1976 Gibson Johnny Smith

**JazzNote** · 09-21-2016, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by wintermoon

really nice color on that one, ambered out.
is that the one from PA?
"The nut width is about 1.75 but it is unusually narrow at the upper end"

yes, I was playing one the other day, very narrow @ the neck joint.
that and the short scale and thinner body has always kept me from owning one, but folks that love 'em really love 'em!

congrats on the end of your search [until you find one you like better

]

Its the one from Hanks Vintage Guitars in Pittsburgh

Originally Posted by wintermoon

you can see where the finish under where the pickup was is lighter, that honey color top is really nice, that guitar started out much lighter most likely.
there's some horizontal figuring on the back, a little bonus from the flameless era [though more often than not they'll be some nice figuring on Gibson's in the mid to late 70's like this one near the waist on the bass side, just not curly or flame grain.
have the orig pickup and guard Jazznote? very tidy guitar and priced right! great looking 40 yr old...

It came all original except the guard which i'm glad was replaced but it already left non removable traces on the PU when gassing out
1976 Gibson Johnny Smith-js-jpg

**JazzNote** · 09-21-2016, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by callouscallus

most beautiful JS I've ever seen!

Originally Posted by hotpepper01

Very handsome looking JS. Congratulations. I am glad it turned out that well for you.

Originally Posted by citizenk74

What a fine instrument! I'm very glad it arrived safely. Congratulations, and play it in good health!

Originally Posted by Dedalus

Beautiful GJS.

Originally Posted by Dedalus

Congrats

Thanks guys - and in reality it's even more beautiful than on the foto

Originally Posted by Stringswinger

A big Congrats JazzNote! A High end blond Gibson archtop is as good as it gets. May it inspire your playing for years to come!

Thanks Stringswinger - at the moment i fight the 25 scale a bit, but i'm positive that i will soon improve my ability to switch between 25 and 25 3/4 with ease ;-)

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

JazzNote, I could not be happier that the GJS arrived to you with no issues, and that it appears to be to your liking. Count me in with those who are attracted to aged Natural finishes that take on an Amber hue! The silking on the Maple back is equally as stunning as her fine Spruce top. Aside from the darkened shading that guitar looks nearly ageless! Like Racquel Welch, or Sophia Loren your GJS is experiencing midlife looking better than many in their 20's!

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

Mega Congratulations to you in Switzerland, and may this guitar bring you immeasurable joy for untold years to come!

Thanks 2b, yep those 70's backs really have my admiration and the top of this JS couldn't be nicer.

**Philco** · 09-21-2016, 07:18 PM

Congratulations. That JS is the guitar of my dreams.

I played a couple in Tokyo once (Walkin Guitars) but I can't remember if they are neck heavy.....because of the larger Headstock and large tuners.
Will it balance or will it fall toward the headstock when sitting on your knee?

Mind you....that wouldn't stop me buying a JS!

**hot ford coupe** · 09-21-2016, 07:48 PM

Happy NGD !!! That is a real beauty. I only got to play one in my lifetime and it was never going to be for sale. it doesn't get more classy than that.

**Max405** · 09-21-2016, 07:52 PM

JazzNote,
Magnificent! A blond Johnny Smith is a spectacular instrument. Using Choice select woods, that guitar is exactly what you were looking for.
So tell me how did you pull off such a score? Living half the world must must have presented challenges, no? I always wondered how the language barrier can affect the negotiating process.
In any case, you did good. The seller deserves kudos for keeping it nice and giving you a great deal.
Joe D

**JazzNote** · 09-21-2016, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by Joe DeNisco

JazzNote,
Magnificent! A blond Johnny Smith is a spectacular instrument. Using Choice select woods, that guitar is exactly what you were looking for.
So tell me how did you pull off such a score? Living half the world must must have presented challenges, no? I always wondered how the language barrier can affect the negotiating process.
In any case, you did good. The seller deserves kudos for keeping it nice and giving you a great deal.
Joe D

Joe, i think because the seller advertised it only on his business website it did not draw so much attention. Also he wouldn't ship overseas which certainly kept away international buyers. I did quite some research on him until i was convinced that i could wire the money without worries, something which would seem to be very risky without any of the guarantees normally provided if buying via ebay/paypal or reverb. In addition to that i was lucky enough to get Steve's advice on how to negotiate and also his very valuable input in general and on some other GJS which he had tried out. The seller was very fair all the way, he even lowered the price once more at my request when the exchange rate turned unfavorably while payment was delayed due to his mistake.

Of course the language barrier is always present, but in spite of my limited vocabulary i feel that i usually get across what i want to express ;-).

**JazzNote** · 09-21-2016, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by Philco

Congratulations. That JS is the guitar of my dreams.

