Hand Engraved Gold Grover Keystone TunerGrover tuners are an engineering marvel, with abundant style and performance exactly suited for the Doves in Flight. With a gear ratio of 14:1, these beautiful, hand engraved tuners deliver precision tuning in a durable housing that provides maximum protection for the gear and string post. All moving parts are cut for exact meshing, eliminating the possibility of slippage. A countersunk tension screw lets players regulate the tuning tension to any degree, and a special lubricant inside the gear box provides smooth and accurate tuning stability.
Custom, Hand Crafted Doves In Flight Peghead Inlay
The new Doves in Flight from Gibson Acoustic sports a beautiful, hand-crafted design of seven inlaid doves in flight made from genuine abalone and mother of pearl. It is one of the most beautiful peghead inlays on any Gibson acoustic, and is exclusive to the Doves in Flight.
Pickguard
The tortoise pickguard on the Doves in Flight is a custom-made design featuring three beautiful inlaid doves in flight made from mother of pearl, with hand engraved wheat flowing in the wind. As with all Gibson’s pickguards, the coloring, inlay, binding, and engraving are all done by hand.
Rosette
A rosette is the beautiful, hand-crafted circle around the soundhole, and can be one of the most ornamental elements of any acoustic guitar. It is also one of the most subtle and complicated woodworking decorations on any acoustic guitar. The rosette on the Doves in Flight is one of Gibson’s finest. It is a double-ring rosette with an abalone-filled middle. The main ring consists of seven-ply binding, and the second ring is three-ply binding, adding a stylish, understated elegance to the Doves in Flight.
Ebony Fingerboard with Rolled Edges and Dove in Flight InlaysThe fingerboard of Gibson’s Doves in Flight is constructed from the highest grade ebony on earth, which is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled experts before it enters the Gibson factories. The resilience of this durable wood makes the fingerboard extremely balanced and stable, and gives each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite. Its unique Doves in Flight fingerboard inlays are made of genuine mother of pearl and abalone, and are inserted into the fingerboard using a process that eliminates gaps and doesn’t require the use of fillers. The fingerboard also sports a rolled edge—instead of the usual right angle where the fingerboard surface meets the neck, Gibson Acoustic’s rolled edges are slightly beveled for an extremely smooth and comfortable feel, enhancing the playability of the Doves in Flight.
Body Tonewoods (back, sides and top)
The body design of the Doves in Flight is known as a square shoulder dreadnought. The top is made from AAA-grade Sitka spruce, while the back and sides are constructed from AAA-grade curly maple, giving the Doves in Flight balanced, clean highs with warm, robust bass tones and overall sweet resonance typical of the square-shoulder dreadnought line. Selecting the right wood, and the formula to dry it out, are two of the most central procedures to Gibson’s guitar-building process. Beginning with its first catalog in 1903, Gibson has assured its customers that every guitar would be built using woods with “the most durable, elastic, and sonorous qualities,” and today’s guitars from Gibson Acoustic are no different.
Bracing
Every acoustic guitar made by Gibson features hand-scalloped, radiused top bracing inside the body, a feature normally found only in limited run, hand-made guitars. By scalloping each brace by hand, the natural sound of the acoustic is focused more toward the center of the body, enhancing the instrument’s sound projection. The bracing pattern inside the Doves in Flight is modeled from design found inside Gibson’s vintage J-30s. This traditional pattern gives the Doves in Flight the enhanced treble registers and robust bass tones typical of the square-shoulder dreadnought line. When pushed for more volume, the Dove in Flight projects a natural compression, which helps it blend nicely with any accompaniment.
Features
Gibson Logo
The Gibson name has graced the most innovative and revolutionary acoustic guitars of our time—the Super Jumbos, the J-45, the Hummingbird, and the Dove. There is no mistaking the classic, mother-of-pearl logo, pressed onto the face of the headstock. It represents more than a century of originality and excellence. There is simply no equal.
- Gibson Logo
Hand Engraved Gold Grover Keystone Tuners
Grover tuners are an engineering marvel, with abundant style and performance exactly suited for the Custom Doves in Flight. With a gear ratio of 14:1, these beautiful, hand engraved tuners deliver precision tuning in a durable housing that provides maximum protection for the gear and string post. All moving parts are cut for exact meshing, eliminating the possibility of slippage. A countersunk tension screw lets players regulate the tuning tension to any degree, and a special lubricant inside the gear box provides smooth and accurate tuning stability.
- Hand Engraved Gold Grover Keystone Tuners
Custom, Hand Crafted Doves In Flight Peghead Inlays
The new Custom Doves in Flight from Gibson Acoustic sports a beautiful, hand-crafted design of seven inlaid doves in flight made from genuine abalone and mother of pearl. It is one of the most beautiful peghead inlays on any Gibson acoustic, and is exclusive to the Custom Doves in Flight.
- Custom, Hand Crafted Doves In Flight Peghead Inlays
Neck and Profile
Will be written when I receive more information from Montana/Mike Voltz
- Neck and Profile
Fingerboard with Rolled Edges and Dove in Flight Inlays
The fingerboard of Gibson’s Custom Doves in Flight is constructed from the highest grade ebony on earth, which is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled experts before it enters the Gibson factories. The resilience of this durable wood makes the fingerboard extremely balanced and stable, and gives each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite. Its unique Doves in Flight fingerboard inlays are made of genuine mother of pearl and abalone, and are inserted into the fingerboard using a process that eliminates gaps and doesn’t require the use of fillers. The fingerboard also sports a rolled edge—instead of the usual right angle where the fingerboard surface meets the neck, Gibson Acoustic’s rolled edges are slightly beveled for an extremely smooth and comfortable feel, enhancing the playability of the Doves in Flight.
