Guitars
Gibson Custom Collector’s Choice #44 “Happy Jack” Prototype
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The Collector's Choice series started in 2010, and it is a great idea by the Gibson Custom Shop that consists in thoroughly copying the best guitars from private collections worldwide. This represents a huge undertaking for each model. They have to scan the original guitar to get every detail exactly right, use X rays to understand its internal architecture, measure the pickups (usually PAFs, which are all very different) and find the right materials to build the replica, especially maple tops that have to be as close as can be to the original motifs on a Burst.
Those constraints all result in the Collector’s Choice guitars being available in very limited quantities. Rare as they may be, they represent the very best of Gibson's production for the last few decades.
Contrary to signature models, the guitars that have been selected do not necessarily belong to famous musicians, and sometimes the original owner even wishes to remain anonymous. Among the few collectors whose collection would make any spoiled rock star weak at the knees, Vic DaPra is an absolute Burst master, and he even wrote three books on the matter called Burst Believers. But his most striking achievement is the number of Collector's Choice models that have been copied on Bursts from his collection, no less than four of them! Number 9 (Believer Burst), number 30 (Gabby), number 35 (Gruhn Burst) and number 44 (Happy Jack).
This superb '59 is a Happy Jack, and it is the only one of the four DaPra Collector’s Choice models to have been made with the True Historic level of build quality, featuring a vintage-style sculpted top and much more realistic plastic parts. The original guitar was bought brand new by a guitarist from the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and it was then sold to an Ohio player named Jack, hence the guitar's nickname. It is instantly recognizable for its wide flames, its very soft autumnal sunburst and a thin comfortable neck. All those specs have been reproduced on the Collector's Choice guitars, of which only 100 were made in early 2017. If you were one of the many collectors who missed it the first time around, now is your chance to catch up!
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