Gibson Chet Atkins SST

1998 Chet with Heritage Cherry Sunburst. Active pickup. with HS case. gorgeous.

Well, i have a Taylor Grand Concert and as you can imagine very little really compares to that sound wise. but i am an efect freak, and i think acoustic simulator pedals are junk, so i got this to maintain acoustic tone but blast with effects on occasion. it worked.

it it a little twangy. you need a good amp to make this thing sound like a true acoustic.

Action is perfect. wonderful setup. It feels great to play, and this Heritage Cherry sunburst is killer. absolutely gorgeous. i blind people in the front row with the light reflections.

soild as it comes. like a brick. it might affect the tone being so solid, but you wont have to coddle the Chet. i beat the hell out of it...i play with overzealousness on occasion.

NA

Playing for 16 years. Id buy it again if it were stolen. many pluses. i love the playabilty and ruggedness of it. its quite electric sounding for an electric acoustic, but then again, it looks more electric than acoustic, and it definitely has a purpose in rock/roots music. its sings in the hand.

See others. Wine red finish.

Acoustically, it is not much louder than other electrics. Plugged in, heh heh. Well, I'm writing this review to give a counter-opinion to all the glowing reviews here. It sounds like a piezo pickup. It doesn't have characteristics of a miked acoustic at all, but resembles a piezo acoustic plugged in. Just imagine a nice piezo on a block of mahogany.
The guitar is quite sensitive to attack. Depending on your rig, you may need compression to control it. The preamp is very useful. Allows you to shape your tone adequately.
Well, tone preference is a very subjective issue, and I guess whatever tickles your pickle is fine. This didn't tickle my pickle.

Action was nice, but the fretjob/saddlejob was pretty bad. Playing in the upper notes, like above the 16th fret, leads to intense fretting out. Ewww... Finish is beautiful but temperamental. Rubbing paper over it is sufficient to scratch it. Terrible for a Gibson. One would expect more. Well, there are actually many critics of Gibsons; some think workmanship on them in general is horrible. I wouldn't say horrible, but definitely not up to "reputation."

Much more reliable and durable than an acoustic.

Well, tone is very subjective. I don't like. I did play it through a nice PA once though, and it had a wonderful, warm sound that conjured harmonics very easily. However, not acoustic enough for me. Too synthetic.

First off, I am fairly new to playing guitar so this review may not be as expert of one that you are looking for. I do, however, greatly appreciate quality craftsmanship. My SST was made in 2001 in the USA. I copied this off of the Gibson website:

"Body: Solid Spruce top, Mahogany back with Chromyte reinforcement.
Also available with a True Cedar top in Antique Natural.
Neck/Profile: Mahogany/Slim-taper
Fingerboard/Inlay: Ebony, 24 frets/Star
Scale/Nut Width: 251/2"/111/16"
Binding: Top
Bridge/Tailpiece: Ebony pin
Hardware: Gold
Pickups: Bridge transducer
Controls: Active volume, bass and treble (boost and cut) on rim"

A few personal notes: I love the set up of this guitar. Everything about it screams elegant simplicity! The V, T, and B controls are very comfortably placed and easy to manipulate. I have read other reviews and agree that the strap bolts could be a bit bigger...an eaxy fix.

Although I am new to playing the guitar myself, I grew up in a family of musicians and know sounds; bad from good, good from great. For me, this guitar is a one of a kind great. I am anxious to get back to the U.S. and hear other SST's in order to find out if that big, thick, rich sound is typical of all of them. I have only played it through a Fender Bass Amp and a 9w practice amp. The small one is what it is...but the thickness of the Chet's sound still shines through. When I plugged into the Bass Amp, I was amazed at the clarity at high volume. The "feel" is great. This is a guitar that I will never give up. I play medium gauge strings and am a die hard blues fan...the SST fits me just right! About 95% of my playing time on it has been unplugged so take that for what it's worth. One last note on sound...I have started putting my ear to the wood of guitars to get a better feel for it's sound and when I compared the SST to a Washburn X60, an Alvarez fusion, and a Les Paul Classic, I found it to the be the most resonant and full but also the "loosest." Loose is a wierd way to describe a sound but the others just sounded tighter. Even still, I prefer this guitar over any other I have played. Oh, one last note, the guy I bought this from played it through a fender acoustasonic (the big one) and loved it!

