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1974-5 Gibson Howard Roberts Custom
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Serial #: 415974
Body size at lower bout: 16". Scale length: 25 1/2" Nut Width: 1 11/16"
Finish: Sunburst finish, nitrocellulose type
Materials: Seven-ply bound figured maple body; three piece flame maple neck; solid rosewood fingerboard; ornate NY Epi Deluxe style peghead vine inlay, Gibson peghead logo, and split block pearl fingerboard inlays.
Hardware: All original hardware includes custom engraved trapeze tailpiece; original compensated adjustable ebony bridge with mother of pearl foot inlay; original nickel Gibson Deluxe sealed tuners; unique full sized original floating Gibson humbucking pickup; master volume with separate treble and bass tone controls; original black barrel knobs, 5-ply bound tortoise pickguard in case (additional bound tortoise guard installed.)
Notes: Featured on untold thousands of major studio recordings, movie and TV soundtracks as both a sideman and soloist, the late Howard Roberts was almost surely the most prolifically recorded jazz gutiarist of all time. Like his contemporary Johnny Smith, Roberts also consulted in the creation of a number of technically innovative instruments. An instrument as versatile as its celebrated creator, the Howard Roberts Model was introduced by Gibson under its Epiphone label in 1965. Made in Kalamazoo, this original guitar combined an arched 16" Florentine cutaway body with a unique oval soundhole, a design with roots in Orville Gibson's very earliest guitars. With its long-scale neck, the Howard Roberts also revived the celebrated vine peghead inlay of the prewar Epiphone Deluxe.
The Epiphone Howard Roberts was discontinued by 1968, but revived under the Gibson logo in 1970. A full-sized floating humbucking pickup was produced for this model alone, and unique separate treble and bass tone controls. Three years later, Gibson premiered this version of the model, the Howard Roberts Custom. Produced in limited numbers, the Howard Roberts Custom was offered for less than a decade. This example is in superb original condition, without cracks, pick, buckle, thumb, or fingerboard wear. The tone is smooth and unusually versatile through the floating humbucking pickup, thanks to the unique tone control system, and the disctinctive oval hole body has a respectable unplugged voice of its own. A rare opportunity to own one of Gibson's most distinctive Artist Models.
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 wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.
This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel wound strings (.013-.057). The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 5/64" to 6/64" 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.
Case: Original Gibson black arched hardshell case with purple plush lining.
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