Gibson 1999 LeGrand Archtop - Sunburst - Vintage - W/HSC X9006

Here's a Gibson Le Grand archtop electric model from 1999. This is the successor to the classic Johnny Smith model built from 1961 to 1989. The Le Grande made its debut in 1993 and while it hasn’t appeared on Gibson’s website or catalog since around 2010, is has been available on special order from the Custom Shop. The ‘stock’ finish is a Vintage Sunburst as seen here

Always intended for the serious professional guitarist and never in mass production, the Gibson Le Grand features a 17 inch wide body with carved, solid Sitka Spruce top, carved solid and highly figured Maple back and figured maple sides. The neck is five piece based on three highly figured Maple sections with narrow Walnut laminations. The bridge base and bound fingerboard are Ebony, The head plate is Gibson’s usual dyed-black veneer and the back strap appears to be a painted effect as the underlying grain and laminations are visible in the right light.

All the metal parts of the Gibson Le Grand are gold plated. Hardware includes Gibson branded tuners by Schaller with metal keystone buttons, the Oettinger style six-finger adjustable tailpiece, the ABR-1 bridge on ebony base with Abalone accents. For electronics, a pickguard-mounted BJB (for Bruce J Bolen, President of Gibson during the Norlin era) ‘Johnny Smith’ pickup. The volume control is also mounted on the bound, faux-tortoise pickguard. The pickguard touches the top in only two places to minimize interference with the top’s vibration. Those spots are the location screw next to the treble end of the 19th fret and a support block at the bridge corner of the pickguard. The gold-plated support bracket mounts to the side.

This wonderful Gibson Le Grand is in very good condition. See pics for full cosmetic details.

Like other Gibson Le Grand examples, it plays very well. It is very resonant and responsive with the classic archtop “thump”.

This Gibson Le Grand is sold with its original black Gibson Custom branded arched-top hard shell case.

Gibson Le Grand Specifications:
Neck: Highly Figured Maple with Walnut laminations.
Fingerboard: Ebony fingerboard with abalone and mother of pearl split block inlays.
Body: Carved Spruce Top, maple back and sides. Bound “F” holes.
Scale Length: 25.35 inches, 644mm
Nut Width: 1.7 inch, 43.20mm
Weight: 7.26 pounds, 3.3Kg.
Finish: High gloss lacquer finish in Sunburst or Natural.
Pickup: BJB floating pickup with pickguard mounted volume control
Bridge: ABR-1 Bridge on Ebony base with Abalone details.
Tailpiece: Oettinger style “Six Finger” tailpiece.
Hardware Finish: Gold Plating