I honestly don't know enough to give a worth while bit here...other than to say that it is the slowest action I have played. I like it that way because the work it takes to get from one spot to another is well worth the sound I hear.

I keep the finish wiped clean and it looks great but I can see where it may erode faster than others. Durability hasn't been an issue, it's a solid, solid guitar. The heaviest I have played. My son broke a lamp and lightbuld with the headstock....a few nicks but everything else is fine. Again, the strap buttons are too small. I haven't gigged yet (first one coming up in a month) so I can't comment on the rest.

I live on Okinawa, Japan and have dealt with the Japanese Gibson reps and they are wonderfully helpful and polite!

I have been playing for about a year and a half. If it were stolen I would track the poor $@#%!$% down and take it back...or just buy a new one. I can't choose one thing that I love more than the others. I simply love the FEEL of it. I do not hate anything about it. My wife bought the SST for me as a gift and she picked it soley based on looks...and the fact that Dave Matthews played it becasue she knows that I enjoy his music. I had never heard of or seen an SST before this one. Now, the more I look into other guitars the more I like the one I have.

well... im a huge dave matthews fan so of course the reason why i chose this guitar is pretty much clear, but not only cos of dave... i did notice this thing is a beauty.. its a 98 sst in ebony with the bangin star inlays and the gold tuners... with the active pickup u can just plug your headset right into the output n walk through the house and jam... really aweseome stuff... sized like a electric but with that sweet acoustic tone... cant beat it really

this guitar can basically go into any tone u want.. with the tremble to the 24th fret and the bass to the 21st fret... u can get any sound u want really... always b sure u have a nice fresh set of strings on it tho to get the most out of it... i suggest daddario electric .10-.46

the action is awesome... jammin in my room like dave it fits perfect to the body, the neck tho its really glosssy and that can cos yer hands to stick and that may b a problem, this guitar attracts dust n fingerprints like crazy so just b sure you clean it up alot to keep it lookin nice... the finish dulls out after a while even if u clean it so i think as far as keepin the finish lookin perfect forever is really impossible... oh well its a great jammin guitar

its a guitar u need to baby, the 24k tuners will tarnish if not cleaned with some guitar gloss polish.. if not taken care of properly tho u will pay the price eventually... i had to get bigger strap buttons put on because the strap came off once and if i was standin n playin it prob would haev fell to the ground and that prob would not have been good

i called gibson once for help on what strings to use for it... since i bought it used i wasant too sure... they gave me good ideas and it helped out... nice job fellas

overall if your a dave matthews fan get this guitar... ull have his sound and style... with some care youll keep it beautiful... cos i mean the looks r really stunning and the sound is something outta this world... nice job gibson

My "Chet" is a 1997 model, with the Cherry Sunburst scheme. It has 21/24 frets for the bass/treble. The guitar is a solid-body acoustic/electric. It's equiped with the factory installed piezo pickup, in a solid-bodied mahogany frame, with a solid spruce top. It has a light gloss finish, that gets fingerprints like CRAZY! It has a ebony fretboard and also a single cutaway, allowing access to the higher frets. It's also a thin-body, which makes it feel more like an electric, but still with an acoustic tone. The neck is about as thin as an electric as well. The case was included with the purchase, and it was the standard gibson case with the pink fur and satin cover-over. The case really wasn't that great (I prefer my Taylor's case, now that's a good case!) The guitar also has an EQ with volume, treble, and bass, making it so that you can tune into any setting you want. If you want more bass, you go it (and a lot of it!). Treble, turn the knob, and it's there. It also has an active pickup, meaning that you can just plug your headphones into the output, and jam that way, though it sounds very "electronic" that way, cuz there's no coloring with reverb or the such.

