Gibson Guitars - 1935 Jumbo - Vintage

In the world of rare, vintage guitars, the Gibson Jumbo stands out. Introduced in 1934 and inspired by the larger-body Hawaiian guitars being produced at the time, the Jumbo was Gibson's first slope-shoulder dreadnought to enter production and paved the way for the future popularity of the J-35 and J-45. 

This particular 1935 Gibson Jumbo is a balanced, responsive guitar that is lightly built making it an easy playing fingerstyle box while also being one of the most sought after flatpicking Gibsons to date. Its unique design characteristics, a combination that is never again seen in a Gibson flat top, makes for an historic model that truly sounds great. 

Designed during an era of innovation in the steel-string guitar, the Jumbo was constructed with a rather unique body depth. With an extremely minimal taper from tail block to the neck block, this deeper body guitar produces a bigger, deeper low-end sound than the typical slope-shoulder dreadnought, along with a clarity and set of overtones that isn't typical of any Gibson that follows. The design was further refined by reducing the size of the soundhole which helps to focus the low-end and projects a very pleasing mid-range and thick, focused top-end. The three, non-scalloped, tone bars, when combined with a thinner top than later models, results in a more responsive guitar with a power, headroom and depth that has given this Gibson such a heralded reputation.

At first glance it may look like a typical Gibson sunburst finish, however on closer inspection one will notice the top, back and sides all sport their own burst, which is all original nitrocellulose lacquer and is in lovely condition with the expected checking and minor dings and scrapes. Here from the very first batch of Jumbos in 1935, this guitar is visually set apart from the earlier 1934 models by way of the bound body and bound fingerboard, which was added to further highlight the premium nature of this model at the time. Even simple details, like the smaller, elegant heel made this guitar a special piece of Guitar design history.

Here in well-maintained and admirably original condition, the Brazilian rosewood bar bridge and fingerboard, along with the G-98 tuners, pickguard, pearl headstock logo and bridge plate are all original. The original frets are also present and while low, play cleanly from frets 1-12. At around frets 13-14 there is issue with the frets’ playabilty and is something that could be solved with a refret. It has been decided to maintain the originality of the instrument, allowing a future owner to make that call. The saddle slot has been filled and re-cut to improve the playability and intonation, and the bridge pins have been replaced with properly fit ebony ones. The neck is a comfortable v-shape with a 1 3/4" nut width and a slightly wider 2 3/8" bridge spacing.

There is a repaired pickguard crack between the B & E strings, and a repaired top crack from the bridge to the sound hole which has closed nicely near the low E string (see photos). There are a handful of surface-level cracks on the bass side and back of the guitar that are closed and show no signs of glue squeeze out and are stable - all of which is not uncommon in an almost 100-year-old guitar (see photos). There is a small wood splint in the top, on the treble side of the lower bout, most likely installed at the factory and finished over by the sunburst, which is present on many '30s Gibson guitars (see photos) and is one of the many charming characteristics of Gibson construction in that era. Includes a custom-fit Canadian-made Calton case.

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