The Magic of the 18
During the period 1930 and later the archtop guitar became an important instrument in the big bands. The archtop guitar couldnt compete with the much louder horn sections. It was hard working and strumming for the guitar player to be noticed between the other instruments.
The demand for bigger and louder starded to grow and was answered by Gibson in 1934 when they introduced the super 400 18 inch wide archtop guitar.
It was not only huge in power, but also the size and the apperance.....and cost. The super 400 would put the guitar player more in the spotlight than he ever was. After the introduction of the super 400 the other guitar brands like Stromberg and D 'Angelico quickly answered with even more fancy18 inch archtop guitars.
Right know my number of 18 inch guitars in my production run is higher than it ever was. I think it is the revival of the 18.
