classic Gear
DSuper 400s are some of the most finely crafted guitars ever built, rightly regarded as works of art in themselves
istributed from 1951, the Super 400CES is the ‘Cutaway Electric Spanish’ version of Gibson’s highly ornate Super 400 carved spruce archtop guitar released earlier in 1935. Measuring a full 18 inches in width, Super 400s remain to this day the largest of any Gibson guitar in regular production. They were marketed as the top-of-the-line instruments within their range, sporting gold-plated hardware with engraving, large mother-of-pearl inlays, multiple-ply binding, figured maple back, sides and neck, and an ebony fingerboard.
Super 400s are among the most finely crafted guitars ever built and are rightly regarded as works of art in themselves, with little expense being spared during their construction. Indeed, Gibson’s first official announcement of the Super 400 in 1934 proclaimed: “The Super 400 is an extraordinary guitar in every way – its price is a criterion of its quality… Whether it takes two months or two years to build just one instrument, it must be perfect.”
The concept of the Super 400 emerged from a design and marketing overhaul of Gibson’s carved top/back archtops during the 1930s, which was intended to spread their price points across a greater number of potential customers. Subsequently, in 1935, Gibson ‘advanced’ the width of its seminal f-hole archtop, the L-5 (first released in 1922), from 16 to 17 inches, and applied the same enlargement to the L-10, L-12 and L-7 (originally released in 1929, 1930 and 1932 respectively). Bigger was, apparently, better and with an unprecedented width of 18 inches, the new Super 400 was unveiled as Gibson’s crowning glory the same year, priced at $400.
It was a time of great innovation and Gibson soon began testing the waters with its new ‘Electric Spanish’ archtops alongside its latest acoustic archtop designs – firstly, with the ES-150, in 1936, shortly followed by the ES-100, ES-250 and ES-300 models (released in 1938, 1939 and 1940 respectively). Gibson’s ES range proved to be a success, and although World War II put a temporary hold on electric guitar production, the company picked up the reins once again in 1947 and released the laminate-topped ES-125, ES-150 and ES-300, along with its cutaway-equipped sibling, the ES-350.
The following year, soon-to-be company president Ted McCarty arrived at Gibson, marking the beginning of a new ‘golden era’ under the watchful eye of the firm’s owners, Chicago Musical Instruments (or CMI). As the electric guitar became ever more popular, Ted explicitly sought to further expand Gibson’s range, beginning with the so-called ‘McCarty’-pickuptoting L-7E and L-7PE (Premiere/cutaway Electric), followed by the ES-175 and the distinctly upmarket ES-5 laminate topped instruments in 1949.
Keen to take on board suggestions from its more innovation-minded customers, Gibson began to develop dedicated electric versions of its foremost archtops, the Super 400 and L-5. Previously, if guitarists wanted to amplify these distinguished guitars, they would often turn to an aftermarket pickup assembly, but with the release of the Super 400CES and L-5CES in 1951, Gibson had finally succeeded in embracing the advantages of the electric guitar in its most refined archtop designs. Designed to reduce feedback with a slightly thicker carved top and more substantial bracing than its acoustic equivalent, the Super 400CES ultimately proved to be popular with a broad range of name guitarists, from jazz players to rock ’n’ rollers, and has remained in production ever since. [RB]