Gibson Custom Pre-War SJ-200 Rosewood Light Aged Faded Vintage Sunburst

The pre-war SJ-200 with rosewood back and sides: an instrument that carries Gibson's history

The Gibson SJ-200 saw the light of day in 1937 and quickly earned its nickname: The King of the Flat-Tops. In its earliest years, it was built with rosewood back and sides, a version that remained in production only until 1947. Due to economic conditions after the Great Depression, numbers remained limited, making these pre-war rosewood examples exceptionally rare today. With the Pre-War SJ-200 Rosewood Light Aged, Gibson Custom pays an impressive tribute to these mythical Super Jumbos.

The combination of a thermally aged red spruce top on rosewood back and sides delivers a sound that is richer, more complex, and fuller than the maple versions Gibson later opted for. The scalloped red spruce X-bracing supports an open, mature resonance with deep bass, clear highs, and a dynamic range normally only found in instruments decades old. This is a guitar that immediately sounds bigger than the room it's played in.

The two-piece AAA maple neck has a D-profile over a 25.5-inch scale with a bound ebony fretboard, graduated mother-of-pearl Crown inlays, and 20 frets. The nut, saddle, and bridge pins are made of bone. The iconic ebony SJ-200 Four Bar Moustache bridge with mother-of-pearl inlay, gold Grover Imperial tuners, and a tortoise pickguard with double binding complete a guitar that reflects the grandeur of the original in every detail. The Murphy Lab Light Aging adds the subtle play wear that a new instrument can never match. Delivered in a Pre-War Red Line hardshell case.

For those seeking the absolute pinnacle of acoustic guitar building, combined with historical authenticity and the quality of Gibson Custom Shop, the Pre-War SJ-200 Rosewood Light Aged is an unparalleled instrument.