Above: Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan; film still from A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures). Timothée is pictured with one of two Gibson J-50 models made for the film.
Download all photos, HERE.
Download film production notes: HERE.
Explore A Complete Unknown: The Collection from Gibson HERE.
NASHVILLE, TN Gibson has been shaping the sound of music since 1894, when its founder, Orville Gibson, designed and built his earliest-known musical instrument in his workshop. As it celebrates 130 years of making the most iconic guitars in the world, Gibson’s groundbreaking instruments have inspired the most iconic musicians to create their sonic masterpieces, been the catalyst for some of the most powerful moments in pop culture and encouraged new generations to pick up the guitar in legendary appearances on the silver screen.
Bob Dylan remains both pop’s greatest songwriter and its greatest enigma. In theaters nationwide December 25th, Timothée Chalamet stars and sings as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s three-time Golden Globe-nominated movie, A Complete Unknown, the electrifying true story behind Dylan’s meteoric rise from hard-scrabbling vagabond to rock-and-roll icon. New generations of music fans and Dylanologists alike will have the opportunity to experience his journey from the cafes of Greenwich Village to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, from where his groundbreaking and controversial performance reverberated worldwide.
Dylan’s artistic evolution was fast-moving, and Gibson acoustic guitars were a constant feature. Gibson’s acoustic guitar luthiers worked closely with the film’s production team including Executive Music Producer Nick Baxter. A variety of Gibsons were used during the filming and recording sessions for A Complete Unknown, striving for pinpoint historical accuracy when it came to instruments, sonics, and recording signal chains. Most of the Gibson and Epiphone guitars throughout the film continue to be handcrafted at the Gibson acoustic craftory in Bozeman, Montana.
Today, Gibson has unveiled A Complete Unknown: The Collection, a specially curated selection of Gibson acoustic instruments inspired by and used during the filming and soundtrack recording sessions. View Gibson’s A Complete Unknown: The Collection available worldwide on Gibson.com https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Collection/a-complete-unknown.
With more than 50 onscreen music performances during the course of A Complete Unknown, Timothée Chalamet and the other cast members had an enormous amount of material to learn. In the film, the music itself is a full partner in telling the story, with every well-worn classic and every chosen lyric a part of Mangold’s narrative fabric. Fluidity was key, and Chalamet’s prowess in this regard was uncanny, according to music producer Nick Baxter, but it was important to channel the creative energy of Dylan’s most terrifyingly prolific period and not be too well-rehearsed.
“We knew that we needed to capture a lot of this stuff on set and have our actors prepared to do it,” says Nick Baxter. “The fact that Timmy learned these songs and can perform them under all different circumstances, including scenes where he’s writing, or showing someone a song for the first time, or performing, is incredible. He’s not beholden to anything. He can stop, walk away from the mic, mess up a lyric, add a harmonica solo, and he can go up and down in tempo and pace the song differently. I don’t know if this movie would really work without him being able to do that.”
“It’s an incredible amount of lyrics to wrangle, and I don’t know how they did it, especially Timmy,” adds Baxter. “He has a ridiculous memory, first of all, and was just a student of the character and of the music. But at the same time, in these early writing scenes, it’s almost better if it’s raw in your mind because you can pull in different lyrics and rearrange things—it feels like he’s creating in the moment as you don’t want to over-rehearse for some of these scenes. For example, there’s a ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ duet in the movie between Bob and Joan Baez [played by Monica Barbaro], which is one of the many unique duets that we put together that there’s no real analog for. What if these two people were in a room together, and they played this song? What would have happened? We didn’t really want to rehearse it with the two of them together too much, if at all. When we finally did it on set, there was that first-time rawness to it.”