I love this guitar for the sound! It's pretty unbelieveable from the first time you play it. You imagine it to sound like an electric, but it sounds totally acoustic. I play mostly rythem guitar, with some fingerpicking as well, and it fits both quite well. I play mostly church stuff, but the more contemporary stuff from Passion, or Delirious and the such, where it's more guitar driven.
I'm using the Chet with my Marshall AS50R right now, and it sounds just right. I like to crank it with the reverb on my amp on full, so that I can get the full effect of the piezo pickup with no feedback. The amp gives it a lil too much bass though, even when I have the eq on the bass all the way down, and the volume up, the bass is hard to take out.
The overall sound can be changed a lot, since it has the treble and bass knobs, so it can be big and bassy, or bright sounding. I really like the guitar for rythmic playing, like David Crowder's style, or Dave Matthew's style playing. With quick lead riffs and strums, it sounds great, and you get the loud sound of muting the strings as well. The guitar also allows virtually NO FEEDBACK. No matter the volume, it won't feedback, which is awesome for live playing. If you're looking for a guitar that you can play at loud volumes, and that can cut through a mix of instruments, this is it!
The part I really dislike is that it's not that great for a recording guitar. I'm currently working on a CD project, and I have to mic my amp in order to get the right sound (I can't just take the pickup sound, cuz then it doesn't sound acoustic enough).

I bought this guitar used, so I'm not sure of the condition straight from the factory. The action of it feels alright. It's good for my playing style, being mostly rythem guitar. The finish on it was a lil rough, from wear and tear of the last owner. A few trouble spots on the front of the guitar, as well as the back, but it gives it character. The real complaint I had was on the neck. The back of the neck was glossy, and I just really hate that after having my Taylor (which has a satin finish on it, and boy, it's so smooth). I resolved that by getting some really really really light grained sandpaper, and working down the gloss on the neck. Now it feels a lot better, but I still get a few "sticking" problems if my hands are really moist from sweating.
I really do enjoy the size of the guitar though, and the weight. It feels really natural having it on, and not heavy like a bass guitar is. The width is also a bonus, as it's not as thick as an acoustic, so my arm doesn't stick out as much.

I don't like to leave this guitar (or any guitar out) for very long in a live setting. It will withstand it, but with Youth Group kids around, or sometimes crazy people, I don't like to keep it out. For daily playing or gigs, it'll do, but I wouldn't ever want to have it fall on the floor. The hardware I've heard will tarnish over time, but that doesn't seem to be the case so far. The guitar is a 1997 model, and the 24karat gold seems to be doing fine so far, here's to 50 years with it, hehe. The finish is what I actually don't like too much. It's not very glossy, and it seems a lil dull and thick. If I could, I would like to refinish it, but I'm afraid of what it may do to the sound, hah. The strap buttons have been changed on it to some slightly larger ones. The originals were included in the case, and after looking at them, I'm glad that they were changed. The original ones were very small, and probably wouldn't stay in the guitar strap very well. I use this guitar all the time with out a backup, though I would like to have another Chet, hah. I would use it for an alternate tuning or something. The one thing I make sure to bring is an extra battery, and to have it in my pocket, just in case the battery goes out on me.

Haven't dealt with the company. Don't think I'm under warranty either, hah.

I've been playing for 3 years now. Not a very long time, but I've gotten pretty well schooled in things. I also own a Taylor 810BCE, a Baby Taylor, and a Takamine EG-334C (which I may be selling soon). I also own a variety of other things, a Marshall AS50R amp, some percussion, mics, etc. If this guitar was stolen, I'd definately want to get another one, I simply love this guitar for live work. This is my main guitar for live gigs, my only complaint is not being able to just plug it in and record with it, ahhh, oh well. My favorite feature is the look of it. The Cherry Sunburst just accents off it so well! I didn't want to compare it to other guitars, because I already have 3 other guitars, and they can be used for different purposes. The one thing I wish it DIDNT have, were those crazy Star-shaped inlays. They're a lil too patriotic for me, hah.