- Fingerboard with Rolled Edges and Dove in Flight Inlays
Tapered Dovetail Neck Joint
The dovetail neck joint is one of the oldest—and best—ways of securely joining the neck to the body of a guitar. It is also a complex and expensive neck joint to build, but the result is a tight, locking connection that supports the neck at the proper neck-pitch angle, allowing the body and neck to become one solid piece of resonating wood, with no metal to impede vibration. This process is done entirely by hand, requiring patience and skill.
- Tapered Dovetail Neck Joint
Body Tonewoods (back, sides and top)
The body design of the Custom Doves in Flight is known as a square shoulder dreadnought. The top is made from AAA-grade Sitka spruce, while the back and sides are constructed from AAA-grade curly maple, giving the Custom Doves in Flight balanced, clean highs with warm, robust bass tones and overall sweet resonance typical of the square-shoulder dreadnought line. Selecting the right wood, and the formula to dry it out, are two of the most central procedures to Gibson’s guitar-building process. Beginning with its first catalog in 1903, Gibson has assured its customers that every guitar would be built using woods with “the most durable, elastic, and sonorous qualities,” and today’s guitars from Gibson Acoustic are no different.
- Body Tonewoods (back, sides and top)
Bracing
Every acoustic guitar made by Gibson features hand-scalloped, radiused top bracing inside the body, a feature normally found only in limited run, hand-made guitars. By scalloping each brace by hand, the natural sound of the acoustic is focused more toward the center of the body, enhancing the instrument’s sound projection. The bracing pattern inside the Custom Doves in Flight is modeled from design found inside Gibson’s vintage J-30s. This traditional pattern gives the Custom Doves in Flight the enhanced treble registers and robust bass tones typical of the square-shoulder dreadnought line. When pushed for more volume, the Dove in Flight projects a natural compression, which helps it blend nicely with any accompaniment.
- Bracing
Pickguard
The tortoise pickguard on the Custom Doves in Flight is a custom-made design featuring three beautiful inlaid doves in flight made from mother of pearl, with hand engraved wheat flowing in the wind. As with all Gibson’s pickguards, the coloring, inlay, binding, and engraving are all done by hand.
- Pickguard
Rosette
A rosette is the beautiful, hand-crafted circle around the soundhole, and can be one of the most ornamental elements of any acoustic guitar. It is also one of the most subtle and complicated woodworking decorations on any acoustic guitar. The rosette on the Custom Doves in Flight is one of Gibson’s finest. It is a double-ring rosette with an abalone-filled middle. The main ring consists of seven-ply binding, and the second ring is three-ply binding, adding a stylish, understated elegance to the Custom Doves in Flight.
- Rosette
Radius Top
The top of many “flat-top” guitars are under a lot of stress from the pull of the strings, which can eventually compromise the top. So, while most acoustic guitars are true “flat-top” guitars, all of the acoustics produced by Gibson in Bozeman, Montana have a radiused, or “tuned” top. Instead of being perfectly flat, a radiused or “tuned” top is raised slightly, and a special instrument is used to shape the top braces to the radius of the top. This process adds tension and strengthens the top, creating a less stressful joint where the top meets the sides and reducing the stresses of string pull. It also results in a “speaker cone” effect that maximizes sound projection, adding a significant boost to mid-range levels for a more balanced acoustic tone.
- Radius Top
Nitrocellulose Finish
Applying a nitrocellulose finish to any Gibson acoustic guitar — including the Doves in Flight — is one of the most labor-intensive elements of the guitar-making process. Unlike the polyurethane finishes used by many guitar manufacturers, a nitrocellulose lacquer finish is porous when cured, allowing the wood to naturally “breathe” and mature. Microscopically thin, the finish on a Gibson acoustic guitar first requires seven main coats of nitrocellulose lacquer. After drying overnight, the initial seven coats are then level sanded and given two additional coats. Left to dry for five additional days, the finish is then wet sanded and buffed to its final glass-like sheen. The time-consuming nature of applying a nitro finish has been employed ever since the first Gibson guitar was swathed with lacquer back in 1894. Why? For starters, a nitro finish means there is less interference with the natural vibration of the instrument, allowing for a purer tone. It’s also a softer finish, making it easily repairable. You can touch up a scratch or ding on a nitro finish, but you can’t do the same on a poly finish.
- Nitrocellulose Finish
Body Binding
In general, a guitar’s binding serves as a cosmetic feature, adding a subtle elegance to any Gibson acoustic while hiding the joints between the top, back, and sides, and helping to protect the guitar’s body from any nicks or dings. But to see the process of putting the binding on a Gibson acoustic is to really appreciate the effort and attention put into each instrument. After the body has been glued together, the excess from the top and back are trimmed off and a groove is cut for the binding. The binding is then glued on and held on to the body using tape, and hung to dry. When the tape comes off, any excess glue is removed and the body is moved into the next phase of production. It has been done the same way for over 100 years, and is a fundamental part of Gibson Acoustic’s rich guitar-making history.
- Body Binding