Gibson J-200

My Gibson J-200 is 2007 made model from Montana, and comes in a beautiful blonde finish. See the Gibson website for all the detailed specs. Stunning maple body woods and spruce top. The stock LR Baggs pickup is good for live use, but for recording I like to put a condensor mic in front of the guitar and mix the pickup and mic for a big sound. The neck is a roundish profile, rather than a slim '60s Gibson profile and is very comfortable.

You name a style and I've probably played it on an acoustic. The beauty of the J-200 is the incredible balance in sound across all strings- clear and detailed and loud if picked hard. I really love its tone to death!

Straight from the box, this guitar played like a gem -I didn't need to touch anything. I expect I will eventually get a check and adjust from a local guitar tech, but it is not really needed yet.

with such a fine instrument, it needs to be cared for, and if doing gigs extra care and feeding. No strap button on the left, but I will probably use a strap with a cord tied to the headstock. I will use it for some gigs soon, but I expect it will be brilliant -so many famous players (unlike me) have used these Gibsons over the years.

The local dealer seems Ok, but no need to use them so far.

I've been playing guitars since the mid '60s as a kid, and I feel like I have finally built up to getting the king of guitars in the Gibson J-200. I also have '99 Martin D-15 mahogony, which has its own character..deep, warm and complex, but the Gibson really stands up and projects like a bell..a nice pair of acoustics. The J-200 is really in a world of its own.

The J-200 is the original big-body "cowboy" guitar, designed by Gibson and 1930s cowboy singer Ray Whitley and was Gibson's top of the line acoustic for more than 50 years. It has a long scale -- 26" -- which gives it booming bass while maintaining a clear sound right across the frequencies. It has 20 frets, with the neck joint at the 13th fret.

Mine is a 1967 natural finish made in the old Kalamazoo, MI factory, which shows off the gorgeous flame maple back and sides and the two-piece spruce top. The top was nearly white when I bought the guitar back in 1971 and is now a beautiful medium caramel color. The neck is also maple and thin, like an L-5 electric neck, which makes this guitar extremely easy to play. It came with gold-plated Grovers that are still tight and hold tune flawlessly even after all these years.

Over the years, I've mic'd the guitar and had a variety of pickups (from the oringal Barcus Berry transducers to more modern D'Armonds), but it's hard to get the capture the full range of its sound unless it's mic'd. The best solution is to mic it AND use a bridge pickup, then mix the signals. That's as close as you can come to duplicating its natural sound on stage.

Compared to "modern" guitars with built-in electronics, I suppose that isn't "ideal" but I have yet to find an acoustic-electric that even comes close to the sound of this guitar.

The sound of this guitar is unduplicated. I've owned or played Guilds, Martin D-series dreadnoughts, Taylors and plenty of customs, but there's nothing that sounds like a vintage J200. It has a gigantic "whooooom" sound when you strum it. Mostly I play finger-style blues, some folk-rock, a bit of jazz-pop, some Asleep at the Wheel, bluegrass and country. The bluesy sound you get you wail on this guitar is awesome. When pushed hard, it will buzz a little, kind of an acoustic version of tube distortion.

Lots of greats have recorded with this guitar: rockers Pete Townshend and Jeff Beck, Dylan, Carl Perkins, Steven Stills ....

I bought this guitar used from a music store in Jacksonville Florida. It had just come back from Gibson as the original owner dropped something heavy on the top and cracked it. Gibson put a new top on and set it up brilliantlly.

The action is easy to raise or lower via the adjustable saddle. These days I keep it kind of mid-height and use medium gauge stings (I have pretty strong fingers and can bend them easily). For years I had the action set low and used GHS BB30Ls on it -- plays like a dream either way.

Most recently I had it refretted for the first time (though the frets were dressed twice since I've owned it) by a custom builder in South Florida. Plays like new!

I've played on stage, off stage, traveled, lived up north, down south and points in between. It's still playing like new, so I guess that answers the question. I have had it worked on from time to time.

The adjustable neck is thin but rock solid ... never had to adjust it and it's straight and true.

When this guitar was built Gibson was gluing the bridges to the already-finished tops, making them susceptible to lifting. Mine did, back in 1976. and I had a custom shop remove the bridge, scrape the finish off the top underneath and then reset the bridge. It's been immovable ever since.

