Gibson has enjoyed some high-profile launches already this year. In recent weeks, we have seen the release of Mark Morton’s much-anticipated Les Paul, Mick Ronson’s stunning Bowie-era Les Paul Custom replica, and Gary Clark Jr’s Bigsby-equipped ES-355 in Cobra Burst sure caught the eye.
But set aside the electric guitars for a moment. We could argue that it’s most exciting releases have been acoustic.
There was the return of the Beatles-approved J-160E as the Original Collection was expanded to mark 100 years of Gibson flat-top acoustic guitars.
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The LG-2 50s and SJ-200 60s made a fairly iconic trio. And now this week, Gibson has unveiled the Songwriter Recording Artist series – two dreadnoughts, offered with the choice of a square-shouldered non-cutaway body or with a Venetian cutaway, with LR Baggs HiFi acoustic guitar pickup and preamp systems as standard (controls mounted in the soundhole) and a very impressive Sitka spruce/rosewood build.
There is also no shortage of finery. For the player looking for the sweet spot between the decorative Hummingbird and the blue-collar unit shifting J-45, this could be a compelling option.
The Songwriter Recording Artist has the gold open-gear Grover tuners, MOP diamond inlays on an ebony fingerboard (a touch that’s a little, dare we say it, reminiscent of a Martin guitar), and there’s an abalone rosette to contrast that tortoiseshell pickguard, multiply binding of course, and just look at the mother of pearl inlays on that “belly-up” ebony bridge. Classy.
Your finish options comprise Antique Natural and Rosewood Burst. Some of the most interesting spec choices, though, are invisible to the naked eye.
The Sitka spruce top has been thermally aged, heated to give it that extra sweetness you get from an older acoustic – but with an all-solid build, these will only appreciate sonically over time. Under the hood, that top is buttressed by traditional scalloped wide X pattern bracing
The necks are mahogany, have a round profile, and join the body with a compound dovetail joint, set with hot hide glue, and you have a 25.5” scale length.
Gibsonologists will tell you that these have their roots in a ‘90s design, but with Sitka spruce and rosewood perhaps the soul of the instrument is the Advanced Jumbo of the mid 1930s. In the here and now they look like a serious high-end acoustic guitar for a serious player. They don’t have the lore of Gibson’s most-celebrated songbirds – the Hummingbird and Dove – but they have something about them. Those headstocks with the rosewood facings and crown inlay… Not bad at all.
These are priced accordingly at £4,399/$4,999, with the price including a hard-shell guitar case. For more details, head over to Gibson.
![Gibson Introduces the Songwriter Recording Artist Acoustic Guitars] 1 Gibson Introduces the Songwriter Recording Artist Acoustic Guitars]](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gibson-Introduces-the-Songwriter-Recording-Artist-Acoustic-Guitars-758x406.jpg)
![Gibson Introduces the Songwriter Recording Artist Acoustic Guitars] 2 The Gibson Songwriter Recording Artist Series in cutaway and non-cutaway versions, and in Rosewood Burst or Antique Natural finishes.](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/tzYz8PPodSVfcj3sVitKP5.jpg)
![Gibson Introduces the Songwriter Recording Artist Acoustic Guitars] 3 The Gibson Songwriter Recording Artist Series in cutaway and non-cutaway versions, and in Rosewood Burst or Antique Natural finishes.](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PCCs3xXNakCr6rGnxQKV76.jpg)
![Gibson Introduces the Songwriter Recording Artist Acoustic Guitars] 4 The Gibson Songwriter Recording Artist Series in cutaway and non-cutaway versions, and in Rosewood Burst or Antique Natural finishes.](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jkzS62AtrewQh6eb8LdPN6.jpg)
![Gibson Introduces the Songwriter Recording Artist Acoustic Guitars] 5 The Gibson Songwriter Recording Artist Series in cutaway and non-cutaway versions, and in Rosewood Burst or Antique Natural finishes.](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/XgjPHaBc9pnZ2EwkaiZGR6.jpg)
![Gibson Introduces the Songwriter Recording Artist Acoustic Guitars] 6 The Gibson Songwriter Recording Artist Series in cutaway and non-cutaway versions, and in Rosewood Burst or Antique Natural finishes.](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/muYZ3w6pAX4dhvhu4XmTy5.jpg)
![Gibson Introduces the Songwriter Recording Artist Acoustic Guitars] 7 The Gibson Songwriter Recording Artist Series in cutaway and non-cutaway versions, and in Rosewood Burst or Antique Natural finishes.](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/BFQrujK4vb2y2AhoKy5vM6.jpg)
![Gibson Introduces the Songwriter Recording Artist Acoustic Guitars] 8 The Gibson Songwriter Recording Artist Series in cutaway and non-cutaway versions, and in Rosewood Burst or Antique Natural finishes.](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/j2PvsPVVvRVU8WudGpwzM6.jpg)