Dwight Yoakam Honky Tonk Deuce Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Dwight Yoakam left Bakersfield, Kentucky for Los Angeles in the late 1970s and never lost sight of his dream of bringing traditional Honky Tonk ”or "Hillbilly" music, as he called it”to the forefront of mainstream country. Yoakam's dream and determination have since made him a true country music legend and Gibson Acoustic celebrates it by combining a classic Honky Tonk look with traditional design to create the Dwight Yoakam Honky Tonk Deuce acoustic electric guitar from the Signature Artist Series.

Nickel Gotoh Vintage Keystone-Style Tuners
This Gibson Dwight Yoakam signature guitar features Gotoh's vintage keystone-style nickel tuners. With a gear ratio of 15:1, these Gotoh tuners feature original style stamped gear housings, providing maximum protection for the gear and string post. All moving parts are cut for exact meshing, eliminating the possibility of slippage, with a special lubricant inside the gear box for smooth and accurate tuning stability.

Crown Peghead Logo
Gibson put the first crown peghead logo on an ES-300 back in 1940, and it has graced the headstocks of many legendary Gibson guitars ever since, including today's Dwight Yoakam Honky Tonk Deuce guitar. Over the years, it has also been called a "thistle" because of the group of flowering plants with the sharp prickles, though Gibson has preferred to call it a "crown."

Pickguard
The tortoise pickguard for the Dwight Yoakam Honky Tonk Deuce is Gibson's standard J-50 shape, with the addition of a pair of dice made from genuine mother of pearl. As with all of Gibson's pickguards, the coloring, inlay, and binding are all done by hand.

Rosette
A rosette is the beautiful, hand-crafted circle around the soundhole, and can be one of the most ornamental elements of any acoustic guitar. It is also one of the most subtle and complicated woodworking decorations on any acoustic guitar. The rosette on Gibson's Dwight Yoakam Honky Tonk Deuce Guitar is a double-ring rosette, with the main ring consisting of seven-ply binding, and the second ring three-ply binding, adding a stylish, understated elegance to the Gibson guitar.

Rosewood Fingerboard with Rolled Edges and Split Parallelogram Inlays
The fingerboard of Gibson's Dwight Yoakam signature guitar is constructed from the highest grade rosewood on earth, which is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson's team of skilled experts before it enters the Gibson factories. The resilience of this durable wood makes the guitar's fingerboard extremely balanced and stable, and gives each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite. The Dwight Yoakam Honky Tonk Deuce guitar also sports a pair of dice at the 12th fret and split parallelogram inlays, all made of genuine mother of pearl. They are inserted into the fingerboard using a process that eliminates gaps and doesn't require the use of fillers. The fingerboard also sports a rolled edge”instead of the usual right angle where the fingerboard surface meets the neck. Gibson Acoustic's rolled edges are slightly beveled for an extremely smooth and comfortable feel, enhancing the playability of the Gibson Dwight Yoakam guitar.

Body Tonewoods (back, sides and top)
The body of the Honky Tonk Deuce acoustic electric guitar takes the traditional shape of Gibson's slope shoulder dreadnought design, with a top made from AA-grade solid Sitka spruce, and back and sides constructed from Indian rosewood, giving it a warm, rich tone with booming low end and overall incredible huge sound and excellent projection. Selecting the right wood, and the formula to dry it out, are two of the most central procedures to Gibson's guitar-building process. Beginning with its first catalog in 1903, Gibson assured its customers that every Dwight Yoakam signature guitar would be built using woods with "the most durable, elastic, and sonorous qualities," and today's guitars from Gibson Acoustic are no different.

L.R. Baggs Element Active Acoustic Pickup System
The Gibson Dwight Yoakam Honky Tonk Deuce comes equipped with the popular Element Active Acoustic Pickup System from L.R. Baggs, which features a low-profile undersaddle element”or transducer”that's proven more stable and durable than many standard ribbon-type pickups. Combined with an onboard preamp with an unobtrusive and removable volume control mounted just inside the soundhole, the Element delivers performance not previously attainable from an undersaddle pickup. Its sleek and effective design removes unnecessary internal components to enhance the coupling between the pickup and the guitar, and improve the sensitivity of the transducer for a robust, lively, and natural acoustic sound with excellent dynamics and delicate high end. The Element works with a standard 9V battery, which is housed inside the guitar in L.R. Bagg's "Battery Bagg."

Bracing
Every acoustic guitar made by Gibson features hand-scalloped, radiused top bracing inside the body, a feature normally found only in limited run, handmade guitars. By scalloping each brace by hand, the natural sound of the acoustic is focused more toward the center of the body, enhancing the instrument's sound projection. The Dwight Yoakam Signature acoustic electric features a variation of Gibson's "X" bracing pattern situated behind the soundhole, with a set of tall and thin braces for the back, and scalloped tall and thin braces for the top. This traditional bracing design”the same pattern found in Gibson's legendary J-45 from the early 1940s”delivers a balanced expression, with punchy, deep lows, warm mids, and clear, crisp highs. When pushed for more volume, the Dwight Yoakam Honky Tonk guitar projects a natural compression, which helps it blend nicely with any accompaniment.