Gibson Johnny Smith

Johnny Smith description | Catalogue appearances

Johnny Smith was one of the legendary jazz guitarists to emerge from the late 1940s New York jazz scene, being made famous by tracks such as Moonlight in Vermont, which he recorded with Stan Getz.

His Gibson signature guitar became commercially available from 1961, with a single pickup initially, and an optional bridge pickup from 1963. The initial (June 1961) US price was $795 for a Sunburst example, or $810 for a Natural; the most expensive guitar in the 1961 Gibson price list. The model was initially called the 'Johnny Smith model' - this was until the two pickup version was launched in '63, when, to differentiate them, the guitars were given model codes JS and JSD. But the name Johnny Smith was always present in Gibson literature. This was until the June 1976 Gibson price list - from this point onwards, and in all Gibson catalogues, the model was simply referred to as JS / JSD.

Between 1961 and 1979, 963 single pickup (JS), and 625 double pickup (JS-D) Johnny Smith models were produced, with approximately 20% sporting a natural finish (JS-N, JS-DN), as opposed to the standard sunburst. Peak years were 1969, then 1968, with 177 anmd 165 instruments shipped respectively.

The neck pickup was not mounted into the guitars top, but was attached to the neck. Likewise controls and input jack are all mounted to the scratchplate.

The J-S guitar's powerful Humbucking pickup is mounted to the neck of the instrument. This allows the acoustical body to resonate freely for a rich, full-bodied sound.

Over the period of production, there were some small changes. Early examples (see the 1962 Gibson catalogue) had 22, or possibly 21 (see the 1964 catalogue), before settling on 20 for the rest of the course of production.

One other change made in 1978 was to the 'instant adjustment' jazz tailpiece - see images above.

This guitar was still being shipped as recently as 1989.

Electric guitar advertisements originally published from 1965 onwards. Click on the images for larger copies. Check out other vintage Gibson advertisements

Gibson Johnny Smith as featured in the 1975 Gibson catalogue. This image shows how the neck humbucker is mounted onto the side of the guitar's neck, rather than into the carved top.

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