They did the same thing with the pick guard, which if you've seen photos of these guitars, is an extremely thick red celluloid number with flowers embossed in it. In the 1980s the pickguard started coming up, so I peeled it off and replaced it with a piece of African bubinga wood that I cut and routed to the exact same shape. I put that on with contact cement and it's been solid ever since.

There's some surface crazing on the top only (which you'd expect).

I've talked to Gibson about the guitar a few times. They've always been helpful, but for repairs I use custom builders. One of the guys who worked on the guitar rebuilt instruments for the Grand Ole Opry and knew more about J-200s than anyone else I've met.

This particular guitar has a big honking metal screw threaded into the bracing under the top that can be reached from the soundhole. According to the Grand Ole Opry guy, he's seen J-200s with and without the screw and believes it was called a "tone adjuster" used to increase or decrease the tension of the top. His opinion was that J-200s with the tone adjuster sound better than the others, but you can't prove that by me.

I've been playing for 45 years and I've been playing this guitar almost daily for 36 years. I wouldn't play anything else.

Vintage J-200s are pricey, when you can find them, but if you're into acoustic blues you owe it to yourself to try one.

Pre-World War II J-200s were rosewood, post-War are maple. For a while in the 1970s Gibson brought back the rosewood in a second model and called it the J-250. It sounds very much like the J-200, but has some smokier overtones. Still looking for one of these to pair up with my maple J-200!

Well now, this is a strange one. A Gibson J200 from 1990....BUT...it's black, left-handed & with a "tortoise" pickguard??
I e-mailed Gibson about it , giving the serial number, but they were unhelpful....suggesting that the pickguard might be a replacement.
It could of course be a fake...but why fake something so unusual....so, especially in view of the quality..I'll guess it was a custom order......especaially since the serial no ends in....001 which suggests it was the first guitar made that day.
It came with a Gibson case, should be made of maple and apart from the finish is a standard J200
The only other black one I've ever seen was being played by ELVIS.....but his wasn't left-handed!!
It has no features,no pickups, no tremolo but then it's an awesome acoustic guitar!!

It's everything I ever wanted from an acoustic. A big booming sound whether for strumming or picking.
And it looks AWESOME!!

Nicely set-up......maybe a tough high but ideal for me.
The finish is showing a little checking(but it's a black finish on a 15yr old guitar)

Seems a pretty solid acoustic to me! I won't be setting it on fire or smashing it into the amp!

Well Gibson weren't too helpful with the history & when I went to their Memphis factory they denied the existence of lefties!! I guess I'll have it serviced locally & forget about them!

It's my ideal acoustic......but then I always loved Elvis! It's big, brash loud and punchy.
I've NEVER seen another one like it, it would be impossible to replace.
Used to have a Martin J40 (awesome but stolen) & a 00-28 (never liked it, especially strummed!!)
I sort of wish it had a heel strap-button......but I'm too scared to put one there!

The guitar was made in 1992 and bought used recently (one owner guitar). It's one of the new generation Gibsons in which quality was restored to the company. It's got a solid spruce top with flamey maple back and sides. There are no electronics on this model and none have been added. I have toyed with the idea of having a passive pickup installed, but will probably not due to the fact that I hardly play live anymore except for the occasional open mike and in those cases, I might purchase a cheap acoustic-electric. It is FANCY! The classy engraved pickguard, cloud fingerboard inlays and bound headstock and fingerboard.

I've gone through a lot of acoustics in the past few years trying to find "the one" and this one seems to be me. I largely write rock and roll songs, but this guitar has great versatility. It rings when you bang out open chords, but trying ninth chords and related jazz chords makes you melt. It's a jumbo with a big ringing sound and a lot of projection. I owned a Guild jumbo for awhile, but it had such a dead sound. This one is the opposite. For my songwriting purposes, it's great because translating acoustic sounds to electric sounds never was an easy thing for me, but this thing plays like an electric, so envisioning these sounds is easy.

