1996 Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion in Ebony is in good condition with normal use. Finish has its share of chips, dings and scratches here and there. Lots of buckle rash and finish missing on the back as shown. Gold hardware also has some oxidation as you might expect. The neck is straight and the frets are fine. The guitar plays well and sounds good. Please see photos for condition. Comes with aftermarket Gator hard shell case as shown. Weighs 7 pounds 10.2 ounces. Guitar ships ground insured with signature confirmation only. Being sold as is described and is non-returnable/refundable. Please ask all questions before hitting the buy button. Payment due within 24 hours. Check out our other listings for more great gear!

Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion III

As a musician and a guitar designer, Howard Roberts brought the jazz guitar to a new level. The Howard Roberts Fusion model debuted in 1980 with such refinements as a more open cutaway, unique control configuration, and the 'fingers' tailpiece with individual string-angle adjustments.

The Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion III is a guitar player's guitar. First developed in 1980 as a collaboration between Gibson and legendary jazz guitarist Howard Roberts, the Howard Roberts Fusion III is specifically designed to offer the utmost in playability and tone. During his career, Roberts did it all: he recorded a diverse set of solo material, sat in with Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Chet Atkins and many others, and even played guitar on the theme songs for The Munsters and The Twilight Zone. Roberts needed a guitar capable of spanning the many genres covered in his diverse musical output. The Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion III is that guitar.

A Diverse Jazz Guitar

For a guitarist with a career as varied as Howard Roberts', it's only fitting that his signature Gibson be one of the more diverse semi-hollow bodies ever produced. Both the body and the neck are maple which -- combined with the chromyte centerblock -- gives a ringing brightness to the entire instrument. The pickups are 490R and 490T humbuckers which cover the entire tonal spectrum. Fully capable of rich jazz textures, the 490 humbuckers are hot enough for the crunchier rock tones Roberts used in some of his session work. Yet for all his varied recorded output, Roberts was at root a jazz guitarist in the mold of Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel. As such, the Howard Roberts Fusion III really soars when playing jazz. Whether driving a steady rhythm style or soloing with a high-end wail, the Howard Roberts Fusion III delivers all the bold jazz tone expected from a Gibson semi-hollow body.

Specs-Body: plain laminated Maple top, back, and rims

Body Binding: Multi-ply binding on top, single-ply on back

Neck Species: 1-piece Maple

Profile: Rounded

Fingerboard Species: Ebony

Scale Length: 24-3/4 in.

Number of Frets: 22

Nut Width: 1-11/16 in.

Inlays: Pearloid dot

Fingerboard Binding: Single-ply

Hardware Plating Finish: Gold

Tailpiece: Fine-tuning

Bridge: Nashville Tune-O-Matic

Tuners: Schaller Keystone

Pickups: 490R and 490T humbuckers

Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way switch