Aged Looks, Aged Tone, and Decadent Southern Jumbo Style
Inspired by the extraordinarily rare rosewood-equipped Southern Jumbos of yore, Gibson Acoustic’s 1942 Banner Southern Jumbo Murphy Lab Light Aged acoustic guitar sports an immaculately aged finish to capture the vibe of a true vintage classic. Plus, the finish isn’t the only thing that’s aged — Gibson Acoustic’s cutting-edge thermal aging process imbues this guitar’s red Adirondack spruce top with the dry, resonant, and responsive voice of an instrument that’s been played in for decades. Rosewood back and sides transform the 1942 Banner Southern Jumbo’s traditionally rustic voice into a lush blanket of rich highs, body-shaking lows, and mellow midrange. You also get a period-correct mahogany neck carved into a full-feeling “Historic” shape and a sleek rosewood fingerboard. Lastly, Gibson Acoustic’s top-class team of luthiers in Bozeman, Montana, drape this guitar in a Murphy Lab-style Light Aged finish, granting you a top-of-the-line Gibson that goes toe-to-toe with any vintage Southern Jumbo out there!
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Imbued with a touch of Southern class
Often considered the J-45’s fancier sibling, the Southern Jumbo traditionally sports the same spruce-top and mahogany body you’d expect to find on Gibson’s early “Jumbo” models. However, a few rare Southern Jumbos in the early 1940s came equipped with stunning rosewood back and sides — the Gibson Acoustic 1942 Banner Southern Jumbo Murphy Lab Light Aged perfectly replicates these sparse but immensely sought-after models. Paired with a voluminous aged Adirondack red spruce top, this 1942 Banner Southern Jumbo’s rosewood back and sides produce a sparkling, zingy top end, cavernous low, and a somewhat scooped midrange that dovetails perfectly with vocal accompaniment.
Cutting-edge Gibson thermal aging
Any guitarist who’s ever beheld a true vintage instrument knows that old acoustic guitars have a certain magical quality to their tone that’s tough for a modern instrument to capture — they’ll get there eventually, but it takes time! However, if you’d prefer to skip the half-century-long break-in time, Sweetwater guitarists find you’d be well served picking up a Gibson with a thermally aged top like this 1942 Banner Southern Jumbo. Also known as torrefication, this process removes moisture and other impurities from the top, mimicking decades of aging and play. The result is an undeniably “vintage” voice that’s simply replete with a wonderfully dry, crisp, and extraordinarily resonant tone.
Classic Gibson craftsmanship
From humble beginnings in Kalamazoo, Michigan, back in the late 1800s to present-day Bozeman, Montana, Gibson Acoustic has been making some of the finest acoustic instruments on the planet for generations. When you pick up this 1942 Banner Southern Jumbo, you know you're getting the finest tonewoods, quality hardware, and incredible attention to detail. Scores of guitarists here at Sweetwater are Gibson devotees, and like all of the quality instruments Gibson builds, this 1942 Banner Southern Jumbo was made to sound great and stand the test of time.
Gibson Acoustic 1942 Banner Southern Jumbo Murphy Lab Light Aged Acoustic Guitar Features:
- Exacting re-creation of the exceptionally rare rosewood-bodied Southern Jumbo guitars of the early 1940s
- Lightly aged in Bozeman, MT, to the same standards as Gibson’s top-tier Murphy Lab models
- Thermally aged red Adirondack spruce top with X-bracing provides immense projection and an ultra-resonant, vintage-style voice
- Rosewood back and sides produce cavernous lows, sparkling highs, and a mellow midrange character
- Chunky “Historic”-shaped mahogany neck, topped with a premium slab of rosewood
- Decadent Southern Jumbo-style appointments, including a striking fire stripe pickguard and split trapezoid inlays
- Aged vintage-style tuners
- Period-correct wide 1.77-inch nut width offers slightly more room in between strings
