Up for sale is a 1941 Wards Archtop guitar. During the depression, Gibson built some guitars for department and music stores without the Gibson name on them and this is one of those. This was a model built for Montgomery Wards by Gibson and only a few hundred were made. It has a Wards sticker on the inside. It is a 16" wide Archtop with solid spruce top and solid maple back and sides. The original body binding is in excellent condition. Brazilian Rosewood bridge and fingerboard and a fairly chunky mahogany neck. It is all original with the exception of the Passive K&K Definity System under saddle pickup. The guitar has it's share of dings and dents but nothing out of line at all. There is some MOP Inlay missing from the top of headstock. There are no cracks. The action is low the first five frets working its way to medium up the neck. Action at the 12th fret is 9/64 at both high/low E strings. The tone is pure vintage Gibson with a bit of growl if you dig in. Strung with medium Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze strings. Slightly on the mellower side for an archtop but really, really nice sounding. Comes with an upgraded $150 new Gator Case that fits it perfectly and comes with a humidifier.
