A long scale, square-shouldered Gibson-made dreadnought with Maple back and sides? That's a Dove, right?!? Think again...

One of the more notable features of this guitar besides the stunning "Cactus & Rope" motif on the large celluloid pickguard is the transitional nut width. Measuring at 1.63", it hits right at that early '65 marker as Gibson was moving from 1 11/16" to the true narrow nut of 1 9/16". We're not sure how a guitar that dated to early '66 would end up with these specs, but we welcome it with open arms! While we're not one to pick favorites (there are plenty of amazing narrow nut Gibsons out there), the slightly wider nut does lend itself to more comfortable first-position chord work.

The guitar has remained impressively clean for its age despite developing a small superficial top crack on the lower bout. It doesn't appear that the crack has gone all the way through, and it has remained tight. Otherwise, it exhibits light wear throughout, with various small nicks and dings surrounded by natural lacquer checking.

The tone is quite impressive, with a remarkable bass response that defies the typical sound of Maple-bodied acoustics that aren't of the Super Jumbo variety (e.g. SJ-200, Guild F212, etc). The long scale enhances note separation and a nice top end clarity to the sound that gives it presence without treble fatigue. The original medium jumbo frets are in excellent condition as well.

This is the first v1 Frontier we've had in our shop, which says something about the model's rarity in the market. If you've been on the lookout for one of these, you might not find a better example than this!