A year or two earlier came my first meeting with the Beatles (we were sound-checking at a venue in Hull and John and Paul arrived 'in error' - it was a double-booking. We were supposed to be there, they weren't.)
This was early-'63 and 'Please Please Me' was racing up the charts. John was understandably miffed after a fruitless drive from Liverpool, but he looked at us (my rhythm guitarist, Ben, had an ES5 Switchmaster) and said:
"You're the guys with the f*****g great guitars!!!" We were known for them. This was post-trade embargo, so US guitars were readily available. 99% of beat-group guitar-players opted for Stratocasters, Telecasters or Gibson ES 335/345s.
It wasn't until the late-'60s that I discovered Telecasters and 'retired' my beloved Super 400. I'd pose with it on TV shows but, other than that (and the occasion when Dave Edmunds asked to borrow it so he, too, could pose on TV), it stayed in its case.
I was in the US by 2000 and I asked Gerry Hogan (who was kindly minding it for me) to enter it into Bonham's Rock & Pop Auction. Albert gave me a letter of provenance and it made $16,000, ending up in the Hard Rock Cafe's Collection.
I have long since forgotten what I did with that particular $16k, but I never forgot the guitar and its fine craftmanship and woody tone.
I have wanted one ever since. Carter Vintage had a 1992 on their wall at $13,600, complete with a brown, pink-lined, case. I had two old Martins - a '47 battle-scarred 000-18 and a very fine '52 000-21. I never play these, preferring my 2004 Custom Shop 000-28 with its on-board electrics. I proposed a direct swap. Without having a firm offer, I drove to Nashville on 8/31 and was gratified to learn that Kim and Zach (Carter Vintage) elected to stay later than their closing time of 4.00 pm so we could, if possible, conclude the deal.
Carter Vintage is not for the faint-of-heart!! Their inventory defies description. Allowed access to their 'high end' room (where the Super 400 was kept, along with pre-war L-5s, Martins for six figures and much more...), I had access to the stuff of dreams!
To cut a long story short, they felt good about the deal. They asked if I liked the Gibson (it was everything I had hoped it would be) and I left an hour later with my new guitar and some sundry complimentary garments.
There's just one thing to take care of: in 1963, Gibson adopted the sharp cutaway on their premium archtops. The deep cutaway required a shorter pickguard and they also did away with the 400's characteristic marbleized 'guard. There's a chap in CA who can make me one just like I remember. I'm watching the mailbox!
Here's my first one:
Here is the '92: I'd forgotten how perfect the neck-and-fingerboard of Gibson's flagship guitar was. I can hardly put it down!
It was an exhausting but thoroughly enjoyable weekend. I know they've done well out of the deal but my eyes were wide open. A Super 400 was what I wanted and, once I saw this '92, I realized that, as spotty as Gibson's output has been, the high-end stuff has always been painstakingly crafted. As for Kim and Zack at Carter Vintage, they conducted business with openness and respect. If I'm ever in a similar situation, I'll have no hesitation in doing business there again.
PS: They also even had an '82 Emmons rosewood SKH - 8+8 - for $4500. A good deal!
I will update this thread when my $249 pickguard arrives.
Here I am with Ben Steed - my Super 400, his ES-5.
