Gibson SJ Southern Jumbo Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1954), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # X51*9-89, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany back, sides and neck, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, original brown hard shell case.

This is a well worn but great sounding Gibson SJ or "Southern Jumbo" as it was originally called. These sometimes feel like a bit of a forgotten model in Gibson's postwar flat-top line, not as simple a working man's guitar as the more austere J-45 but not as yee-haw fancy as the big 17" SJ-200 or J-185. The SJ features a bit more flash compared to the J-45 but is built on the same formula; a sunburst spruce top on a 16" slope-shouldered mahogany jumbo body, with a mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard.

The cosmetics of the SJ are fancier than the J-45 all around. There are multiple layers of binding around the body and sound hole, and the bound fingerboard is fitted with pearloid double parallelogram inlays. The rosewood bridge is a top-belly design, which looks pretty much like an upside-down Martin bridge. The neck on this example is a medium-shallow "C" profile slimmer than many early '50s Gibsons, with a bit more dress-away on the sides. The unbound headstock has only a plain gold "Gibson" logo.

This 1954 SJ is rather well-worn in but still sports a very sharp look but, more importantly, a big powerful sound. Among SJ fans perhaps most prominent is Don Everly, who used a 1953 SJ to create the famous open-tuned chord hooks on the Everly Brothers' early records. This guitar has plenty of ring with some of that same punch when pushed. This is a fine playing and truly great sounding example of this classic Gibson flat-top; the kind of guitar that makes you want to sit around singing country songs all night, even if you're in the middle of the city.

Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).

This old Gibson shows its age and a lot of play time starting seven decades ago but remains a superb playing and sounding guitar. The finish has a quite a bit of general wear with checking, scrapes, dings, dents, and fairly heavy checking. The top shows some deep pickwear around the soundhole and pickguard, well into the wood all around the sound hole edge and both the front and rear edges of the 'guard. The back and sides have very heavy checking, with numerous dings and dents but no large area of buckle wear; the upper side has a large area of finish flaked away at the turn of the bass bout. There are also some areas of lighter flaking above the waist and on the upper treble bout above the heel. The back of the neck has some heavy checking and chipping but no really deep capo dings.

Despite the degree of wear the top has only one crack repair in the common spot along the top edge of the pickguard, sealed but visible with an oval cleat beneath. The back shows three long repaired cracks; these have all been solidly sealed but not particularly cleanly with a variety of cleats, so are plainly visible. The sides remain crack free.

The original rosewood bridge looks to have been lowered just a bit but the original small maple bridgeplate and securing bolts are still intact. The small maple bridgeplate has had the pin holes plugged and re-drilled, cleanly but visibly with maple insets. The interior of the guitar shows noticeable brace regluing on the underside of the top and on the back, solidly but sloppily done with a decent amount of errant glue spread around.

The neck does not appear to have ever been reset, though there is some finish chipping around the heel the heel. A strap button has been added to the back of the heel. The guitar has been neatly refretted with wire just a bit larger than Gibson spec. of the period. The bone nut appears original but re-shaped and re installed; the tuners are repro Kluson strips. This SJ has that classic Gibson sound, warm yet incisive with a decent amount of power when pushed hard. This is the kind of guitar that makes a lifetime companion as it may well have already done for more than one user. It is still housed in its original brown HSC, which shows quite a bit of road wear but still does the job. Overall Very Good Condition.