Icon '60s B-25 Acoustic Guitar

The Gibson Acoustic Icon '60s B-25 is a small-bodied acoustic guitar that delivers big bluesy sound. And just because it's smaller doesn't mean Gibson skimps in the B-25 guitar's construction. The neck is one-piece, solid Honduran mahogany, with a gently rounded profile for comfort. It's topped with a fingerboard of hand selected Indian rosewood. The 20-fret board has a 24.75" scale. Position markers are mother-of-pearl dots. The bridge is Indian rosewood, too. The saddle is adjustable, just as it was "back then."

Starting in the mid-'50s small body guitars saw a big resurgence of popularity. Some of this was brought on by used guitars from the 30's now being relatively inexpensive, and readily found. The real increase of growth in these small-body guitars was the popular growth of acoustic blues music. Small-bodied Gibson acoustic guitars have always been popular among acoustic blues guitarists, ever since Robert Johnson made a deal with you-know-who at that Mississippi crossroads.

By the '60s, blues artists like Johnny Shines and Furry Lewis among others were recording their music with Gibson B-25s. Why you may ask? The B-25's DNA goes right back to those guitars of the 30's. The B-25 guitar's small body (14.125" wide x 19.25" long x 4.5" deep) made it an easy guitar to travel with. This small body, composed of solid Honduran mahogany back and sides along with a top-grade solid Sitka spruce top, produced a warm, woody tone that lent itself well to blues and folk music. The internal bracing is scalloped by hand. Scalloping significantly reduces the weight and mass of the braces, without taking away strength. This allows better motion to the top, and greatly enhances the guitar's projection. The B-25 guitar sounds bigger than it is!

Back in the '60s, the red pigments used in the color coats were not stable. The original B-25 guitars were finished in a Heritage Cherry Sunburst color, that within a few years gently faded to a softer, warm honey color. The Acoustic Icon B-25 featured here is" pre-faded" to that warm color right from Gibson. Of course, the final finish is nitrocellulose lacquer, which is not only beautiful, but actually adds to the sound of the instrument by allowing the wood to "breathe" and "open up" over time.

Finally, Gibson includes a custom, form-fit hardshell case and a signed certificate of authenticity with the Acoustic Icon '60s B-25 guitar.