The Gibson Advanced Jumbo was an
acoustic flattop guitar made by the
Gibson Guitar Corporation
Gibson, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation and Gibson Brands Inc.) is an American manufacturer of Guitar manufacturing, guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashvi ...
. Introduced in 1936, is still considered a classic. Only 300 guitars were produced before Gibson replaced it with the
Gibson J-200
The Gibson J-200 (formerly the Gibson SJ-200 or Super Jumbo 200), is an acoustic guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. Standard models of the guitar feature a uniquely shaped "moustache" bridge and a large pickguard with a vine ...
''Super Jumbo'', but these guitars are still prized by collectors and musicians today.
Prototype
In 1931 Gibson introduced its first versions of the
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...
acoustic guitars, branded by
C. F. Martin & Company.
Wider and with a more powerful sound than all the other flattop guitars on the market, they were immediately successful.
The first Gibson Jumbo was similar to a Dreadnought, but had more rounded shoulders.
It had a 16" body, 4" deep, with a fixed pinned bridge that had a slanted compensating saddle.
The Jumbo had a sunburst finish. It was made of mahogany, and had a spruce top and a rosewood fingerboard.
Production 1936-1938
The Advanced Jumbo replaced the original Gibson Jumbo.
It had rosewood back and sides, an
Adirondack Spruce soundboard, a 25.5 inch
scale length, and a 1.725 inch nut width.
The Advanced Jumbo and the Jumbo 35 were both introduced in 1936.
Both of these instruments were wide, and had 14 frets clear of their bodies. The Jumbo 35 was the lower-priced model, going for just $35.
The Advanced Jumbo was retailed at $80, still less than the $100 Martin D-28 Dreadnought.
It was also built a bit more inexpensively than the Martin instrument.
For example, the main braces did not tuck into the side bandings, which could cause problems.
The Gibson Advanced Jumbo was favored by 1930s players such as
Bob Baker, a
singing cowboy
A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western (genre), Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier. The original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, ...
.
A famous bluegrass player said the Advanced Jumbo blew him away the first time he ever touched one.
According to one collector, "The Advanced Jumbo was probably the best flattop in Gibson's entire history, a wonderful guitar".
However, production ceased after a small run of 300
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s.
Postproduction
In 1938–1939 Gibson replaced the Advanced Jumbo with the Super Jumbo 100 and
Super Jumbo 200.
The Super Jumbo was still being produced in 2003.
Gibson's
Ray Whitley-branded "
Recording King
Recording King is a musical instruments brand currently owned by The Music Link Corporation, based in Hayward, California, which also produces other musical instrument lines.
Range of products commercialised under the Recording King brand are ...
", introduced in 1939, was a similar sized flattop guitar with rosewood back and sides and a sunburst spruce top.
The Advanced Jumbos remain valued.
Today an Advanced Jumbo would fetch about the same as a prewar Martin herringbone D-28.
A price of $1,600 was asked for an Advanced Jumbo "reissue" in 1995.
References
Citations
Sources
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External links
Super Jumbo guitars on Gibson website
{{Gibson Guitar Corporation
Advanced Jumbo
Products introduced in 1936
1936 in music