Baxter continues “We were very grateful to Gibson for giving us a whole bevy of guitars! There were two custom Gibson J-50s built for the movie to match Dylan’s original guitar, a 1947 model. Those guitars were great, and they got even better over time. We had those two on set and used them for a lot of the recordings. We really did try to follow the progression of his guitars; we wanted to honor that. A little less than halfway through the film, we switched to a Nick Lucas Special, which Gibson provided as well. It’s a very different guitar to the J-50™, a much smaller body, almost parlor-style. I was also sent some J-45s to experiment with; they were super-useful. I had one set up in a different tuning because there were a lot of open tunings that Dylan used. Sometimes I would leave one in Open G, or I would set one up really muted, with a piece of tape on the bridge, just to have it as an option. Or one of them would have really old, aged strings on it, so whenever we were experimenting, we could try different colors and sounds. The last Gibson guitar we had was an SJ-200, which we used on a lot of the Johnny Cash songs. Johnny [Boyd Holbrook] gives Bob his guitar at the end of the movie for a final song, and that’s another performance that’s Timmy live on set, really singing and really playing that guitar.”
Robi Johns, Sr. Product Development Manager at Gibson Acoustic Guitars adds, “As many Gibson acoustic guitars played a timely role in American music history our supportive mission was to carefully select the Gibson acoustics that Bob Dylan chose to play during his powerful presence in the 1960s. To achieve this with historical accuracy, we also recreated a few of Bob’s acoustic guitars for the timeframe depicted in the movie.”
In celebration of the release of the film, music fans can visit the Gibson Garage Nashville-Gibson’s flagship store in the heart of downtown Nashville-from December 19 through January to see some of the Gibson guitars that were created for A Complete Unknown on display.
Watch/share the trailer for A Complete Unknown in theaters from December 25th nationwide in North America and January 17th in the UK and Republic of Ireland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdV-Cs5o8mc&t=45s.
Click on the image above to play the video.
In the interview below, take a deep dive with Nick Baxter, Executive Music Producer for the film A Complete Unknown about how Gibson acoustic guitars were used throughout the film and the recording of the soundtrack: https://gazette.gibson.com/?p=14561&preview=1&_ppp=e1f9cf4c22.
Above: Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan with an Epiphone Triumph; film still from A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures).
Above: Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash with a Gibson SJ-200; film still from A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures).
Above: Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan; film still from A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures). Timothée is pictured with one of two Gibson J-50 models made for the film.
Above: Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan with a Gibson SJ-200; film still from A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures).
A Complete Unknown poster (Searchlight Pictures)
Explore A Complete Unknown: The Collection of guitars from Gibson: https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Collection/a-complete-unknown.
Gibson
A Complete Unknown: The Collection:
Gibson L-00
Gibson L-00 Original
Gibson was a pioneer in the development of small body guitars in the beginning of the 1900s with its "L-Series Small Body" acoustics. These smaller Gibsons deliver a tonality that is best described in Gibson's 1934 catalog as a sound of “perfect balance.” The L-00 Original, while achieving all the advantages of an acoustic that is comfortable to play in your home, still produces Gibson’s rich, full sound. The new L-00 Original features a classic white script Gibson logo, subtle antiquing on the top and back binding, and Golden Age nickel tuners.
Johnny Cash SJ-200
Gibson Custom Johnny Cash SJ-200
Johnny Cash profoundly impacted multiple genres, including country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel music. He sold over 90 million records and was inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, Gospel Music, Rockabilly, Nashville Songwriters, and the Memphis Music Halls of Fame. He received 13 GRAMMY® Awards, including a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999 and nine CMA awards, and was a recipient of Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts. In the late 50s, Gibson made two SJ-200s for Cash that featured his name inlaid in mother of pearl on the fretboard and a distinctive pickguard designed by Johnny Cash himself. Gibson Custom is proud to release recreations of these guitars to honor his legacy. Only 100 of these beautiful and highly-requested instruments were handcrafted by the expert luthiers of the Gibson Custom Shop in Bozeman, Montana, as part of this remarkable limited run.