It is a used guitar, but after thirteen years, it's in outstanding shape and I don't intend on letting it slide. There's a little buzzing, but that can be adjusted so it's not a major deal. Gibson did a really fine job putting this one together. I've heard that Gibsons from the '60's through the '80's have little to offer, but as stated earlier, this one is a "new generation" Gibson, which gives it a lot more favor.

I don't know if I would gig with this guitar just because it is a J 200 and it does have a lot of market value, but for what I use it for, it's going to hold up. The guitar is solid and well-built and J 200's of the past 15 years have a very good reputation. The finish is perfect and beautiful. No mars or anything of that nature and the previous owner actually did use it live, so if worse came to worse, I know I could trust it.

It's used, but I have dealt with the Gibson company before and was pleased with their promptness and customer service

I love this guitar and would place it in the top of acoustics I've owned. I'm not a flashy fingerstylist. I'm a straightforward rocker, so this guitar is indispensible. At this point, I couldn't imagine writing with anything else. In fact, since I've owned it, my writing has gotten better. I would be heartbroken if it were stolen or lost. I love its over-the-top beauty. If you have the scratch, consider a used J 200 from the last fifteen years. They're out there and they're reasonably priced.

Made in 1994 in Bozeman. Standard 14 fret-to-body configuration. Solid spruce top, solid flame maple sides, back and neck. This is a re-issue of the 1940's-1950's design.

I wanted the top of the line Gibson because my Dove sounded so good I felt that this J-200 should be great. It wasn't. It sounded poor compared to my Dove and sounded tight and small. I felt after 10 years it should have opened up and sounded good but it didn't. I play all types of music and this guitar couldn't play any of them.

They did a real good job of putting it together. The fit and quality was there. I just wish the sound was.

I guess it would hold up well because after 10 years it still looked new.

Never tryed them

I have been playing over 35 years and know a good guitar when I play one. Maybe this was just a dog and there are others that sound great but I would never buy another one. I have over 60 guitars in my collection and my Dove, D-55 and Yaris have it all over this J-200.

Made in 1991 in Bozeman. Standard 14 fret-to-body configuration. Solid spruce top, solid flame maple sides, back and neck. This is a re-issue of the 1940's-1950's design.

I play everything from Jazz to bluegrass; from rock to pop to Latin.
Very rich and full sound. I had a J-200 in the 1960's that was a brick....Dead on Arrival, had no volume or sustain. Incidentally, the J-200's of that era, mid-1960's through the 1980's, could be real dogs; some even had laminated tops. One should keep that in mind if shopping for a vintage J-200. This J-200, however, is a very different animal indeed. It romances me: great volume, presence, string definition, and sustain all across the board from bass to treble. Sound quality is quite bassy but not brassy, good treble...a sort of mellowness yet very distinct and loud. Adaptable more to vocal accompaniment than, say, melodic flatpicking. This is an unusual guitar...I love it. When I want to pick up a guitar and accompany myself singing or writing, it seems I inevitably reach for the 200...it's like having a good producer- it sets the proper mood for quality in performance and creativity.

Bought it used....no flaws....just normal wear and tear. Wrokmanship very good.

This guitar was used for performing on the road by the previous owner.
This is a Gibson...very durable and proven. I have no hesitancy at all in gigging with this as my sole guitar.

N/A

I have been playing for 45 years. I have owned a large number of various guitars over that period of time....mostly high quality. I currently own a wide variety of high-quality instruments- Taylors, Martins, custom-made guitars, F5 mandolins, 5-string banjos. I must say that this J-200 has a special place in my musical life. There is a quality about it that is almost mystical. I suppose it is a combination of the outstanding sound and the huge tradition associated with this instrument. If it were stolen or lost, I would want a replacement. I would hope to find one with the quality of sound this one has. I didn't compare it to other guitars because of the fact that over the years, I had always been on the lookout for a good J-200. When this one showed up at Encore Music in Albuquerque, Luis Campos- one of the premier vintage acoustic experts in the USA- called it to my attention and I bought it straight away. It is a remarkable example. I'm glad I waited for the right one, it was worth the wait. In closing, I would be very careful about buying any Gibson prioduct that is pre-Bozeman....the quality can be all over the place....very inconsistent, as I mentioned previously in my comments under the "Sound" category.

