Gibson Shark Archtop

You don’t think of Gibson as being a maker of modern guitars as they have been stuck in the vintage craze for quite some time. This is understandable as that is their customer base. Though I believe sooner or later, that base will evaporate and they will have to move on to other designs. (BTW, this reminds me of the legacy auto companies who still cling to their old ideas, unwilling to move forward into the 21st century with electric vehicles). In any case, I haven’t seen Gibson make the move yet, but I think they and others will be forced to do it, or at least modify the tried-and-true designs for a modern audience (i.e. younger).

However, it is true that Gibson has the capability to do such designs. One such design is the Gibson Shark. This is a modern archtop by any measure. Two prototypes were made in the custom shop in 2013 — almost 8 years ago. And two of the features are no doubt modern — I would say ahead of their time for archtops in 2013, and even rare for archtops in 2021:

• Side sound ports
• 3D carved f-holes in the top
• Arm rest
• Cherry burst finish (uncommon on archtops)

It’s a very modern archtop by 2021 standards, and proves that Gibson can do these sort of guitars if they wanted to. As of early Jan 2021, they announced acquiring Mesa Boogie amps, so perhaps they are indeed moving in a modern direction.

As of Mar 2021, Shark #1 (they made 2 prototypes) is still for sale in Japan: https://www.digimart.net/cat1/shop3800/DS06391782/

It is in Japanese, so here’s the translation:

Product description
[Limited time offer !! Free shipping on items with a tax-included price of 50,000 yen or more !! * 800 yen for Hokkaido and 1,800 yen for Okinawa] Gibson Custom Shop L-5 Non-Cutaway Shark Serial No.1 Very rare model is a beautiful item It arrived in the condition.

It is a supreme handicraft model designed by Mr. Bruce Kankel who was enrolled in Custom Shop at that time, and made only a little by hand build.

A 17-inch body design designed based on the concept of “designing a sound hole that can be seen from the side, not like a traditional f-hole, but like a shark’s gills.”
The appearance is reminiscent of a violin without binding, and ebony material is used for the bridge and pickguard, which is the first for Gibson, and it makes you feel a traditional taste while having a novel design. Mr. is just a masterpiece. Of course, the top curve and the surroundings of the wood parts are also hand-finished, and it is a guitar that spares no time and has condensed attention to detail and craftsman’s pride.

Rich ride is used for the maple neck and fingerboard, and a mother-of-pearl inlay that imitates the shape of a shark’s teeth is applied.

The pickup is. Equipped with an original design mini humbucker that is floating set on the pickguard. The design that outputs directly from the pickup is adopted, which eliminates Volume and Tone at all. The sound output with a very elegant harmonic feeling gives you a mellow tone as if you feel a natural reverb. The elegant and nostalgic sound, which has a presence of each sound but does not make a sarcastic claim, can be enjoyed as a wonderful sound that other Gibson Arch Top models do not hear.

This is a beautiful item condition that you can see that it was treated carefully with very little usability. The neck condition is good, there is plenty of truss rod margin, there is no fret reduction, and the playing surface is also good. Includes certificate, mini plug compatible shield, and original hard case.

This is a wonderful book by Bruce Kankel that will be valuable in the future! Please have it at hand.

Body: Hand Curved Spruce top Flame Maple Side & Back
Neck: Maple
Fingerboard: Richlite
Bridge: Ebony
Tailpiece: Ebony
Tuners: Gotoh
Plating: Chrome
Pickups: Original Style Mini Humbucker
Weight: 2.74kg
Case: Gibson Custom Black Hardshell Case

Product details
[Store product code: UE-65I016]