The image of Elvis Presley on his 1968 NBC “comeback special” was, in a word, badass. Dressed in black leather and striking rock-and-roll poses, the King epitomized attitude while brandishing an eye-catching electric guitar.
Part of the show’s cachet was the slightly dangerous look of his Gibson Super 400CES. Borrowed from Scotty Moore, the instrument was never as iconic as when Elvis used it to create an important moment in the history of rock and roll.
With the Space Age looming amidst an overriding aspiration for modernism, in 1958, Gibson responded to the challenge proffered by Fender’s Telecaster and Stratocaster by making major changes to its product line, beginning with the Flying V and Explorer – their names alluding to space flight and exploration. Traditional Les Pauls were phased out in ’60, replaced by lighter, slimmer SGs, the Melody Maker, and a little later the modernized EDS-1275, EMS-1235, and EBSF-1250 doublenecks.
The turning tide eventually affected Gibson’s elite high-end Cutaway Electric Spanish (CES) jazz boxes. Gone was the rounded Venetian cutaway that bespoke traditionalism, superseded by a sharp, deeper cutaway with a daring, angular design named the Florentine.
The first production Gibson with a Florentine cutaway was the 1949 ES-175, followed by the ES-295, ES-125TC, ES-140T, ES-225, CF-100E, and L-4C. The 175 became the workhorse jazz box favored by Herb Ellis, Howard Roberts, Jim Hall, and Kenny Burrell. In ’58, Burrell proposed the Florentine L-5 electric archtop, and Gibson obliged with a blond custom model for him with an ES-150 “Charlie Christian” pickup at the neck, PAF bridge pickup, and finger tailpiece. Burrell immediately used it with Benny Goodman’s band at the Newport Jazz Festival, and in the studio on several Prestige dates.
Gibson’s Ted McCarty dubbed Burrell “the main influencer” of the Florentine cutaway (even though his prototype was heavy due to an excessively reinforced neck joint to support the cutaway, and he reverted to his Venetian-cut L-5). The idea went dormant until 1960, when Florentine archtops became the standard and Gibson applied the design to its flagship L-5CES, Super 400CES, and ES-5 Switchmaster, as well as the thinline Byrdland and ES-350T.
Florentine archtops dominated the ’60s thanks to their sleek new look and design – a full-body electric with greater access to the upper register. Initially, they retained the dimensions, materials, and appointments of earlier models; the L-5 was a 33/8″ deep/17″-wide hollowbody with carved spruce top, solid maple sides, and solid two-piece figured-maple back. Gibson experimented with pressed-wood backs as early as ’63, and by mid-decade was using laminated backs on Florentine guitars – the L-5, Super 400, and Byrdland typically received large one-piece laminated curly maple with more-pronounced arching. By ’68, Florentines with solid two-piece backs were briefly reinstated and paved the way for Venetian-cutaway models returning in ’69.
The Florentine design differed in construction. At the cutaway rim, a small, arched piece of maple was bent and attached to the treble bout, then joined to the maple rim; for a Venetian cutaway, it was done by bending a single rim. The juncture was bound at the pointed edge with a piece of plastic. Florentines also had a longer neck block, to accommodate the deeper cutaway and (like earlier electric archtops) used two parallel internal braces running a longer distance. Moreover, the pickguard was shortened, giving the appearance it had moved. And finally, it was screwed directly into the top rather than fastened with a metal pin into a hole in the side of the neck. On the Super 400, the pickguard evolved from the ’50s-style “marble” plastic with mottled overlay (as seen on Scotty Moore’s) to celluloid tortoiseshell by ’62. Another refinement was the smaller, simpler engraving on the tailpiece.
Concurrent with Gibson’s modernization was the late-’61 advent of five-piece necks on high-end archtops. These consisted of three sections of figured-maple separated by two strips of mahogany, supplanting two maple pieces with a mahogany center strip. Gibson’s “A” numbering system was replaced with a five-digit designation (six digits by ’63) on the label and pressed into the back of the headstock. The necks on Florentines underwent other changes. Initially wider and flatter than late-’50s counterparts, after ’62 they steadily became thinner and rounder (in cross-section) than the earliest Florentines. In ’65, headstock pitch was changed from 17 to 14 degrees and necks were narrowed at the nut from 111/16″ to 19/16″. This displeased many players but prevailed through ’69. Some Florentines from this period, like Wayne Carson’s ’66 custom-order Super 400 (serial number 407757), had a slightly wider nut, closer to 110/16″. Like earlier electric and acoustic versions, Florentines were offered in Sunburst and Natural (blond) finishes. However, sunburst varied from a reddish golden-brown shading to a darker brown “tobacco burst” or a lighter-orange iced-tea.
As on ’40s and ’50s counterparts, the back of the headstock was painted black and transitioned into a sunburst or blond on the neck. On sunburst models, the paint covered the graceful black point.
