Gibson Midtown Custom Electric Guitar with Case

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Cover a range of styles with this versatile semi-hollow tone machine! Like a cross between an ES-335 and a Les Paul, the Midtown is a classic with an edge.

What's special about this item?

Feature: What it does:
Burstbucker 1 and 2 pickups Thick, round tone with rich and creamy overtones
Nitrocellulose lacquer finish Ultra-thin, strong gloss; preserves natural tone
Semi-hollow body Enhances sustain, more open tone and feel
Richlite fretboard Focused tone with excellent playability

The Gibson Midtown Custom continues Gibson's legacy for versatile semi-hollowbody guitars. Built with a slimmed-down body and distinctly playable neck, this dapper tone-machine retains the prized tonal characteristics of classic jazz guitars like the ES-335 while adding some rocking Les Paul edge. For players looking for a single axe to cover a wide array of styles and sounds, the Midtown Custom is an elegant, versatile, and comfortably-priced solution.

Unique Body Design

Slimmer than an ES-335 yet wider than a Les Paul, the Gibson Midtown Custom occupies a unique place in the Gibson electric guitar line. The slimmer body is made from mahogany and is specifically chambered for optimized tone and weight distribution, which means no sore shoulders. With a smaller size than most semi-hollowbodies, the Midtown Custom produces a bit tighter of a sound, so you get both classic jazz warmth and the high-end rock bite of a Les Paul or SG.

Classic Gibson Hardware and Electronics

A pair of bold pickups make the most of the Midtown Custom's unique body design. Burstbuckers double-coils are modeled on the classic PAF pickups of the late '50s and offer a huge range of tonal options selectable via the three-way pickup selector and individual volume and tone controls. Adding to the vintage vibe are a chrome tune-o-match bridge, stylish acrylic block inlays on the durable Richlite (r) fingerboard, keystone tuners, and a Les Paul Custom-style headstock. The Midtown Custom sports a read more sharp look like something out of a cool '60s jazz club.

Features:

- Classic thinline, semi-hollowbody shape
- Dual Gibson Burstbucker pickups
- Innovative Richlite (r) fingerboard
- Solid mahogany with specifically carved chambers
- Nitrocellulose finish for vintage look and more open tone
- Vintage style with chrome tune-o-matic bridge, keystone tuners, and block inlays
- Built for quality and tone in Nashville, Tennessee
- Hardshell case included

The comfortable body, versatile tonal range, and modest price point of the Midtown Custom makes it a great choice for gigging musicians who demand outstanding performance and sound. Whether you're soloing over a tight jazz combo or shredding with a smoking rock band, this semi-hollowbody is ready to take your sound to the next level.
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- Body: Flat, bound Maple top with f-holes & Multi-Ply Top Binding/Chambered Mahogany back
- Neck: Genuine Mahogany with Acrylic Split Diamond headstock inlay
- Fingerboard: Black Richlite fingerboard with acrylic block inlays
- Fingerboard Inlays: Acrylic Block inlay
- Hardware: Chrome Tune-o-matic
- Tuners: Keystone
- Electronics:
- Gibson Burstbucker 1
- Burstbucker 2
- Control: Three-way Switch
- 2 Volume
- 2 Tone
- Case: Gibson Hardshell

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 800-444-2766

Gibson Midtown Custom

Gibson's "thinline semi-hollow" ES models were an instant hit when they made the scene in 1958. The marriage of archtop and solidbody electric designs addressed the needs of countless players of the day, and created instant classics virtually overnight in the process. Gibson USA's Midtown Custom takes all of the legendary ES properties a step further, maximizing each design goal, while adding a rich, deep resonance all its own. With a trimmed-down and more player-friendly body size that still emulates the lines of the ES models, but built with the chambered solid-wood construction (rather than a laminated top and back with solid center block), the Midtown Custom truly embodies the optimum marriage of solidbody and archtop. What's more, it dresses all these tonal advantages in a package worthy of the hallowed "Custom" name.

The Midtown Custom starts with premium tonewoods, using Grade-A timbers beneath the three translucent finish options. A solid mahogany body is strategically chambered for optimum resonance and capped with a solid maple top with traditional f-holes. Its solid mahogany neck is carved to a fast, comfortable '60s-style profile that measures .800" at the 1st fret and .875" at the 12th. The neck is topped with a smooth, hard fingerboard crafted from Richlite(R), a fabricated material composed of cellulose fiber and phenolic resin, which offers the constructional and resonant properties of fine hardwood, but with improved durability, for a superb playing feel. Tidy white binding accentuates the fingerboard, while multi-ply binding graces the body and headstock. The rich, dark fingerboard is enhanced with acrylic block inlays plus split-diamond inlays dress the headstock in the classic style of upmarket Gibson models.

