Now many guitarists made an acoustic guitar look as rock ' roll as Elvis Aaron Presley so its only fitting Gibson is doffing its cap to the King with an Elvis SJ-200 and Dove. Two acoustics that mark two very different stages of the legend's career.
The new Gibson Elvis Dove in Ebony is based on a customised 1969 model that was gifted to the King by his father, Vernon Presley. Elvis played it in concert regularly from 1971 through 1975 – most famously during the satellite-televised Aloha From Hawaii concert in 1973.
But in a surprising move during an Asheville, NC concert in 1975, Elvis gifted the Gibson Dove to an audience member called Mike Harris. It went up for auction in 2016.
The new Gibson Elvis Dove in Ebony features a solid Sitka spruce top, solid maple back, sides, and a mahogany neck with an Indian rosewood fretboard.
The new Dove is stage-ready with a modern LR Baggs VTC electronics with an under-saddle piezo pickup and soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls.
Gibson previously issued an Ebony Elvis Dove model in the mid-'90s, that you can see in the video below.
The Gibson SJ-200 is based on a guitar that was another gift and Elvis in turn gave way. I twas first given to the musician at a recording session at the iconic RCA Studio B in Nashville in the mid '60s. Elvis then gave it to his close friend and aide at Graceland Marty Lacker.
The new Gibson Elvis SJ-200 features a maple back, sides, and neck, as well as a Sitka spruce top.
The guitar features a mother-of-pearl graduated crown and parallelogram inlays, an iconic Moustache bridge and an Indian rosewood fingerboard, and comes equipped with an LR Baggs VTC under-saddle pick up.
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Both guitars come with a Kenpo Karate decal included in the hardshell case as a further nod to Elvis.
The Gibson Elvis Dove is $4,699 and the Elvis SJ-200 is $5,299. More info on the SJ-200 and Dove.
