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I’ve seen S400 tailpieces for sale on occasion. But be prepared to open your wallet.
To me, .14 strings strike the fattest tone. I’m a piano player so don’t mind playing larger strings. It’s a blessing not knowing what you don’t know. See guitar, play guitar.
I owned a 1973 that due to the pick guard rotting away was refinished by Gibson. Gibson even installed a new tailpiece.
That of course was completed by the previous owner.
Great guitar. Enjoy the ride!
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05-19-2026 04:02 PM
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Thanks ! I already do. Discovering the "joys" of amplifying such a bass heavy beast.
It's giving me a hard time to be honest
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Tailpiece & TRC, similar era. The seller is in California but can ship anywhere. He's formerly associated with Gibson. Everything he sells is authentic. -Phil
The Marketplace for Musicians | Reverb.com
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Thanks Phil, I'm listing the L5 tailpiece to free up some cash
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I think I know the story behind your tailpiece. In 1994, for Gibson's 100th anniversary, they released a limited set of 'Centennial' guitars. These guitars had years on their tailpieces. The reason behind the specific years they chose to put on the specific models was never clear to me; besides the fact that all the years are from 1894-1994.
Here is an example of an L-5 with '1900' on its tailpiece: The Marketplace for Musicians | Reverb.com
But how the tailpiece got from a 1994 Centennial L-5 to your Super 400 is still a mystery.
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Wow ! there's so much suspense in this thread !
Now is a good time for the original owner to chime in
So maybe this L5 tailpiece does have some value to it. It would be made of 22k gold and actual diamonds
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Andrew, you're absolutely right! there's one here except it 1901 and not mine. But the diamonds are there
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Ah, here we go. This sheds some light on it:
There was 1 guitar produced for each month of the year and only 100 of each was made (1 for each of the 100 years)...Each guitar numbered in series from 1894 to 1994, signifying Gibson’s 100 years.
Gibson 1994 Centennial Guitar Collection – RonSusser.com
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I own a part of history :-) but where is the original guitar ? and Whyyyyyy ? and who wants it ;-)
Crazy story
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Congrats! She's a beauty.
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Merci ! I'm in love
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And that’s a good thing!
Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
Hahaa!
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I's thinking of maybe getting Grover Imperials - Any advice ? Would it be correct and a sort of an upgrade ?`
MECANIQUES GROVER IMPERIAL ROTOMATICS 150G GOLD
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I would not necessarily put those on brand new it will look out of place for sure. I your pockets deep you might try get these at a better price I would not pay this (#T71) Gibson L-5, Super 400, Kluson Sealfast Individual Tuners 1947-55 | Reverb Originally Posted by supernoob_400
I would go for Kluson but you have to be careful to get the correct ones. To me the ones on this guitar are fine just not the exact ones that came with it in the sense of design,
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I understand... deep-ish pockets but that's too much... I'm just discovering how crazy some prices are...
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' Originally Posted by supernoob_400
It actually is a problem and at some point I simply move on with old guitars. You take a guitar apart and it worth more than the whole. Someone has a 1936 all original Super 400. You take off the tailpiece and sell it for big bucks totally original. Then you remove tuners sell them for big bucks totally original and both are perfectly aged. Not sure what you could get but then buy newer replacements including the original case. Not suggesting that is the way to go but it is fact. Aged case, tuners, tailpiece.... guestimate the proceeds at $3-4k and get replacements for less than half the amount, not the way I would want to make money but it would work.
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I'll play it as it is until I find a reasonable offer (or not). It's awesome the way it is ! just annoying to someone a little too "anal" :-)
but I'm not a collector and am not looking at making money selling or reselling. I'm a player
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Given the era of the guitar and the era of the centennial instruments... could this actually be the original tailpiece? Even if it's an L-5?
Hopefully Gibson will supply the information.
Lovely instrument! Since everything works great, I'd not worry about it and eventually the right truss rod cover, tuners and tailpiece will show up. Play it and enjoy it!
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That would be a relief ! thank you for the kind words. Gibson has not replied yet... Originally Posted by Cunamara
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I haven’t seen any credible info suggesting that there were any 100th anniversary S400 CESs. There are L5s in every description I’ve seen of the 12 electric models in the series, but no S400s. So the quest has to start with establishing the existence of a real one. Originally Posted by Cunamara
Given the nature and cost of the Centennial Gibsons, it’s hard to believe that they haven’t all been well cared for and preserved intact. I can’t believe that anyone in his or her right mind would have substituted a different tailpiece and sold the original from so rare and valuable a guitar. It’s possible (but a real long shot) that the original tp was a Bigsby, and that an owner along the way hated it enough to replace it. Maybe he or she found a commemorative L5 whose owner wanted a Bigsby, and they swapped. Of course, the probability that this happened is lower than the odds I’ll win a Grammy.
Does this 400 have the other jewels and inlays of a CS Centennial guitar, supernoob? IIRC, there should be CS headstock inlays, jewels on the knobs, etc.
It’s inconsistent with the concept of a commemorative reissue to have put an L5 tp on a Super 400 out of the box. So speculation about the possibility that this is a real, original 100th anniversary S400 CES seems to me to have no basis in fact yet. Let’s hope Gibson responds.
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It does not. And I totally agree with you. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Thanks for the support :-)
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What does the label in the body look like?
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No label
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The hole patterns for both TP’s are different so if their is no extra holes the L-5 TP was put on by the factory.
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That’s clever ? Thx
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