J-45™ 50s Faded
Gibson J-45 50s Faded
The World-Famous Workhorse With a Beautiful Faded Finish
The J-45 is Gibson’s best-selling acoustic of all time. Nicknamed “The Workhorse” and first introduced in 1942, this iconic acoustic has become the cornerstone of its round-shoulder, dreadnought line. World-renowned for its full, balanced expression, warm bass, and excellent projection, the J-45 has been refined to carry this legacy to new heights. The Gibson J-45 50s Faded delivers full-spectrum sound with incredible dynamic range, warm mids, and tight, punchy bass. Now available with a stunning, faded satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish that accentuates the guitar’s vintage vibe and equipped with a modern L.R. Baggs™ pickup and electronics package for studio and stage use. A hardshell case is also included.
J-45 60s Original
Gibson 60s J-45 Original
A J-45 with 60s styling
When you listen to a Gibson round-shoulder acoustic, you will notice that it responds exactly to the player’s style and technique--powerful one moment, soft and mellow the next. This 60s J-45 Original offers a period-correct 1 11/16’’ nut width, allowing for comfortable fingering in any position along the mahogany neck. The easily adjustable saddle can be fine-tuned to players’ unique string action preferences. The new 60s J-45 Original features double antiqued binding, Grover® strap cream button tuners, and our famous white pickguard with a hot stamp logo.
J-35 30s Faded
J-35 30s Faded
The Pre-War Classic With a Beautiful Faded Finish
The J-35 evolved from the Jumbo in 1936, a time when the Great Depression was still wreaking havoc on Americans. Gibson developed the J-35 to be a pared-down model that still offered musicians a warm and balanced instrument. The J-35 30s Faded delivers every bit of the seasoned, vintage look, feel, and sound of our iconic J-35, with a satin nitrocellulose finish that only adds to its rich legacy and undeniable vintage vibe. Discerning flat-top players will love the rich, full-bodied tone from this vintage-inspired, round-shoulder beauty, along with its superb playability and simple aesthetic charm. A hardshell case is included.
Southern Jumbo Original
Gibson Southern Jumbo Original
A Gibson reflecting the charm and style of the South
The Southern Jumbo is renowned for its proficiency in belting out country rhythms or acoustic blues leads. Original examples are among the most prized war-era flat-tops in today’s vintage market. This new Southern Jumbo Original picks up where those classic models left off. Classic Southern Jumbo detailing includes parallelogram inlays, double antiqued multi-ply top and back binding, and nickel open-back tuners.
Hummingbird Original
Gibson Hummingbird Original
One of Gibson's Most Distinctive Acoustic Instruments
The unmistakable Gibson Hummingbird™ is followed by the masses as one of the most remarkable acoustic guitars ever built. The new Hummingbird Original blends vintage appointments and today’s modern, high-quality build construction. Outfitted with gold Gotoh Keystone tuners, double antiqued binding, a traditional Hummingbird truss rod cover, and a bone nut and saddle, it's available in an Antique Natural or Heritage Cherry Sunburst finish.
SJ-200
Gibson SJ-200 Original
The King of the Flat-tops
The Gibson SJ-200 is the world's most famous acoustic guitar and earned its designation as the "King of the Flat Tops." Since its release in 1937, its wide use by American artists has made the Super Jumbo one of the most widely played acoustic guitars of our time. The most striking features of the new SJ-200 Original include the carved four-bar Moustache™ bridge, an engraved tortoise pickguard, mother-of-pearl crown fretboard and headstock inlays, and exquisite flamed maple back and sides. The SJ-200 is an American original with its shape and elegant appearance.
1957 SJ-200
Gibson Custom Shop 1957 SJ-200 Murphy Lab light aged
The Famous Fifties Jumbo
The King of the Flat-tops, with the vintage vibe and feel from the era that gave birth to some of the most prized Gibson acoustic instruments. This new Custom Shop 1957 SJ-200 offers details such as hand-selected maple for the back and sides, a headstock stinger, and our thermally aged top for the full vintage effect.
All Gibson guitars are handcrafted in the USA.
Watch the Gibson TV series “The Process” to learn more about how Gibson acoustic guitars are handcrafted by expert luthiers at our craftory in Bozeman, Montana HERE.
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