Jumbo

In 1934, to be competitive with the new, larger dreadnought acoustic guitars, Gibson responded with the Jumbo, which was 1-1/4″ wider, 1″ longer, and 1/2″ deeper than their L-Series flat-tops. Over the years, the jumbos were split into three groups, the round-shoulder jumbo, the square-shoulder jumbo, and finally, the narrow-waist jumbo, of which the Super Jumbo J-200 is Gibson’s self-proclaimed “King of the Flat-Top Guitars.” No Hollywood singing cowboy would be caught dead (figuratively) on the silver screen without his horse or his jumbo, so that after the roundup was done, everyone gathered around the campfire for a song or two. Ray Whitley was the first of this breed to own and play a Super Jumbo in 1937.