I played a couple in Tokyo once (Walkin Guitars) but I can't remember if they are neck heavy.....because of the larger Headstock and large tuners.
Will it balance or will it fall toward the headstock when sitting on your knee?

Mind you....that wouldn't stop me buying a JS!

Thanks and ...
yes a bit neck heavy, but it does not disturb at all when using the strap which i always do. When playing it sitting, without strap, the right arm can hold it comfortably without effort, so i think this is no issue at all.

**JazzNote** · 09-21-2016, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by hot ford coupe

Happy NGD !!! That is a real beauty. I only got to play one in my lifetime and it was never going to be for sale. it doesn't get more classy than that.

Thanks hot ford coupe. Right, as classy as it can be.

**Max405** · 09-21-2016, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by JazzNote

Joe, i think because the seller advertised it only on his business website it did not draw so much attention. Also he wouldn't ship overseas which certainly kept away international buyers. I did quite some research on him until i was convinced that i could wire the money without worries, something which would seem to be very risky without any of the guarantees normally provided if buying via ebay/paypal. In addition to that i was lucky enough to get Steve's advice on how to negotiate and also his very valuable input in general and on some other GJS which he had tried out. The seller was very fair all the way, he even lowered the price once more at my request when the exchange rate turned unfavorably while payment was delayed due to his mistake.

Of course the language barrier is always present, but in spite of my limited vocabulary i feel that i usually get across what i want to express ;-).

That's good of you to give our Stevie some kudo's on this.
that is awesome. I am really happy for you JazzNote. You did really good. Enjoy the whole priceless experience.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
Joe D

**BigMikeinNJ** · 09-21-2016, 10:39 PM

Yeah it is a class group here... And very classy of the dealer lowering the price as you explained.
Congratulations. And wow reading your posts I would have NO IDEA that English wasn't your primary language. Very nice.

Big

**Archtop Guy** · 09-22-2016, 12:28 AM

JazzNote, Wow,what a catch! Congrats. Where do you guys find these pieces? There must be web sites that your all hiding from the rest of us. Beautiful guitar,enjoy.AG

**Frank67** · 09-22-2016, 01:12 AM

It looks absolutely great. I love the gracefully aged top and all the appointments make it look soooo classy. That is certainly a spectacularly nice guitar. Congratulations and enjoy it for a long time to come!

**JazzNote** · 09-23-2016, 05:29 AM

Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ

Yeah it is a class group here... And very classy of the dealer lowering the price as you explained.
Congratulations. And wow reading your posts I would have NO IDEA that English wasn't your primary language. Very nice.

Big

Big, i much enjoy participating in this class group - very inspirational ...... and .... i was lucky that i could spend a couple of years in Boston when studying at Berklee in 84/85 and 87 so i got to know the language a bit.

**JazzNote** · 09-23-2016, 05:39 AM

Originally Posted by Archtop Guy

JazzNote, Wow,what a catch! Congrats. Where do you guys find these pieces? There must be web sites that your all hiding from the rest of us. Beautiful guitar,enjoy.AG

Thanks Archtop Guy, i have spent hours and hours of googling over the summer, sometimes getting up to page 50 in the search results, and then carefully inspecting all the fotos and sometimes asking questions to the sellers. So i literally knew every advertised JS. In addition to that i had help here in the forum, receiving private messages when a new one would pop up on Reverb or Ebay, plus from the members who posted in the FS section.

Originally Posted by FrankLearns

It looks absolutely great. I love the gracefully aged top and all the appointments make it look soooo classy. That is certainly a spectacularly nice guitar. Congratulations and enjoy it for a long time to come!

Thanks FrankLearns. I will try to keep it as nice as it is, certainly not use it as a "workhorse" since it looks so great.

**Archtop Guy** · 09-23-2016, 08:38 AM

Jazznote, I Know the one I want now without all that searching. The trick is getting you to sell it to me.

**plasticpigeon** · 09-23-2016, 09:42 AM

I'm really glad it all worked out, looks a very nice instrument.

**JazzNote** · 11-27-2016, 12:03 PM

After all i found some time to do a demo of the 76 Johnny Smith. I'm not used to playing all alone (usually i take a looper to my solo gigs) but for this i decided it would be best to plug the guitar straight into the amp, no effects in between. I added a bit of reverb on the clarus though.

So it is the GJS straight into a Clarus 2R / Raezer's Edge Stealth 10 ER. Miked with a Royer 101 and just a tiny tad of sound from my modded Rode NT2 (RK47capsule). In addition to miking the cabinet i pointed a Schoeps MK4 on the top just below the tailpiece.

For a normal production i would add slight EQ to smoothen the sound a bit, but wanting this as straight as possible i left everything as recorded - no processing, editing changing sound at all.

