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The 4th of July is over, but this ridiculous Gibson US map guitar is sure to lift your spirits
The guitar was created for Gibson’s ‘American-made, world-played’ ad campaign in the ’80s.
Image: Gibson
Back in the 1980s, Gibson created a guitar resembling the map of the US for its ‘American-made, world-played’ ad campaign. And since he laid his eyes on it, YouTube guitar collector Austin Trogly – from The Trogly’s Guitar Show – has been on a quest to track it down. And as of this week, it’s finally in his possession.
As the campaign name would suggest, the guitar was created by Gibson to showcase its standing as a worldwide brand that was founded in America. The advert showed an electric guitar that had been carved into the shape of mainland USA – minus Alaska and Hawaii, of course.
In previous videos, Austin has mentioned that he wanted to get hold of the original guitar. And in a stroke of luck, one of Trogly’s viewers who works in a guitar store happened to watch one of his videos where he mentions the guitar, before it ended up in his shop.
“As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one,” says Trogly, who claims he was able to identify various details, such as the grain pattern over certain states.
“I later found out he works for Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville and it had been consigned to them by the family of the guy who carved these guitars for Gibson, James Hutchins. Even if you offered me a million bucks, this is one of those guitars that is just worth more than money to me,” he continues.
“It’s the map guitar. The one everyone has seen and that has been used in everything Gibson-related that says ‘American-made, world-played.’ It is a legacy piece and one day you will see it in my museum!”
Trogly takes the guitar for a spin in the clip below, choosing a selection of full appropriate songs to showcase its tones, including Miley Cyrus’s Party in the USA and the US national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. Check the video out below: