Johnson JD16

Welcome i wont repeat all the features, as the previous reviews give a good amount of them.

The features that I like: -the beautiful snowflake inlays (rare on guitars of this price)
- Solid spruce top (sounds great and breaks in pretty fast, from 3 months of playing it sounds really good)

Features I dislike: -Lacquer finish (I prefer a satin.. feels more woody)
-Cheap tuners and pickguard

Overall, I think its a very rich, full and balanced soundy guitar with decent midrange. Rich bass that doesnt dominate the treble; I like it alot.

One thing that I must point out is the high E string.. fingered picked it sounds as if I have a wah-wah pedal on... Very strange, not at all an issue on my other cedar top acoustic guitar. Pretty annoying for certain songs, like Schindlers list (I need a very clear sound and strait, no wah wah..) and Spanish romance (once again, i need clean trebles for the melody). However, its not a problem when flatpicked.

Set up really well from the factory, no complaints. The action is great: not too low nor too high. The neck was straight.

The reason for which I give it an 8 is the finish... feels scratched on certain parts of the guitar. Perhaps done by some1 with little experience...

Sure its a reliable guitar; I brought it too many different places with various climate conditions and it stands pretty solid. The neck doesnt bend, always plays great. It's a little easy to scratch, but not a major problem.. after all, I only paid 100can$ for it so..

Never dealt with Johnson guitars, so cant tell

Overall, I think that a Johnson Jd16 is a really great value, especially if you've only paid 100$can for it.. (Oh, and I didnt buy it used.. think I ripped the guy off lol) Its hard to beat, even for my Art&lutherie cedar cutaway that I bought for 300$can.

One thing I wish it had was a satin finish and some higher quality inlays.. theyre a bit black. Im ready to pay 50$ more for those.

If it was stolen, I wouldn't buy it again. Don't be mistaken: its a great guitar and I highly recommend it. However, I'm someone who likes to try out new things. If i ever lose it, I'd go for a orchestra body shape, spruce top, and maybe rosewood back and side OR something like dao back and sides (cousin of koa) , that're aethetically really beautiful and has a bright sound to it. I might go for the 1 series of Martin: I'm ready to spend the extra bucks.

I bought one of these guitars ( Mine is under the recording king label) as a gift for my Dad, He had borrowed a eg 530 takamine so i was going to replace it with this guitar. I had heard some good things about them so i thought i would give them a try. I ordered one off the net wich was a first to and wasent expecting much! Well when i unpacked it i was impressed with the look of the guitar. It has a great vintage look the gloss finnish was outstanding,It has that hefty martin Dreadnot feel to it, Nice looking tuners. The neck profile is about right for my med sized hands, If yo have small hands it might be a little beefy.The Solid Engleman spurce top was amazingly striaght grained and has a little bearclaw figure to it and it also looks quarter sawn. and the mohogany back and sides were nicley figured. My over all impression of the look was that this looked like a much pricer guitar than it is.

this is a great flat pickin bluegrass or roots style guitar, The first time i played it i was surprised again! It has a very rich bright tone that is very ballanced,The sustain is very good for a guitar in this price range im sure the bone nut and saddle helps this a bunch!It sounds like it looks, Vintage Blugrass.My main gripe here is it seems to me they could of used some nicer bridge pins to go with the bone nut and saddle, But a set of Ablone inlaid tusq pins sloved this problem.

Now here is my major gripe with this guitar the set up was very high, Not unplayable high but uncomfortable in the first position first fret. the top is bookmached very nicely with very little runout. I did see a little excess glue on the top braces inside the body but overall a fairly clean neatjob.

Overall this looks like sturdy guitar that will last. If theres a week point in my opion it would be the tuners, They seem to work fine andseem accurte i just dont know how they will hold up over time.
I wouldent hesatate to use this guitar for a gig.

These guitars have a Lifetime Warranty But how they are to deal with i dont know.