June of 2001; Custom J-200 Koa back and sides; ebony fretboard and bridge; made in Bozeman, Montana; beautiful, solid spruce top.

I purchased the guitar through RUDY'S GUITAR STOP (located on New York's famed Music Row), and, by design, without electronics. (As something of a purist, I believe that it would be sacriligious to mar the surface of a such a beautiful instrument via the presence of today's plastic, electronic controls, however inconspicuous they may be. (Shortly after purchasing this guitar, I had my trusted luthier install a state-of-the-art L.R. Baggs under-saddle (LB6) pickup. I could not be more pleased with the sound that is produced.) I play through an AER acoustic amp. Talk about warmth and fidelity!

The finish is a very warm (and continuallly darkening) honey color -- known as "antique". The color and figure of the KOA is absolutely stunning -- somehow a cross between curly maple, figured mahogany and burl walnut. An objet d'art if ever there was one.

Sound is magnificent, offering a beautiful spectrum of tone, ranging from the dark and thunderous, to the bright and sweet. (I play with finger picks, and strive for both clarity and projection, and still the warmth is amazing.)

In the begining the guitar was not as loud as I imagined a Jumbo would be. Within months, however, it began to hear the guitar "open up"; I'm told that a beautiful guitar must be played hard and often, so as to subject the spruce top, on a molecular level, to resonate, and therefore to VIBRATE as much a sposssible; frequent sonic vibration renders the spruce top/soundboard more supple, and therefore more inclined to do its job, which is to, in fact, RESONATE.

I intend to keep this guitar forever, and to enjoy it as it ages -- like the finest of wines.

No flaws whatsoever -- only a nut that was, according to my luthier, although properly contoured, was a bit too high. That was promptly adjusted.

Because I play with finger picks, and strive for clarity and precision, my 'attack" is more pronounced that some players. Still, I keep the action relatively low (less that 3/32"), and without appreciable buzzing anywhere.

Everyone that plays it loves it, and is imprsssed by the ease with which it can be played -- despite the fact that I will only use John Pearse Mediums on it. The guitar has been through a couple of winters here in the Northeast, and I have not had to adjust the truss rod. It appears to be a very stable instrument, despite its surprising lightness. Note: one of the things I like about it is the manner in which, when performing sitting on a stool, it gracefully blalances itself on my thigh (most other guitars lean/tip towards the heavy headstock, etc.).

Moth-of-pearl inlays are luminous and rich in color.

The manner in which the headstock has been lined in KOA is beautiful. And very rare indeed (most headstocks are black).

I am very careful with this instrument; I intend to have it last a lifetime. This does not preclude it from being my instrument of choice, however. I simply take the measures to ensure that it is handled properly and that it is. when not in use, ALWAYS stored in its fine case, replete with case cover.

The design on th epick guard began to wear off early on, so I contacted Gibson. they graciously sent it with a new one. (Prior to installing this new one, I made sure to properly coat it with the appropriate, hard, poly-based sealant. This new pickguard is, in effect, indestructable, and unlike the factory installed ones, it lies completely FLAT and level, thnaks to... yours truly! Very nice installation indeed.)

I have a lifetime warrranty. The couple of times i called to seek advice regarding the pickguard, and its tollerance and ability to sustain medium strings (I learned, much to my delight, that it is designed to sustain the strain of medium gauge strings!), the Gibson personal were extremely helpful.

Simply put, it's the guitar of my dreams.

I own two Gibson J-200 guitars. One is a 100 year anniversary 1948 re-issue and the other is a J200 made with a koa back and sides that I'm told was a limited edition run (only about 200 ever made) Both guitars sound awesome. The maple reissue had some interesting features. The bridge and fingerboard were Brazilian Rosewood instead of Indian and when you reach inside the guitar to change strings...what's this? TWO HUGE BOLTS protruding down from the bridge plate. Apparently the early J200's were bolted on and then glued in place and the heads covered with pearl to hide them. In an attempt to be true to the original 1948 J200 they copied this. I often wonder if it conributes to tone swinging around inside the guitar.....The Koa J-200 is built to standard J-200 specs with only 2 pearl rectangles on the bridge instead of the 1948 re-issue's 4. The koa J200 has a mahogany neck and the maple J200 has an equally flamed neck.

