Vice Gill & Paul Franklin Bartenders Blues

[Jim Saunders]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ2J_EqGros

[Roger Rettig]

I loved it! Vince still sings and plays beautifully, and Paul's imagination withing the simple cofines of this type of song seems to know no bounds.

Is anyone able to confirm my suspicions (visibilty is limited in this clip) that Vince is playing a Gibson 'Johnny Smith' model arch-top here? I see Super 400-type neck-inlays, but a non-Super 400 'bell' on the headstock. Could be a Super 400 with a replaced bell, but a glimpse of the tailpiece indicates the JS model. Trouble is, I know he has an L-5 somewhere, too, so the waters are a bit murky!!!

Sorry to be such an 'anorak' in the face of this fine music-making, but that's just the way I am....

[Roger Rettig]

Paul:

Sorry to be so forward, but do you think you could ask him for me.... ?

[Mike Schwartzman]

Beee-ooot-iful! Thanks for posting it.

[Jim Saunders]

Roger, I wondered too if he is playing a Johnny Smith Gibson. I have a friend who owns one and it has the split parallelogram fret inlays. The L5 has block inlays and I can't get a good look in the video as to which he has. It does have a Johnny Smith floating pickup. But, I suspect it is a L5 Citation. I once owned a L7 that the factory installed a JSmith pick up on.

[Roger Rettig]

Jim:

Definitely parallelogram inlays, and it's a Super 400 headstock. The Johnny Smith had a slightly wider fingerboard than the Super 400 but that's obviously impossible to ascertain here.

I thought there was a glimpse of a black inlay on the tailpiece in just one frame and, if I'm right, that would clinch it.

My money's on it being a Johnny Smith - a rare and a fine guitar!

[Roger Rettig]

I hadn't realsied this before, but Gibson pioneered the 'floating' pick-up, and it debutted on this model in 1961. It's been adopted widely since then as the optimum method of amplifying an arch-top.

[Roger Rettig]

PS, Jim:

The Citations had a 'fleur de lis' headstock-inlay. This has the split-diamond a la Super 400.

[Marlin Smoot]

I can't think of any words that truly say how great this was...