Controls and electronics retained the familiar configuration (two pickups, two Volume knobs, two Tone knobs), however the new design was complemented by a rubber grommet on the pickup selector (to facilitate silent switching) and gold “reflector”knobs with numbers on the skirts and the words Tone and Volume on the fronts. These prevailed until ’67, when black, serrated-edge “witch hat” knobs replaced them. The earliest models were fitted with PAFs until patent-number pickups replaced them around ’63. Florentines from ’65 or later have been found with one or two PAFs, including Tim Dowty’s sunburst ’65 L-5CES (SN 346382).
Are two Florentine cutaways better than one? The design was taken to extremes with Gibson’s Barney Kessel Custom and Regular (’61-’72) as well as the Trini Lopez Deluxe (’65-’70). To accentuate their modernity, they flaunted the sharp cuts with a flashy Cherry Sunburst finish. Kessel didn’t embrace the modernized version bearing his name, and continued to perform on his modified ES-350P. Kessel models nonetheless appeared in the hands of rock guitarists Gene Cornish (Young Rascals) and Robby Krieger, blues legend T-Bone Walker, and, more recently, jazz guitarist Ed Cherry. The Lopez Deluxe, introduced in ’65, expanded on double-Florentine modernism with diamond-shaped sound holes, two switches (pickup selector and standby) and a bound, asymmetric/reversed Firebird-like headstock. Despite being linked with the pop star, it apparently had little appeal and was discontinued in ’69.
The Florentine cutaway also affected Gibson’s custom orders. Several thin-body L-5CES examples with 251/2″ scale and dual pickups were made in the early ’60s. Moreover, a half dozen thin-body L-5CT guitars (dubbed “Crest” but never listed in catalogs) were produced in ’61 with Super 400 headstocks, fretboards with split-block inlays, and two humbucking pickups. Also notable is an ultra-rare double-cutaway ’67 Byrdland (SN 849728).
Meanwhile, acoustic archtops were marketed in a separate catalog as Fine Guitars, retaining the Venetian cut, traditional appointments, and conservative aura. Custom-order hybrid acoustics have surfaced, such as the ’62 L-5C (SN 50043) with a Florentine cut and a floating Johnny Smith pickup.
In early ’69, Florentines were phased out with Gibson’s return to the Venetian style. They coexisted for a time, but after mid ’69, most high-end electric archtops sported the wider 111/16″ nut, solid two-piece maple back, and gentle, non-threatening curve of the Venetian cutaway.
Florentine Players
After playing a Venetian Super 400C, in ’76, Kenny Burrell made the Florentine Super 400 his mainstay, favoring a sunburst ’68 for years before acquiring the iconic ’64. The latter has PAFs, laminated back, and was factory refinished in atypical teardrop-shaped black/yellow-sunburst. Pictured on Special Requests, it served as the archetype for his signature Heritage Super KB.
On June 25, 1962, Wes Montgomery (1923-1968) took the stage at Berkeley’s Tsubo nightclub with the sunburst L-5 seen on the back cover of Full House. In that landmark live session, his signature tone was delivered through a white-Tolex Fender Bandmaster, the L-5 and his incredible thumb technique defining his sound of the early ’60s. His Florentine was also heard on Fusion!, Boss Guitar, Guitar on the Go, and Portrait of Wes, and graced the covers of Movin’ Wes, Easy Groove, and Verve Silver Collection compilations. George Benson confirmed it was also played on “Windy” and “Going Out of My Head” (Just Jazz Guitar, November 2000). Given to Jerry Bird and subsequently owned for years by Benson, the legendary guitar now resides in Pat Metheny’s collection.
Benson was just 21 when he debuted as leader, flaunting a sunburst Florentine Super 400 on The New Boss Guitar of George Benson in ’64. The guitar was featured again on his early Columbia recordings, It’s Uptown and The George Benson Cookbook, and is likely heard on Miles Davis’ 1968 post-bop track “Paraphernalia,” from Miles in the Sky. In later years, he became the ultimate crossover jazz artist with a string of groundbreaking jazz albums, instrumental and vocal pop hits, Grammy-winning R&B recordings, and tributes to the Beatles and Nat King Cole.
Virtuoso of modern bop, Pat Martino (1944-2021) relied on a sunburst Florentine L-5 in the late ’60s. Inspired by Wes, he replaced his Gibson Johnny Smith after 1967’s El Hombre to alleviate feedback problems. He played the L-5 on Strings!, East, Baiyina (pictured on the cover), Young Guns, and a succession of side dates with Sonny Stitt, Don Patterson, Eric Kloss, Jack McDuff, Charles McPherson, and Groove Holmes. He paired the guitar with a Twin-Reverb to achieve his thick, dynamic tone.
