Gibson Southern Jumbo FON W391 (1955)

This 1955 Gibson SJ is an excellent sounding guitar perfectly suited to a singer-songwriter in search of their end-the-search Gibson.

This 1955 Gibson Southern Jumbo ranks amongst the cleanest and most well-preserved vintage flattops we've ever seen. We acquired it from the estate of its original owner in 100% original & unaltered condition. It's a corny, cliche thing to say, but we're going to say it anyway. This guitar has a VIBE.

The Southern Jumbo is, essentially, a dressed-up J-45. The construction formula and tone woods are the same: it's a slope-shouldered dreadnought with Mahogany back and sides, a Spruce top, and Rosewood fingerboard and bridge. But the Southern Jumbo adds a triple-bound aesthetic, alongside split parallelogram fingerboard inlays, to the J-45's austere platform. The Sunburst finish on this guitar is particularly picturesque: the instrument itself is a poster child candidate for anyone out there working on a Gibson flattop coffee table book. Nearly everyone who's played this guitar says the same thing: it's LOUD. The voice is intensely focused in the midrange, making it an excellent flat picking guitar (it cuts like a resonator). Naturally, this sort of presence makes it a great recording guitar as well. The tighter, more focused sound of a 1950's guitar is on bold display herein, but it lacks nothing in terms of low-end thump or growl. Simply stated: it's an excellent sounding guitar perfectly suited to a singer-songwriter in search of their end-the-search Gibson. Bonus points if you solo as well; this one's got you covered.

Our shop performed the work necessary to make this guitar playable for its next 70 years. We've reset the neck, installed new frets, and replaced the tuner buttons. Aside from that, this guitar's structure hasn't changed since it was built. There is extensive finish checking, which we love, and a small amount of playwear consistent with age. (Please see photo gallery). All internal components (braces, bridge plate) are original and very healthy. This instrument is priced with its original hard case.