This is an incredible 1966 Gibson Johnny Smith, one of the most sought after archtops in Gibson's history, and one a low number of Johnny Smiths made during 1966. These guitars have a long and storied history, being one of the most popular "artist model" archtops the company has produced.
Johnny was previously with Guild, with whom he had a tempestuous relationship, with them refusing to build the guitar he wanted to his specs, so when his four year contract with Guild was up, he bolted to Gibson who build the brand new Johnny Smith artist model to his exact specifications: A 17" L5 style body with a cutaway, a Super 400 headstock, either one or two mini-humbucker pickups, maple back and sides, a spruce top, a C shaped neck with a scale length of 25". These 60's Johnny Smiths are known for their incredible back and sides, often highly figured.
This particular example is a single pickup model with only a single volume knob. Visually it's in great condition, with only a couple noticable chips/gouges which is remarkable for a guitar made half a century ago. There is a normal amount of checking for a guitar this age. There has been one spot where the finish was repaired, to fill a small gouge by the lower bout of the pickguard. Serial #551280 comes with the original hardshell case.