Mine is a '92 SST in black with all the usual stuff; volume, bass, treble controls (9V powered active eq). Cool star inlays and gold tuners, etc.. Now that even the most modest acoustic guitars come with elaborate Fishman electronics, the SST does seem a bit basic. But, hey - that suites me fine.

I am doing a AAA / modern rock / unplugged type of thing. Female vocalist, me on the SST, and a very tight and LOUD rythm section (bass & drums). Even though it is a power trio with vocals, I still had trouble using an acoustic guitar and cutting through (feedback, etc..). I haven't given up on playing acoustic yet - I am getting an SWR California Blonde amp and an LR Baggs pre-amp to give me more volume and more feedback control, but the SST is so close to an acoustic sound that it may not be necessary to switch back.

Right now I am playing through a Fender Hot Rod Deville (4-10"s) and it sounds pretty good, but electric guitar amps do color the sound and add lots of midrange, so I am looking forward to playing the SST through the SWR when I get it. I get a full sound with LOTS of brilliance and bottom end. I can push the guitar into overdrive, but that is not the sound I am looking for. I give it a 9 instead of a 10, because I love Taylors and the SST can't quite get you to that sweet, full acoustic Taylor sound.

Bought it used and it was set up pretty well by the previous owner. There are some scratches on the back, but this is a guitar for playing live so that is irrelevant. I do have a gripe with the strap buttons - I dropped the guitar the second day I owned it and strap locks will be added asap.

Well it survived hitting the floor - just needed to tune up! I think I can depend on it, after all it is 10 years old. But I have to take off a couple points due to the need for a better strap button / strap lock system.

N/A

I have been playing seriously for 23 years. Only recently playing a lot of acoustic guitar, and this is my first band where I play acoustic. My other guitars are a Fender Tele Thinline ('72 re-issue), a Gibson Spirit (like LP Jr.) that I bought new 20 years ago, an Ibanez AW100 artwood acoustic (handmade in Korea!), a Yamaha bass, a mandolin, and a classical guitar. I have owned lots of amps (especially Fenders) including 2 Twins and a Super Reverb (why did I sell it?!) and the HR Deville is pretty great as long as you are playing clean or crunchy (doesn't have a nice fat distortion).

I bought the SST as an addition, not to replace anything. I will be getting a Taylor very soon (not sure which model yet - but am leaning towards a 710CE, 414CE, or 415CE) and having the SST will not stop me from upgrading my Ibanez folk guitar to a Taylor. I did try one of the Epi Chet's and while it was not bad, I did heed the advice of those who posted about it on Harmony Central (spend more $$ and get the Gibson).

Overall, the Chet is really cool. It has a certain look and makes some wonderful sounds. The black finish will take a lot of care, but if I wanted maintenance free I would have taken up harmonica.

Mine was a completely standard 1999 CA SST in Ebony.

The tone was awesome, but the guitar never had good intonation. So it was unplayable. Unfortunately I had to place a back order to get this, so I could not try it first.

The action sucked, leading to the intonation problems. The finish was awesome though, stunning.

Drop this guitar and count on buying a new one. The gold hardware will tarnish if not cleaned after every use, so that sucks. The upper strap button has a rather inconvenient location for attaching the strap, but it sure hangs on to the guitar. It did all right on gigs without concern for a backup. I just had to baby it all the time to keep it from any accidents.

N/A

10 years of playing have led me to be picky about what a play on. I wish I would have discovered the Rick Turner Renaissance before I wasted 999 bucks on this hunk of crap. I have sold it, and plan on getting a Rick Turner. Do yourself a favor, and for a few hundred bucks more, get the RT. It is better playing, sounding, looking, comes with better strings, has better construction, and will make you a happier player.

