, starting with the Style 3 banjo 'crossed diamonds' peghead inlay, and diagonal 'The Gibson' pearl script logo. With its lateral sunburst pattern, the body finish echoes Gibson's prewar L-75 archtop, and the short lived 17" Recording King Model 1121. The diamond inlay fingerboard appears borrowed from Recording King's top of the line M-5 model as well. But unlike any of the Recording Kings, or any other Gibson made brands, this guitar is fitted with their patented adjustable truss rod, which was available exclusively on Gibson logo instruments alone.
The final mystery is the neck itself. Alone among prewar Gibson archtops, the L-5 was the only model fitted with a maple neck, typically in two pieces with a walnut centerstripe. This 5 piece neck is unlike any we've seen, and we've been unable to trace it back to any previous Gibson model. (Any help out there?) The compensated adjustable bridge and tailpiece are both typical prewar Gibson parts, with the addition of recent enhancements including the vintage correct Mirabella bound tortoise pickguard, and Golden Age engraved open-back tuners.
Crafted with a bookmatched curly maple back, and birdseye maple sides, the solid carved spruce soundboard is parallel braced for maximum volume and projection. At barely 5lb even, this handsome instrument is exceptionally light in weight and well balanced, with a full, gently rounded traditional C profile neck. The 24 3/4" scale is typical of Gibson's prewar 17" archtops, and offers the contemporary player easier stretch chords, and more fluent lead runs. Well maintained, the guitar shows smooth thumbwear extending the length of the neck, which joins the body flush to the soundboard. The top and back show no cracks, with only a pair of soundly cleated cracks in the upper bass side near the neck. The subtly shaded mahogany sunburst finish is original as well, with its distinctive longitudinal sunburst pattern on the sides.
The voice has the clear, open volume of a soundboard well played-in over decades of vigorous strumming, with powerful projection and pronounced reverb in the upper register. Combined with its fine recent frets and a fresh high precision setup, the guitar is gig ready, with its a K&K Twin Spot soundboard pickup, and Vintage Jack 1/8" endpin jack.
With boundless creativity, and peerless pragmatism, Gibson's artisans created this enigmatic instrument, surely of one of their rarest and most fascinating models ever. Complete with its deluxe black Harptone plush lined hardshell case: one only, call now.
Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished as required; trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge radius inspected and recurved as necessary; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge conditioned; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.
This instrument is strung with medium gauge bronze strings (.013). The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 4/64" to 5/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.