These J200s were both bought based on sound alone. I'm not into cowboys and I didn't walk into a music store looking for a J200. I bought them both at separate music stores. The koa was at Manny's in NYC I bought after playing everything they had and the maple one was bought at Guitar Emporium in Louisville Ky after playing about 40 of his high-end guitars (Taylor, Santa Cruz, Larivee,Martin,Tacoma etc...). They just sound great fingerpicking or strumming or capoed or anything. Nice balance. Nice volume, Nice tone. If it has all three it's got me. There are many great guitars out there that have one or two but when they have all three my wallet comes out. The two guitars have slightly different tones and as you would expect the maple is brighter a bit and the koa is more midrangy.
The koa seems a bit more versatile and a little more satisfying for strumming. Incidentally I recommend when buying a used J200 that you make sure it's noty a mid 70's one that has a double x bracing underneath. Those are a totally different sounding animal. Ebay buyers beware.

These were both perfectly set up. The Koa takes mediums and has for 10 years with no change in action and the maple I string light guage. Finish is flawless but a little thick. The koa laquer has a tiny bit of cracking around the edge binding from a dry spell in NYC but nothing that you can see easily.

Two issues I notice with Montana division J-200s on this subject. One.....The Klusen tuners are horrible. I think the main reason Gibson uses them is to be historically accurate to older models but they break apart a lot. The tuner design uses a worm and gear housed in a metal box that is poorly put together. It's not uncommon over time for the tuner box to break apart with use. I've gotten replacements mailed to me free from Gibson but it also happens with these so lately I have replaced them on the koa with Gold Grovers that look better and work smoother. I keep the klusens in the case just to keep the origianl parts.
Also the "tumbleweed" painted engraving seems to wear/fade off the pickguard celluloid easily. The paint doesn't bind well to that kind of plastick I guess. I don't care about the design myself and maybe one day I will have it buffed off entirely anyway.

The did send me a replacement tuner when I asked for it and that was pretty easy. I guess that rates a 9....

I've been playing guitar since 1981 and have a lot of other guitars. I build guitars also. My acoustic guitars also include a Taylor 710CE, An Alvarez yairi, and 2 Jumbo Harmony Sovereigns that I repaired...One of which I put in X bracing. Guitars I build are clones of Martin and J-200 designs.Most guitar players I know own a few acoustics. I believe a J200 has to be one of them.

- 1990 manufacture
- Spruce top/Maple back & sides
- Natural finish throughout
- No electronics
- Original tuners (replaced with identical Gibson-brand Klusons)
- Original Case

I purchased this guitar via E-bay, in 1999. Everything in this category was great, except for the tuners. I replaced the tuners with identical Gibson Klusons. Would have liked to use Grovers, but wanted to remain with original equipment. Replacement tuners are working just fine, after being properly lubricated. The spruce top has aged elegantly, and now has a beautiful honey-tone colored finish. If you've seen some of Pete Townsend's recent acoustic performances, you've seen identical J-200's in his arsenal.

This guitar is a real joy to have. Friends come over just to hear that classic J-200 "ooomph". I keep medium strings on it, and it's action is set low enough for the "once-in-a-awhile" players to play it, without whining too much about the fat strings. And, OH, that low frequency response!!! I just love the sound of the J-200. I haven't found anything else close. I had a Taylor 815, and had my son play it vs. the J-200 with me listening, blindfolded. There was absolutely no comparison between the two. The Gibson is truly one of a kind. Any acoustic guitar aficianado must have one, irregardless of how many Olson, Santa Cruz, Collings, or whatever is in the collection. Nothing else sounds like the J-200.

The fretboard on my J-200 had problems. I took it to a local luthier in Houston (well respected in the industry,) and he showed me where the fretboard had a "ski-jump" bend where it joined the guitar body. He refretted the guitar, flattened out that ski-jump, and now it plays just beautifully with medium-gauge strings. I'm knocking down the rating in this regard, because it cost me almost $300 to fix this problem. Gibson should not let this type of thing happen.... and these days, the Montana shop probably doesn't. I will probably need to get the neck reset, sometime during this decade. That shouldn't count against this instrument, no more than it should against a classic Martin....