My Chet comes along with a awesome story. Me and my friend were planning on going to a Dave Matthews Band show in chicago and a drum teacher at our school happens to know Carte Beauford. Well anyways, we all got to go backstage and dave had I think around 5 chets back with him.. so i asked him if could have one just out of curiosity, and HE GAVE ME ONE!!! It was awesome. Thats my story, but anyways, about the guitar.. this is a great guitar, i really have never played a better acoustic/electric. Because this guitar was given to me.. it didnt come with the case. This has tons of great features but you can the gibson website for all the real details. THIS IS A GREAT GUITAR.. ADVISE ANY SERIOUS PLAYERS TO BUY ONE

This guitar fits my style great. The sound is great. This guitar has a sound unlike any other guitar out there. Great in an acoustic, but i personally putting it through a Fender Super Reverb. I give the sound a 10

Well, I got this guitar the way Dave had fishman set it up. Besides that, everything is awesome. Although the finish is really thin and dents and scrathes really easily. It had some minor pick scratches from dave playing I think 1 or 2 concerts with, but it is still great condition

This gutiar is SUPER STURDY (besides the weak finish)Ain't nothin bringin this guitar down. The strap pegs on the guitar are Schaller strap locks, and those are really sturdy. The finish thin, and i can see it fading where i rest my arm when playing with a short sleeeved shirt on. I would use it at a gig without backup for sure! I give it a 9 due to its finish

never delt with it

Over all i give this guitar a 10. This guitar has been by my side for the past year and a half. I love it, although it can't be replaced because of its former owner Mr. David J. Matthews, i would still go out and by antother if anything happened to it.

My guitar is a '97 model made in the Tennessee plant. Most of the specs are listed on Gibson's webpage, so I suggest you check that out to get the basics. Mine's the ebony finish. The controls are great. You can dial in almost any tone imagineable with the active EQ, and because its active, you can play it with headphones plugged straight into the guitar and still get a sound. The piezo pickup is great, and I can get some really cool effects going by tapping the bridge while playing or muting the strings. The chambered body still gets a good tone even when not plugged in, so if I just pick it up and feel like playing without an amp, you can still get a reasonable volume. My neighbors don't always like me cranking the amp! The ebony fretboard looks beautiful, especially with the cool star inlays. The neck is pretty clean, but I'll go into the problem I had later. Also, the body is two pieces, and I'll describe the problem with that later. Comes with a hard case (with a pimp pink lining that all Gibsons have), and a truss rod key/screwdriver combo. In my opinion, a very nice guitar that is very well rounded for different styles. Just keep a spare 9volt around, as the EQ is a battery hog.

Originally I bought this guitar after only having played a year. At the time, Dave Matthews was my biggest musical influence, and so the reason I chose this guitar is obvious. With the tone knobs you can make it sound practically any way you want. Mine seems to have a lot of bottom end, but that may be my style of playing. Crank up the treble control and you can get a really clear sound that doesn't sound totally twangy and light. A very rich sound. Originally I played it through a small accoustic practice amp, and the sound was still pretty good given the terrible amp. The coolest tone I get is when I tap the bridge right where the strings and bridge meet. ALthough not a practical application, it still looks and sounds cool when I'm jamming with a friend. As I've played more and more, I've fallen in love with the blues. To my surprise, this guitar still sounds great for that style too. I now have a fender hot rod deluxe, and when I play a little distortion through it for extra gain, the sound breaks up just the way I want it to to give me a more raw blues tone. ALthough nothing substitutes for a guitar meant for the blues, my Chet sure sounds like it wants to be a blues guitar. The response is quick, and the sounds is clear despite being raw. When I sold my LP Standard I was forced to use this guitar for everything, and I am not dissapointed. Depending on my mood and tone preference for the month, I'll switch between accoustic and "electric" strings. Both work well. Accoustic strings by far give it the best tone. I'd say if you want a great accoustic sounding solidbody, this is the way to go. Nothing beats it. Any other styles you can get out of it are just gravy on top. A very versatile guitar.