I have been playing the guitar since i was abot 12 and im 47 now and i own a couple of high end guitars encluding a 1939 mdl Martin D28,2 Breedloves and a couple of vintage Gibsons. Like i said above I bought this as a gift but im keepin it and gave my Dad the Tak!

GLOSS FINISH SNOWFLAKE INLAY MADE IN CHINA , BONE NUT AND SADDLE , COPY
OF 1930S D 28 WITHOUT THE HERRINGBONE INLAY, SOLID TOP

IT BOOMS, BEST SOUNDING ACOUSTIC I HAVE EVER HAD, I HAVE HAD 1961 MARTIN
1963 GUILD, MY BEST SOUNDING ACOUSTIC WAS A 1976 PENCO SOLID TOP D 35
COPY , THIS GUITAR SOUNDS JUST AS GOOD JUST NEEDS TO MELLOW WITH AGE

ONLY GUITAR I EVER BOUGHT THAT I DONT WANT TO MESS WITH SET UP , IT IS
NOT PERFECT BUT DAMM GOOD AND I FEAR I WILL SCREW IT UP IF I MESS WITH
IT. NICE GLOSS FINISH , WOOD USED FOR BACK AND SIDES AND NECK IS NOTHING
GREAT , BUT TOP IS OUTSTANDING , GUITAR IS VERY THIN AND LIGHT AND THAT
ACCOUNTS FOR THE GREAT SOUND,

DONT KNOW I HOPE IT HOLDS UP

DONT KNOW

IF YOU EVER WANTED A MARTIN, THIS GUITAR IS FOR YOU, THESE ARE THE NEW
BLUERIDGE REPLACEMENTS, AS THE WORD ABOUT HOW GOOD BLUERIDGE WERE THE
PRICE WENT UP AND UP TO THE POINT SOME ARE OVER A GRAND NOW, THE JOHNSON
CAROLINAS ARE 299.00 AND A GREAT DEAL. I HAVE DONE ABOUT 30 REVIEWS ON
THIS SITE , DONT GIVE VERY HIGH GRADES IN MOST CASES, THIS GUITAR IS
WORTH THE HIGH 9 I GAVE IT.

Solid spruce top, nice glossy mahogany sides/back. Nice ornate headstock- larger than a Blueridge. Looks like a standard dreadnought shape- but- it really is a little rounded off at the neck. This, I believe, adds to the overall tone and projection.
Real bone nut and saddle come stock. Why don't other manufacturers spend a few dollars and do this with their guitars? Decent tuners, look cool. Utilizes pre-war scalloped bracing, for that sound...

On it's own, it is fabulous, and loud. But many guitars are loud, this has that tone, a super bassy thud tone that you just want to hear forever. I compare it to my Blueridge Br40, and the 40 sounds wimpy and thin. I put Martin Eric Clapton pb lights on, for maximum effect. Rings gorgeously, no strident tones, for strumming this is a cannon right out of the box. For fingerpicking, every single nuance of your fingers stoking the strings is picked up and relayed in the sound! Best guitar I have ever heard for sound, along with my JD17 rosewood model.

Mine came with a plush case, used, for 200 shipped. It is not a second or B stock, it is a 3rd or C stock! There is a bit of glue residue near the bridge and around the pick guard, honestly pretty sloppy. The headstock glossy wrap has holes near the tuners where the cuts were improperly made. So, my guitar is a keeper, because no one else will buy it! The bridge and string action is super high, need to trim the saddle. I'm sure that most of these are in much better shape when made. I could care less, the sound is what I'm after.

Relatively weighty, heavier than my reference Br40, feels solid but not heavy. No wood issues, very sturdy. Neck is fine.

n/a

Best value for the money, ever. I promise. People making a big deal about the Blueridge Br40/60/70 line...psss...this destroys those Blueridges. I know, I sold off my Br40 and 70...
This sounds much better than my previous Epiphone all solid DR500M that I paid 400.00 for.
The tone just jumps out of this guitar like you wouldn't believe. Makes me wonder how Johnson can make a partial laminate acoustic guitar that sounds like this. And they do not seem to advertise at all- remarkable.