Plugged in, this elegant hotrod runs the gamut of legendary Les Paul-to-ES tones, thanks to a pair of BurstBucker pickups, two of Gibson's finest vintage-PAF-style humbuckers, and classic four-knob wiring with three-way toggle selector. A BurstBucker 1 in the neck position yields warm, throaty blues and jazz tones with plenty of clarity, while a slightly hotter BurstBucker 2 in the bridge provides more growl and bite for anything from hot country to rock 'n' roll, while together the pair provides round, slinky, funky rhythm tones. These great humbuckers from Gibson USA are made with genuine unpolished Alnico II magnets and wound with 42 AWG wire, just like the legendary PAFs of the late '50s and early '60s. In the hardware department, the Midtown Custom carries the classic pairing of Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece, and a set of premium Grover kidney button tuners up top.

Each guitar comes protected in a brown case with a burgundy plush interior, and includes owner's manual and adjustment literature, along with Gibson's Limited Lifetime Warranty and 24/7/365 customer service.

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (39 ratings)
Submitted June 4, 2014 by Tim O in Stonington, CT

"Gibson Midtown Custom"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This guitar is fantastic. The story is the neck. I am completely converted to Richlite. It is a fantastic material, I now prefer it to rosewood or ebony, and I care about long term sustainability in guitar manufacturing. The pleked fretwork, the binding, and the feel in the hand of the neck are all fantastic. I don't want to start a debate, so take it from a guy with 40 years of Gibson, Martin and Fender experience: Richlite is the future, and it deserves to be. The tuners are nice, and the nut is cut well. One thing I can quibble about, is the diameter of the nut guide slots are a little tight, making tuning and staying in tune a little difficult (I use 10-48). I oiled the slots, but ultimately, I will widen them slightly by stringing up higher gauges on G,B and E. Hopefully that will get rid of the "plink" when tuning up, and the slight variation that results from 2+ note bends. The pickups are very, very nice. As a Tele guy primarily, it felt weird to use the intermediate switch as much as I have. On Bridge you can get almost a single coil tone, half and half gives a deep Santana like ring with gobs of sustain. Neck pickup is great with jazzier tones and amplified acoustic sounds (like pre '66 beatles tones). The fit and finish of the guitar was great in all the ways I care about. Neck transition into the pocket-perfect. Binding, including fret end transitions was mind blowingly perfect. Mine is the black version, and as far as I can see it is flawlessly finished. read more There are some issues, but nothing I'm going to cry about, because they are minor, and the kind of things you would only see on a hand made guitar. For example, all six of my tuning keys have a very slightly different angle. Somebody drilled the index holes for the tuners without using the jig plate. No biggie. I also have a very slight indentation on the back of the headstock from where the neck was clamped into the plek machine, just below the serial numbers. Little stuff, but I have to mention these things in a review. I hear perfect- but some people cant listen unless they see perfect. Me, I don't say anything until I plug it in. Overall the effect of the guitar is perfection, but if you want to take out a microscope, or quibble about things that don't affect tone, then you may want to get it in your hands first. There is a wide variation from what I've seen from one serial to the next. Just like all hand made guitars. BTW, the construction is nothing like an ES339 or any of the archtops. Just to clear this up, my Midtown Custom body is quite obviously routed out of a solid piece of mahogany. The top is a half-inch thick piece of maple. This guitar is not designed to have acoustic projection, and there's no way in heck you are going to get that top to vibrate. I would describe its properties are much more similar to a chambered LP, or a Bluesboy Tele, than anything in Gibson's ES line. The closest match in tone in my collection is an SG, which may come as a surprise to some people. If you want to sound like Benson or Carlton, this is not your guitar. Sound wise, this is a double cutaway LP custom, without the speed bump on the neck transition at fret 17. IMHO, of course. Anyway, I really like it. Almost forgot to mention, the case is really nice too. Hard to believe in this day and age they threw that in for the price. Worth a couple hundred easy.

Musical Background:
long time. many instruments.

Musical Style:
blues, rock, r&b, country, classical
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