Just one thing, i have added a tone control on the guitar a while ago and play it with a very slight roll off of treble. I still use the same set of 0.13 to 0.53 Ti swings which i put on when i received the guitar in September.

http://home.datacomm.ch/troubadix/GJS1976Demo.mp3

After doing this i realize that it doesn't come as easy as i hoped to switch between the scales of my different guitars. Beeing used to 25.5" scales it took me quite a few takes until i got rid of the worst audible fingering inaccuracies. In fact it took me a whole day of getting used to the Johnny until i finally got a result which isn't to "shameful".

**QAman** · 11-27-2016, 12:14 PM

Beat,
Beautiful playing !! Tasteful , with soft melodic lines and no academic runs of uselessness. Executed with precision - sort of like your personality of perfection. I loved it - so did my wife - she generally does not like overdone jazz runs- but more melodic expression like this example.

Jimmy D'Aquisto use to relate excessive notes to politicians - lots of words but meaningless message . Not here - just lovely.

**Max405** · 11-27-2016, 01:24 PM

Jazznote,
BRAVO! That was great. That really was outstanding.
Amazing sound, amazing playing, amazing recording.
The Johnny Smith sounds great in your hands. I really enjoyed that very much.
Joe D

**Stringswinger** · 11-27-2016, 04:09 PM

Jazznote, that sounds great! Great tone and tasty playing. That amp setup is superb with a Gibson humbucker (that is pretty much my go-to rig as well). Thanks for sharing.

**citizenk74** · 11-27-2016, 04:48 PM

Just delicious. Well done!

**JazzNote** · 11-28-2016, 04:02 AM

Thanks for listening to all of you!

Originally Posted by QAman

Beat,
Beautiful playing !! Tasteful , with soft melodic lines and no academic runs of uselessness. Executed with precision - sort of like your personality of perfection. I loved it - so did my wife - she generally does not like overdone jazz runs- but more melodic expression like this example.

Jimmy D'Aquisto use to relate excessive notes to politicians - lots of words but meaningless message . Not here - just lovely.

Steve, playing is most of the time still a thrilling "adventure" for me. Trying to find the ideal mix of melody and harmony in a solo has kept me busy for quite some time and still does. Please extend my greetings to your wife.

Originally Posted by Max405

Jazznote,
BRAVO! That was great. That really was outstanding.
Amazing sound, amazing playing, amazing recording.
The Johnny Smith sounds great in your hands. I really enjoyed that very much.
Joe D

Joe, it's a special guitar which needs to be played with conviction to deliver. But once that is happening it's amazing what comes out of it.

Originally Posted by Stringswinger

Jazznote, that sounds great! Great tone and tasty playing. That amp setup is superb with a Gibson humbucker (that is pretty much my go-to rig as well). Thanks for sharing.

Stringswinger, for years and years i had been scuffling with amps. This stopped at once when i found the Clarus/RE combination. And as Joe and i found out, the seventies JS mini humbuckers produce outstanding quality sound.

Originally Posted by citizenk74

Just delicious. Well done!

Thanks citizenk!

**Max405** · 11-29-2016, 09:51 AM

Originally Posted by JazzNote

Joe, it's a special guitar which needs to be played with conviction to deliver. But once that is happening it's amazing what comes out of it.

JazzNote,
It always amazes me how different people have different opinions of guitars.
The way I feel about my Gibson Johnny Smith is it is by far the most "touch sensitive" guitar I've ever played. I enjoy playing it with a soft touch. But when I pluck octaves firmly, I can hear the aggressiveness, almost overdriven notes that George Benson got out of his on the Breezin album, even on the live version of, "Ode To A Kudu". The only thing I can equate it to is the sound of a grand Piano or even a Fender Rhodes. You can get anything you want out of it. I've never bought something that I really wanted before that has matched or exceeded my expectations like the Gibson Johnny Smith. The D'Angelico Excel surprised me with the "beauty" of its sound, but I never played it as much as I should have, because I was afraid to ruin it..
I am glad you like yours too. It is a beautiful guitar, without a doubt.
Thank you QAMan for helping us out. If I was a professional athlete, I'd beg for you to be my agent.

JD

**wintermoon** · 11-29-2016, 10:24 AM

"The D'Angelico Excel surprised me with the "beauty" of its sound, but I never played it as much as I should have, because I was afraid to ruin it.."

?

**QAman** · 11-29-2016, 10:42 AM

Hey Max405,
Glad you and Jazznote are enjoying your GJS's - and thanks for the kind words.

Today - I'm headed over to see my good friend John Monteleone to play some new grand piano guitars. One day you need to swing by and I'll take you over to meet John- his instruments will blow your mind.