Gibson Blues King

Gibson’s L-series flat-tops have long been a favorite among blues and roots guitarists, and the new Blues King ensures the inspiration of a new generation of artists.

The Gibson Blues King merges the better of two worlds—traditional small body, L-series design from the early 1900s, combined with a slightly shallower body depth and several new Gibson Modern Classic features to meet today’s uncompromising standards. Gibson’s L-series flat-tops have long been a favorite among blues and roots guitarists, and the new Blues King ensures the inspiration of a new generation of artists.

Nickel Grover Mini Rotomatic TunersGrover’s original Rotomatic tuners are an engineering marvel, with abundant style and performance exactly suited for the Blues King. With a gear ratio of 14:1, the Rotomatics deliver precision tuning in a durable housing that provides maximum protection for the gear and string post. All moving parts are cut for exact meshing, eliminating the possibility of slippage. A countersunk tension screw lets players regulate the tuning tension to any degree. A special lubricant inside the gear box provides smooth and accurate tuning stability.

Pickguard
The tortoise pickguard on the Blues King is the same style as featured on the L-00s of the early 1900s. As with all Gibson’s pickguards, the coloring, inlay, binding, and engraving are all done by hand.

Rosette
A rosette is the beautiful, hand-crafted circle around the soundhole, and can be one of the most ornamental elements of any acoustic guitar. It is also one of the most subtle and complicated woodworking decorations on any acoustic guitar. The rosette on the Blues King is a single-ring rosette consisting of three-ply binding, adding a stylish, understated elegance to the Blues King.

Rosewood Fingerboard with Rolled Edges and Dot Inlays
The fingerboard of Gibson’s Blues King is constructed from the highest grade rosewood on earth, which is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled experts before it enters the Gibson factories. The resilience of this durable wood makes the fingerboard extremely balanced and stable, and gives each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite. The Blues King’s dot inlays are made of genuine mother of pearl, and are inserted into the fingerboard using a process that eliminates gaps and doesn’t require the use of fillers. The fingerboard also sports a rolled edge—instead of the usual right angle where the fingerboard surface meets the neck, Gibson Acoustic’s rolled edges are slightly beveled for an extremely smooth and comfortable feel, enhancing the playability of the Blues King.

Body Tonewoods (back, sides and top)The Blues King is based on the body design of Gibson’s legendary L-00 small body. The top is made from Sitka spruce, while the back and sides are constructed from African bubinga, giving the Blues King a warm, woody midrange, with the evenly balanced tone and sound of a guitar many times its size. Selecting the right wood, and the formula to dry it out, are two of the most central procedures to Gibson’s guitar-building process. Beginning with its first catalog in 1903, Gibson has assured its customers that every guitar would be built using woods with “the most durable, elastic, and sonorous qualities,” and today’s guitars from Gibson Acoustic are no different.

L.R. Baggs Element Active Acoustic Pickup System
Gibson Acoustic’s Blues King comes equipped with the popular Element Active Acoustic Pickup System from L.R. Baggs, which features a low-profile undersaddle element—or transducer—that’s proven more stable and durable than many standard ribbon-type pickups. Combined with an onboard preamp with an unobtrusive and removable volume control mounted just inside the soundhole, the Element delivers performance not previously attainable from an undersaddle pickup. Its sleek and effective design removes unnecessary internal components to enhance the coupling between the pickup and the guitar, and improve the sensitivity of the transducer for a robust, lively, and natural acoustic sound with excellent dynamics and delicate high end. The Element works with a standard 9V battery, which is housed inside the guitar in L.R. Bagg’s new “Battery Bagg.”

Bracing
Every acoustic guitar made by Gibson features hand-scalloped, radiused top bracing inside the body, a feature normally found only in limited run, hand-made guitars. By scalloping each brace by hand, the natural sound of the acoustic is focused more toward the center of the body, enhancing the instrument’s sound projection. The bracing inside the Blues King is constructed using the same pattern and placement of braces as those found in Gibson’s celebrated L-00 acoustic guitar of the 1920s and 1930s. This bracing pattern delivers a tight, bassy tone, with warm, woody midrange and evenly balanced tone across all six strings, making it more than capable to meet today’s uncompromising standards among blues and roots guitar players.

Gibson Blues King @ Electro Music.
Price: £1599.00.