Gibson Introduces the Aaron Lewis Southern Jumbo

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Whoever thought parental advisory warnings and acoustic guitars don't mix never heard Aaron Lewis. The Grammy-nominated songwriter, frontman for hit rock band Staind, wrote some of the last decade's most enduring and gut-wrenching songs ("Outside," "It's Been Awhile") using his collection of vintage Gibson acoustics. Gibson Acoustic honors Lewis' continued artistry with the introduction of the Aaron Lewis Southern Jumbo Standard and the Aaron Lewis Aged Southern Jumbo. Both guitars are replicas of Lewis' prized 1951 acoustic and one has been aged and distressed to recreate the rugged look that occurred naturally as Lewis put his Southern Jumbo through the paces on-stage and in the studio. With the Aged model Gibson luthiers took the aging process several steps further, doing all distressing by hand. Thirty seven guitars were hand-aged in the Gibson Montana Art Shop and 13 more hand-aged guitars are personally autographed by the guitarist and have been played by him in live and studio performances. The Gibson Acoustic Aaron Lewis Southern Jumbo guitar is an exact replica of Aaron's most treasured acoustic, his 1951 Gibson Southern Jumbo. As Aaron has said, "Those are the crown jewels. I don't think I could go out in front of audiences and do the intimate kind of show I do without those guitars. They provide the perfect accompaniment to my voice. The deep resonance from each of those guitars — when you hear them ring out, with their sound bouncing off the walls of the theatres — it's just staggering. Sometimes I think I don't even have to sing. Let these guitars do the singing for me!" The Aaron Lewis Southern Jumbo embraces all the premium elements that made the Southern Jumbo a classic upon its arrival in the 1940s — solid premium Sitka spruce top, nitrocellulose Vintage Sunburst finish, 6-ply top binding and 4-ply back binding — but with the modern updates that Lewis relies on, like a built-in L.R. Baggs Element pickup with soundhole-mounted volume control. Standard: $3,653
Aged: $8,598
Aged and Signed: $17,198