Form, function, and history meet the ultimate handmade acoustic
By Robi Johns
Gibson Acoustic Product Sales Manager
Gibson’s New Songwriter Deluxe Standard
Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar Antique Natural
Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar Vintage Sunburst
The Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Standard is designed to deliver a superior instrument to acoustic guitarists around the world. This new model targets songwriters as well as stage and studio performers seeking the perfect companion to help create their music.
The player’s needs answered
It is no accident that the blueprint of this new 2009 model is based on the Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Acoustic, first released in 1999. Designed by Gibson Master Luthier Ren Ferguson, this dreadnought-style guitar has been one of Gibson’s recent acoustic success stories, sporting a modern look and classic 1930s Gibson tone with a wide dynamic range of warm mids and prominent highs.
In light of the original Songwriter Deluxe’s success, our team at Gibson Montana seized the opportunity to raise the bar by creating the new Songwriter Deluxe Standard. We studied the positive reaction of musicians using our already successful Songwriter Deluxe and looked at other popular related models. We then listened to the countless electric guitar players who continue to adapt to acoustic music—whether it’s performing in unplugged venues or just for keeping their hands on a first-class acoustic axe in a rehearsal or songwriting setting. We then had the recipe for producing an instrument that would meet all these needs.
No compromise: stage-ready
To improve the playability of our new model, the Gibson Acoustic building team incorporated its first compound-radius fingerboard ever for an acoustic guitar, featuring a smaller radius at the nut and a larger radius at the neck and body joint. This compound radius provides exceptionally low playing action while offering a fretboard surface that’s perfect for the string bending commonly used in blues and rock. Now acoustic players can more effectively play their favorite electric licks up the neck while still fingerpicking and strumming with a traditional acoustic feel in open position—all on the same guitar.
Next, to enhance the tonal response, we added red spruce bracing, bonded to the soundboard with organic hide glue, just like our forefathers did. These solid red spruce braces help to deliver a more vibrant acoustic tone, while the hide glue assures the connection between the braces and soundboard acts as one piece of solid wood, maximizing their collective vibrating response.
Add to all of this the already fantastic tone achieved by the scalloped 1930s top-bracing pattern, all solid-wood dome top construction (bonded with hide glue to a dovetail neck-to-body joint), and a living and breathing lacquer finish, and you have the one acoustic guitar that does it all.
We also addressed the needs of professional stage and studio performers by including a Fishman Aura Ellipse Pickup system, which adds state-of-the-art acoustic-amplification technology to help achieve a more natural, studio-quality guitar sound when you’re plugged in and playing for the masses.
Beauty is in the eye
Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Since we find that many acoustic guitarists still believe in love at first sight, let’s get down to the guitar’s look and aesthetics.
The Songwriter Deluxe Standard has a pristine, even-grained AAA solid Sitka spruce top with abalone rosette, and is finished in antiqued natural lacquer, which gives this instrument a golden-toned hue. The body, neck, and headstock are trimmed with distinctive flamed maple binding, and its Indian rosewood back is centered with colorful marquetry often used on Gibson custom shop models. This model also bears the sculpted modern Dove-style pickguard created by our master luthiers, in tribute to Gibson’s legacy.
To give the Songwriter Deluxe Standard a trademark and distinctive look, we inlaid its ebony fingerboard with new and original Gibson mother-of-pearl "diamond-eye" position markers. This design is further reflected in a matching engraved truss cover as a final accent of quality and professional design. The Songwriter Deluxe Standard also features a tapered-shoulder body design and lightweight gold-plated Mini Grover tuners, which make this guitar a joy to hold and tune.
We also offer this model with a cutaway body design, for those who play the full range of the guitar neck, right up to its highest fret. The cutaway edition—the Songwriter Deluxe Standard EC—is available at no additional charge, so you can freely choose which option is best for your playing style, all for the same price.
Are you ready to evolve?
It is with great excitement and pride that Gibson adds this latest entry to our array of handmade acoustics under the banner of the new Songwriter Series. This elite group now includes the Songwriter Deluxe Studio, the Songwriter Deluxe Standard, the Songwriter Deluxe Custom, and the forever-famous Hummingbird.
Gibson has had a long history of innovation as we changed with the music and culture of the times. If each Gibson model were pictured in a timeline, Gibson instruments from 1894 through 2009 would look somewhat like subjects in "Darwin’s Theory of Instrument Evolution." The instruments adapt, but never lose the DNA that allows them to thrive, generation after generation, and that ties them to their roots with quality materials, fine craftsmanship, and superior tone. We feel that the Songwriter Deluxe Standard faithfully represents this tradition of change while offering musical excellence to today’s guitarist.
Features & Specs
* Solid Sitka spruce top
* Red spruce and hide glued top bracing
* 1930s Gibson top bracing pattern
* Indian rosewood back and sides
* Compound radius ebony fingerboard
* Fishman Aura Ellipse pickup system
* Flamed maple body, neck, and headstock binding
* Mother-of-pearl diamond-eye fingerboard inlays
* Abalone rosette
* Custom-engraved diamond-eye truss cover
* Gold-plated Mini Grover tuners
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