Johnson carolina series 000 jo-17

The JO-17 is a comfortable 000 size. Fretboard is shortscale 24.9". The JO-17 is eaglemann solid spruce top, and rosewood sides and back. JO-16 is the mahogany version, but this size guitar really needs and suits rosewood. The JO-26/27 series has a slight v neck profile, the JO-16/17 have a shallow C neck profile. Bone nut/saddle, nicely finished, not polished, but you can see the filing marks, looks handmade.
Retro butterbean tuners, and pearloid and abalone insets. The pickguard is fine, one reviewer commented that it looks cheap and bumpy, with glue around edges, but thats the protective plastic covering, which is quite hard to peel off!

I play all styles, mostly strumming but developing my picking, and fingerstyle. This guitar makes it easy because of the wider string spacing.Mine came strung with custom light martin phosphor bronze strings, and if you are just playing fingerstyle these would suit, but they are very bright sounding if you strum it, so I tried some martin silk and steel (.11 - .47) and they sound great on this guitar, with just a bit of loss of volume. This guitar goes loud anyway, and very balanced tone compared to a full size dreadnaught, but the deep bass is still there, you hear it much more with silk and steel strings. The tone is transmitted so well through the bridge and saddle, that the harmonics are still very nice.

Notably, the other Johnson full size dreadnaughts have good string spacing at the bridge, even though the neck on those is 1 11/16. The carolina j0 series have 1 3/4 at the nut, and very slightly wider spacing at the bridge.(much wider than my takamine) It makes fretting and picking cleanly a breeze. Action is set pretty well, and it sounds great up and down the neck. The shortscale gives the strings less tension, way easier to barr chords!
Mine did have a loose tuner mounting screw, that got promptly fixed.
The spruce top is perfect, very evenly bookmatched.

You can play it really hard, handles strumming with ease, tuners seem good quality, and the gloss finish is tough, pity its not a satin finish though, it would not show scratches as easy!

I have a full size dreadnaught, and this guitar is just a nicer size to play. I'm going to try some GHS silk and bronze strings too, although I'm happy with the martin silk and steels on it. I chose this guitar for its 1 3/4 nut width, which suits my big hands well.
Not mad about the tortise pickguard, will probably change it for a plain black one, the guitar looks vintage enough already!

The California model is a steal for the money. The size is just right for me. Very comfortable to play.I got mine from Ebay with a very nice case and Martin strings included.It has a neck just right for me . Nice and fast. Every time I open the case, I'm greeted with a bautiful instrument and like the other reviewers mention, a nice spruce smell. The top of my guitar is well matched.

I own four guitars. I use a Lotus c90 as my workhorse but when I feel mellow, I take out my Johnson Carolina. It's that sweet. Just a plesure to play on. The sound is crystal clear but not in your face. Unlike the Lotus witch projects a strong clear sound, this Johnson is more mellow. You can hear every note clearly without having to play hard. Great for picking. There's not much to dislike about this guitar other than the pickgard.

The guitar arrived already set up by the seller. The fit and finish is it's weak spot. Not bad but not great. There was a bit of lacquer chipping of where the neck joint's. Also, like I mentioned earlier, the pickguard is for the pitts. It's glued crooked and full of bumps. I will probably order an aftermarket model and change it. If just for show. String height was just right for me.

Harware look's good. It will keep in tune even after playing for a wile. I've owned it for three years now and had no other problems than the ones mentioned earlier. All of my friends that come over prefer playing on the Johnson. There was no strap button on the neck so I installed one. I would not worry using it without backup.

Seller said he would send me an other pickgard but never did. They do return emails fast.

Been playing for six years. I own a Lotus C90 accoustic with pick up, a Washburn electric, a Scheckter Diamon Series 006 and my Johnson California accoustic. I checked on the internet prior to buying it and made a purchace on my gutt feelings. I'm glad I did. If it got stolen, I would probably get an other one. I sometime's wish it had a build in pickup. I now use an add-on. It's sound's good but it's cumbersome.

The JO-17 model is a really nice guitar for the money. It is a comfortable size 000 for standing or sitting. The first thing you will notice is the rosewood aroma.... How nice is that. It also has a soft V mahogany neck... This V shape is so subtle that you might not realize it is a V neck. I love it. Bone nut/saddle. One thing that suprised me was the spruce top. From all the pictures I had seen on it there was always a slight color mismatch (book match)of the top. Mine had a perfect match. I think results will vary and I certainly wouldn't have been upset if there was a difference... Might even be cooler. The MOP is pretty cool and looks retro to me.

The guitar comes with Martin strings, and I am assuming that they are lights. There is a lot of sustain and clarity. It has a pretty big sound for a 000 also.

I would rate the action as low to mid-low. Plays perfect for my style of fingerpicking. I am kind of picky and went over the entire guitar with a fine tooth comb and all looks good. Checked the inside and glue appears to be uniform with no big globs anywhere.

This guitar looks reliable and durable but only time will tell. It compares to other guitars that I have had closer to the $1000 range. I don't think anyone should gig without a backup.

I have been playing for over 20 years with the majority of the time related to fingerpicking. I prefer smaller bodied guitars such as this 000 and even parlor. I love the feel, aroma, neck, and balance of this guitar. This guitar has a lot of good stuff for $300... solid engelmann spruce top, rosewood back and sides, beautiful smooth feeling V neck, great sound!

this guitar is the carolina series 000 small body style.
solid spruce top good quality enclosed tuners abalone or pearl inlay in headstock and markers down the neck. back and sides are indian rosewood laminate. and I know it doen't matter, but boy does it smell good! Mahogany neck rosewood fretboard gloss finish
bone nut and bone compensated bridge.plastic pickguard,strap button
in bottom.

I fingerpick ,more than flatpick a guitar. this guitar is suited more for figer picking tha the other guitar I have.
the sound is new, full, and bright. There is an evenness to the tone that is very close when compared to a Martin.
The pickguard is the only fault of this guitar. It really should not be put on this guitar. It is a cheap piece of plastic and is not glued on good. I removed it and cleaned the glue off.

The action is typical for a acoustic -no buzzing up the neck, and intonation is perfect. the top isn't perfectly bookmatched, but
that isn't a concern for me. Bridge is standard. fit and finish are great. tuning pegs are very smooth. fret wire is properly fitted and finished on the edges (no snags).

I plan to use it on stage, along with my drednought.
I would use it w/o a backup.

never dealt with johnson or this dealer before, but my questions about tracking were answered next day.

since 1967 I've been playing. I own a blueridge br-40, deering goodtime open back banjo, morgan monroe res. banjo mnbn-2, and a rover f style mando. i'd buy another if lost or stolen. Like the body style better than drednought.