The action on mine was low, and when I first got it, I liked it that way. Since then, and since focusing on blues more, I've raised the action to facilitate string bending. Unfortunately I snap a lot of high E's trying to hit some of those bends, but that's my own fault. The tuners always stay in tune, unless there's a drastic change in humidity, but that can't be helped, and is no fault of the guitar. Now we get into the problems. The Chet I have now is actually my second one. The first one I had for about 4 months, and right about that time the top cracked right where the two pieces of the body are joined, from the bridge all the way to the endpin. An obvious defect, since I treated this guitar like it was my baby, Gibson was quick to send me a new guitar. This new one is still going strong after almost two years. There is some minor chipping of the laquer on the neck at the 12th fret low E side, and eventually I'll have to get that refinished, but right now I can't stand to part with this guitar for the time it would take to get that job done. The laquer on the headstock is also chipping a bit on the top where the tuners are, but since I care more about tone than appearance, I don't really care. The finish does scratch easily, and I have several little dings on the body from friends not respecting other people's property, but what can you do. The guitar is made of soft wood, so you need to be gentle. Although I don't care about those battle scars, any prospective buyer should at least be aware of those issues. Finally, when I got the guitar, I had to spend a day just cleaning it up. Gibson didn't take the time to clean the extra glue off the neck from the frets and nut, so I had to. Both the first and second Chets had this problem. For a guitar that costs a fair amount of cash, I would expect it to be a little cleaner. Finally, although the gold hardware looks great, its a chore to keep clean, and if you don't it will tarnish. The finish still looks great after all this time, and daily play. Depending on whether you care about the looks of your guitar, I'd give it different ratings. For those that do, I'd give it a 3, since it needs a lot of work from the factory to make it look perfect. I'm giving it a 5 because the laquer chipping on the neck kinda ticks me off, and I'm going to need to get it relaquered soon.

I don't really play live yet, so I'm not sure how it would stand up onstage. Like I said about the battery though, it eats them up like they were candy. Keep a spare if you're playing live. Once the battery dies, the guitar is useless with the active EQ. I've already mentioned the problem with the finish and the hardware, so just be warned that you have to take care of this guitar to keep it looking good. You can't go bouncing it off of walls or anything. Other than that, I'd say its a solid guitar. The tone is great, and it always sounds the same no matter what. I'd defintely keep a spare on stage if I was playing live though, just in case. The battery thing just makes me leary of using it as my only live ax. Overall though, I'd say you can depend on it though.

Gibson customer support is awesome. They fixed my problem quickly and with no hassle. However, I did have my guitar dealer help me out in the crack issue. The guitar comes with a lifetime warranty (like all Gibsons), so you can rest assured that any problem will be fixed quickly and quietly.

I've been playing guitar for four years now, and no matter how many guitars I play, I always come back to the Chet. I fell in love with the guitar the minute I laid my hands on it. It was my first love, and there will always be a place for it in my collection. If it got stolen I'd cry my eyes out, then I'd hunt the jerk down to get my baby back! I really like this guitar as opposed to a straight accoustic with a pickup. Its my preference. If you want an accoustic for onstage, give the Chet a try. You'll probably buy it. I originally bought it to get a tone like Dave Matthews, and its never let me down. The sheer number of possibilities this guitar has for tone put it in a class by itself. I love mine so much that I plan on getting one with the natural finish cedar top when I have some extra money to kick around. The color on that one is like none I've seen before. If you average the scores I gave it, it would be an 8.4. Overall though, I'd say this guitar is much better than that. That's why I'm rounding up. Try one out, you'll love it.

The big feature of this guitar is the chambered body so you don't get any feedback at high volumes on stage. It works awesome. Mine is a first year production model. I have played for 14 years and play professionally. I have owned over 20 guitars and traded in most--but not this one! The tone controls are great--you can dial in whatever setting you want--very versitile. The only reason I give it a 9 and not a 10 is that you have to unscrew 4 screws to replace the battery.

The sound is great. I have had many offers but not taken any yet and don't plan on it either. I mostly chord with some picking ( I am a singer and accompany myself) the guitar is great for this.

The finish is thin and dents easily although the guitar looks great. The neck is not bound and a little sloppy in my opinion.

This thing has been beat to death--gigged for years and still sounds great with NO problems. I recommend it highly.

I love this guitar--been playing years. If stolen, I would definately buy a new one. It is so comfortable to play - an acoustic in an electic body--it doesn't get any better than that!