Larry Coryell (1943-2017), the “godfather of fusion,” ignited the modern-jazz world of the late ’60s and early ’70s with his sunburst ’67 Super 400. Beginning with his tenure in Gary Burton’s band, he became the face of post-bop guitar, mixing jazz, rock, blues, pop, country, world music, and avant-garde sounds. He played a variety of instruments in his lengthy career, but his favorite remained the Florentine Super 400 pictured on Barefoot Boy and Offering, usually through an old Twin.
Grant Geissman favored an L-5 with Chuck Mangione on the 1978 international hit “Feels So Good.” A hardcore Beatles fan, he gravitated to jazz at 15 and graduated from an Epiphone Casino to a ’68 L-5 purchased at Moyer Brothers Music in his native San Jose. With Mangione, he explored a spectrum of archtop tones from warm, clean jazz to contemporary timbres doctored with phaser, wah, chorus, and volume-pedal effects. Onstage, he plugged into a MusicMan HD-212, but the solos on the Mangione song were played direct to the board and heavily EQ’d, setting a precedent for the “smooth jazz” sound. Geissman owns three Florentine L-5s – the ’68, a blond ’68, and a ’64 sunburst.
Other notable Florentine users include free-jazzer James “Blood” Ulmer (blond Byrdland), Jack Wilkins (1944-2023, blond L-5), Ted Dunbar (1937-’98, sunburst L-5) and Steve Khan (sunburst Super 400). But Florentine electrics were not just for jazz pickers.
Scotty Moore (1931-2016), primary architect of rock and roll with Elvis, set the standard for fat Gibson tones in rock while progressively embracing a succession of archtops from a gold ES-295 to P-90-equipped L-5 and Super 400 before settling on a ’63 Super 400. While the King was filming a cavalcade of teen movies, Scotty moved on to the sunburst Super 400 seen on NBC’s “Singer Presents… Elvis,” a.k.a. “the ’68 comeback special,” upping rock’s ante yet another notch.
Robert White (1936-1994), whose influences include Wes Montgomery, was a key member of Motown’s hitmaking Funk Brothers, and brought his Florentine L-5 into R&B circles. His chord work was the glue in their three-prong guitar attack, binding Joe Messina’s Tele backbeat chinks and Eddie Willis’ bluesy fills. White’s rhythm-guitar magic graced Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour,” and The Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.” He was often tagged for lines that required his distinctive tone and is best remembered for playing the hook on The Temptations’ 1964 #1 pop/R&B hit, “My Girl.”
Jerry Miller, lead guitarist for Moby Grape, was one of the greatest players to emerge from the ’60s San Francisco scene, distinguished from contemporaries with his blues/jazz/country/rock pedigree and a ’62 sunburst L-5 nicknamed “Beulah.” He plugged into a tweed 4×10 Bassman for overdriven blues-rock aggression on “Hey Grandma,” “Indifference,” “Omaha,” and “Miller’s Blues” as well as gentle melodic phrases in “Someday,” “Sitting by the Window” and “8:05” on Moby Grape, Grape Jam, and Moby Grape ’69. While many key players moved on to other guitars, Beulah remains Miller’s primary instrument.
In the early ’70s, fusioneer Robben Ford expounded on the possibilities of an archtop jazz box when he appeared with bluesman Jimmy Witherspoon. An admirer of Wes and Burrell, Ford combined jazz, blues, and rock with inimitable flair, and stole the show at the 1973 Guitar Explosion festival in the Hollywood Bowl, billed alongside T-Bone Walker, Shuggie Otis, Joe Pass, Burrell, Jim Hall, and others. His axe of choice was a ’67 sunburst Super 400 mated to a blackface 4×10 Super Reverb.
Mel Brown (1939-2009) was a respected blues artist whose sideman credentials read like a who’s-who in blues: T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Etta James, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bobby Bland, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy McGriff, Earl Hooker, Charles Brown, Clifford Coulter, Doug Sahm, and others. His blues was conveyed on a Florentine Super 400, pictured on Double Shot! with Snooky Pryor.
Ted Nugent personified ’70s hard-rock flamboyance. A fan of Lonnie Mack, Beck, Hendrix, and Cream-era Clapton, the Motor City Madman gravitated to Florentine Byrdlands inspired by Jim McCarty’s sound and acquired his first in ’64. By the mid ’70s, he had more than 20, including a rare black version. Nugent used controlled feedback from the hollow body and employed vibrato by pushing down on the tailpiece while blasting through stacks of Fender Super Twins.
Jeff Golub (1955-2015) came to prominence with rocker Billy Squier in ’82 and became a sought-after session player with Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Peter Wolf, and many others. A Berklee grad inspired by Clapton, Beck, and Hendrix as well as Wes, he planted feet on both sides of pop-rock and jazz/R&B. In ’94, he formed Avenue Blue, and as solo artist was a leading “smooth jazz” player. His ’64 L-5 graced the covers of Nightlife, Dangerous Curves, and Soul Session, bearing testimony to the continuing relevance of the Florentine.
This article originally appeared in VG’s April 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
