1978 Gibson RD Artist, Natural

Very cool Gibson RD Artist from 1978 in an attractive Natural finish. A very clean and original instrument, it comes into us from the original owner. The original electronics are fully functional and the guitar feels and plays great. Used By Dave Grohl in its Artist and Standard guises and by Jimmy Page during Led Zeppelins ’79 Knebworth show the RD was a relatively short lived range running from 1977-1981.

The RD range of was unveiled in 1977 consisting of three guitar models (RD artist, RD custom and RD standard) and two basses (RD artist and RD standard). The RD Artist, alongside the ES Artist and Les Paul Artist all featured active electronics designed by Bob Moog. The line-up topping Artist  was appropriately finely appointed with gold hardware (including truss rod covers, block inlays and ornate ‘Flying f-hole' headstock inlays. The RD Artist was offered in Antique Sunburst, Ebony, Natural upon release and featured a maple body with a Laminated maple neck with Ebony fretboard with pearl block markers. Bound headstock with pearl Gibson inlay. 22 Frets and a 25.5” scale length. The gold plated hardware consisted of Schaller Tuners, tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece plus the Series VI pickups had gold plated covers. The controls consist of two independent volumes, a  master treble and master bass control. A 3-way pickup selector, 3-position mode switch for the  expansion/comp, neutral and bright/lead modes. 

The guitar is a fine playing example with minimal wear to its original frets. The nut has the standard 43mm width and the neck has a comfortable mid-C profile. Original throughout with the exception of a new battery clip, this guitar must be one of the finest examples available. There guitar comes with its original Gibson Case.