This guitar is so light!! But yet, it is not flimsy. And when one hears the bass "ooomph" from it, one would never consider it flimsy, any more than one would think Johnny Cash was a pussy after hearing his bass voice. Everything is solid on this instrument. I would hate to be in any venue where this guitar could not be totally depended on... I would "duck and cover" long before this guitar gave way!! (And then I would pull out my Guild JF30-12, to knock the foo-wah-diddy out of whomever was in the way.... and if anyone was left standing, my Peavey T-60 would finish them off for sure!!)

Have never dealt with Gibson directly, so cannot objectively comment on this item.

I've been playing for over 30 years. I have a Martin D-28, Martin 000-28EC, Gibson Hummingbird, Guild JF30-12, Taylor 412, and Taylor 410, among others. If I had to liquidate my collection, the last two to go would be the J-200 and the D-28... and it would be a really tough choice deciding between those two. Among the Martins, one has a variety of choices, mainly based on one's budget. In the Gibson line, for one who really wants a guitar which both sings at the high ranges and "ooompphs" at the lows, there's only one real choice, and that is the J-200. Once you play it (strongly!!), you'll recognize the tone as that which you've heard on so many Rolling Stones, Who, Eagles, Bowie, and countless other recordings. There's really no substitute for the Gibson J-200. This model is truly a must-have for any serious acoustic guitar buff.

My J-200 Artist was made around 1971 or 72. It is a 14 fret top of the line Gibson j-200 that I really didn't appreciated when I first bought it while a Freshman or Sophmore in college and was using it as a Babe Magnet. I really pounded on it at lots of Frat Parties & stuff.
Made in Kalamazoo it doesn't sport the Moustash bridge like all the new ones, it looks more like batwings. I asked the Gibson factory online and they told me that for a few years in the early 70's they made some models with the mostasch bridge. It has Gold tuners and the neck & body are bound. The body is tabacco sunburst with lots of mother of pearl on the frets. In 1971 or 72 I paid $580.00 for it. I recently bought a new case for it from Canada and it was the exact same case as the original down to the color. I put an old hot dot in it for Blue Grass in the middle 70's or so, but it sounded like tinney. I added an active EGK 9-volt battery operated pickup to it several years ago and wow!, what a difference. It's really fine now. The luthier that installed it offered me $2000.00 for it. He said it was the best sounding J-200 he's ever worked on. I could never sell it as the memories are too personal. My kids all want it in the will....I'm getting buried with it...sorry

Today I play Liturgical music for the church and it is the best sounding when I adjust the PA system to bring out the beautiful mid-ranges & clear crip highs. The sound is full. I've played it with a Carvin A-100 sharing the Amp with my son's bass, and through the churches PA system. It sounds like two guitars when strumming.

Fabulos, when I bought it. Like I said I was hard on it during the roaring 70's and today it has taken some lumps, but it still sounds awesome. I played a Martin D-45 at the guitar center in Sherman Oaks and that flagship guitar had nothing on my j-200, not worth spending $8,900.00 when I got the sound for $580.00
After more than 30 years I think it needs some neck adjustment, bui really scared to let just anyone touch it.

This is my main guitar. I have an ES335 that I use for Blues and a 12 string Yamaha, bought in the 70's in Japan with Rosewood back & sides, but this is the most reliable guitar I've ever owned

Once the neck separated in the 80's sometime. I called the factory & they sent me to a luthier in San Jose. He fixed it and did a great job. But he charged me $80.00 because he said it wasn't the guitars fault, I must of dropped it. NO WAY....But 80 bucks was a good deal so I paid him

I began playing guitar in the 7th grade in 1964 when my dad bought me a Sears nylon string guitar for $35.00 on my birthday. I was self-taught & learned lots by listening to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's Four-Way Street. In high school I bought a Gibson J-50 at Jack Omears' Music for $250.00. In college I heard a j-200 played by a local band Homegrown & had to have one. I sold my J-50 so I could afford the j-200. I wish I had kept the j-50 too. Never sell your Gibsons. I played with guys that had Martins, Yamaha's, Guilds, Takamines, you name it. The J-200 always sounds richer, fuller, and cleaner. If it was stolen, I'd hunt the guy down & you know what!