The first guitar ever seen on early television - the Gibson Montana Advanced Jumbo - is again becoming a favorite of country, blues and other acoustic musicians because of its incredible volume and commanding stage presence. The round shouldered, rosewood-body guitar is back in regular production this year after a limited run of reissues during the past decade.

Steven Stone reviewed the AJ for the October issue of Vintage Guitar, calling the new incarnation of the instrument "a little piece of heaven on earth."

"Right from the first G-run, this Gibson AJ sounds fantastic," Stone writes. "It's loud and well-balanced, with a big bottom as well as sparkling, well-defined upper frequencies. The AJ's initial attack gives it a superb clarity on individual notes, along with excellent sustain. Even when I really dig in with my pick, the sound never gets muddy, only louder. You'll be hard pressed to find a better-sounding, new flatpicking instrument."

Sometimes called the "The 'Bone Crusher" (in reference to the herringbone trim of its competitor, the prewar Martin D-28), the Advanced Jumbo debuted in 1936. Although it was only in production for three years, it made a pioneering television appearance in the capable hands of a yodeling Canadian cowgirl, Helen Diller, during a Philco TV demonstration in Cincinnati in 1939. After World War II, however, Gibson abandoned rosewood-body guitars (except for the occasional limited run), and the AJ didn't reappear until 1990 - briefly as a regular production model and then only as a special-order Custom Shop guitar. Today the vintage AJs, considered to be some of the finest flattops ever crafted, go for a pretty hefty sum - upwards of $25-30,000 - but there were just over 300 of these guitars produced.

The new Advanced Jumbos are similar in spec to the 1930s guitars and have many of the same unique appointments, including the diamond-and-arrowheads fingerboard inlay, firestripe-pattern pickguard and prewar script logo on the headstock. The scale length is also " longer than most Gibsons, at 25 ," creating a slightly higher string tension and producing great volume.

Tony King, guitarist for superstar country duo Brooks & Dunn, plays the AJ throughout most of their show, and he says it's his favorite guitar onstage. "I'm a big bluegrass man, and this guitar has a big, fat sound and it's loud. I love the fact that it's a handmade guitar - they're not cookie cutter guitars. The older Gibsons sound great, but these already sound great, right out of the factory. I can't imagine what it's going to sound like several years from now. Those guys at Montana love their instruments."

King was introduced to the new Advanced Jumbo last year at the Arlington Guitar Show (the largest vintage guitar show), and he now owns two of the instruments.

"From the first chord, this was my guitar," King continues. They're heirlooms for me - I'll pass them on to my kids. These are soulful instruments, and they're going to be around a long time."

Guitarist Jason Mowrey, who plays with Australian country artist Keith Urban, played the AJ during Urban's recent "Farm Aid" appearance, and will be jamming on the acoustic dreadnought for appearances on "Entertainment Tonight," the "Today" show, "Access Hollywood," and CMT's "Most Wanted Live," among others.

"The Advanced Jumbo is such an overlooked guitar. It's the loudest, deepest-sounding Gibson acoustic I've played," Mowrey says. "But it also has the clarity that I need for playing bluegrass and country."

Producer/singer/songwriter Randy Scruggs frequently uses the guitar for session work, and also likes the way it performs when he's on tour. Scruggs has received two Grammy Awards for songs he recorded with the Advanced Jumbo -- "Soldier's Joy" from his 1999 solo album Crown of Jewels, and "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" from his father's latest album, Earl Scruggs and Friends. In addition, he played the AJ while producing the recently-released album Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume 3 for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

"I definitely feel the guitar had its part as a contributing factor [to the Grammy Awards]," Scruggs says. "I've loved my Gibson Advanced Jumbo since the day I got it. Within the first two weeks, I was playing it on an album date I had with Vince Gill. The engineer was talking about what a smooth and even response the guitar had. After producing and playing it on an Iris DeMent record, she immediately went out to find one. For me, there are certain instruments that you have to really work with to achieve a particular tone or sound. This guitar is just the opposite. It gives you the immediate response that you hope for. I've played it on session after session and it's never let me down. The guitar was a thread for me throughout the albums.

"As well, I use it exclusively on my tour dates and I get the same response from the sound engineers on a live basis. The comment is always how clean, yet dynamic the sound of the guitar is," Scruggs continues. "There is occasionally a particular instrument that you're lucky enough to find that you want to have close throughout the rest of your career, and the Advanced Jumbo is one of those instruments."

Buddy Miller, one of Nashvilles most renowned guitarists and an artist/songwriter/producer in his own right, played the Advanced Jumbo for a recent concert with the Chieftains in support of their new album, Down the Old Plank Road. Country artist Jon Randall Stewart, whose musical career has included stints with Emmylou Harris band the Nash Ramblers as well as his current gig with Sam Bushs progressive bluegrass band, likes the quality of the AJ for recording. I really love using the guitar in studio, because it mics really well and is not too boomy like some other rosewood guitars.

For those who like to make a lasting impression with their acoustic guitar, the Advanced Jumbo fits the bill nicely - other guitars can get lost in the mix. This "guitar-players' guitar" is one of finest instruments Gibson has ever crafted.