Johnson JG-610-BL

This guitar was made in China, with twenty frets, enclosed tuners, Sunburst blue finnish, and came with a gig bag. As a general rule, the Johnson brand is looked at with skepticism. The process used to make these guitars is both unreliable, and unpredictable. If you where to walk into a room with one thousand of the same model guitar, you would not find two that where exactly the same in quality. It is very possible to spin out some really awful guitars from this company, however, the low price is not on account of low quality, it is the fact that you are taking a gamble. You may wind up with a cheap piece of junk that will warp and sound like the trash that is is, or, you may end up with a quality instrument that could easily be priced at well over 400$ (An extreme rarity). The guitar that i have is one of the latter. An incredible product of trial-and-error mass production.

Sounds incredible. nice rich bassy sound, but has some trouble the farther you get down the fret board. I can play anything on this guitar and it sounds great, even if sometimes it may take a little work. Sounds great, but you may need to work for it.

I see no flaws, except the action is possibly a little LOW. It does buzz occasionally because of this, I don't know why, but its much lower than the other guitars of this model I have seen. So, to be fair, an average guitar of this model actually is a little HIGH (for whiners... After you play a Texarkana... You would never whine about this...EVER) Finnish is nice, it has taken some nasty falls in the past, but has remained clear of all scratches.

This was my first guitar and I bought it years and years ago, I have played it on stage, and never had any problems at all. This guitar was great for me as I learned, and continues to be great for me as an experienced player.

Never needed too, but it had a two year warranty.

I have played for years and I have a few other more expensive guitars that cant even stand up to this one, great for the price, but beware the gamble. If It was stolen I would hunt them down and give them the chinese water torture until they would tell me where it is. I love its sound, but i worry about the saddle that came with it, I may need to replace it soon, its cracking a little.

I bought this in 2005 from a well known/respected Pawn Shop in Ea. Wa State. It was dirty, smudged, strings were rusty. The gig bag was filthy. Had to go to my bandmate's house, use his air compressor hose to clean it out. The guitar: I bought it ($36 w/ tax), took it home, cleaned it up, tweaked the truss rod some, put new strings (Dean Markleys) on it, and was pleasantly surprised. It does what I got it for: a cheap, knock around acoustic. It isn't a Martin, Takamine, or any thing on the higher end, but it's good for playing around. 20 frets. Rosewood fretboard. Blue finish. Tuners are the covered kind, not the Grover type. But hold tune decently. Nut was good. Overall, ok.

Sounds well. Not bad; full sound, somewhat midrange. Good bass tone. Playing/Strumming near the bridge, not a real high twang sound. I like to finger pick some, and it does well there, too. Sounds ok mic'd.

The action was a little high when I bought it; to be expected used. I adjusted the truss rod a turn or 2, and it helped when restringing. The neck seems ok. Probably will have to do some adjusting, as it doesn't seem too stable. But for the price, can live with it.

I don't know if I'd actually gig with it; but maybe I'd play one song using a pickup or mic'ing it. Finish had some runs, but these sell for $100 new on E-bay, so what the heck? Just a knockaround guitar.

Don't know/don't care.

I've played forever, it seems. This one I just saw when I was casually out and about, and for $30, $36 out the door with a gig bag, can't complain. That's that....

Natual finish stand 610 package

I was pleasantly suprised.after reading the reveiws here.

The action was a tad high, but a little neck adustment took care of that(make sure you loosen the strings if you have to do that)and do it a little at a time.I could even thke the bone in the bridge and sand a little off and make it even better.I sse no ned now.

Just got it for my son for christmas.Time will tell.I can't see why it wouldn't last.

I know they will take it back if I don't like it ,10% restocking charge.Pro Audio Music

I have been playing for 32 years.The guitar is a Christmas gift for a first player.I own a 1971 Guild D-35 I bought new.I also have a few other guitars and basses.Ive played guitar and bass.for rock and country bands.
When I received the 610.I very carefully un packed it in case I wanted to send it back. Came with a nice soft case pitch pipe strap picks.I was happy with the sound and finish.There is alittle glue, But very little.The frets are a little sharp,but I'm not going to be cut by them.I wanted a guitar that was easy to play ,sounded good and didn't cost a lot, for a beginner.I shit you not,This guitar put a smile on my face for 104 dollars

I'm not sure what we're looking for in features on an acoustic guitar, and I'm not experienced enough with them to know if I'm missing anything really. So as far as "features" they all seem to be there, but you can tell there are places where cheap materials were used, such as on the fretboard which appears to be made out of some type of plastic(?).
Another gripe I'd have is that the tuners are all sticking out farther than they should be, rather than being flush against the surface of the neck - something I decided to live with because I mail-ordered the guitar, and the guy at the online shop told me he looked and every single one he had in stock had the same problem (and I didn't want to deal with the return through the mail). Doesn't appear to affect anything though, so I'm living with it.
I've only been learning/playing for about a year so I can't really go into more specifics.

Personally I can't play this thing without getting a ton of buzz, but I think that's just me as a beginner. I had my guitar teacher check it out, and it played beautifully for her, and in fact she complemented the sound of the guitar saying it sounded great.
For an $80 guitar, I'd say that's pretty good.

Now that I'm deeper into learning to play the thing, I'm going to have to fall into the "THE ACTION SUCKS" category. It's too high, which means that the guitar is literally painful to play for more than a few minutes at a time because you have to put so much force into pressing down the strings. I've tried replacing the strings with Elixer Custom Lights, which helped a little but not much. After about 15 or 20 minutes I've had it. I've checked out classmate's guitars with lower action (the strings seem to hover over the fretboard just barely not touching it - ) and they seem much, MUCH easier on the fingers, and thus easier to play. Especially if you're a beginner this will probably make a big difference in how you play.
At any rate, it's going into a local shop to have the action lowered as soon as I get a chance.

The finish, although very pretty, seems very thin - but I can say that my clutsy self has smacked this guitar into things multiple times, and although I have a few dings, the finish has held.
Also, one of the supports/crossbars or whatever they're called inside the guitar snapped. I suspect this was my own fault though, as I was storing the guitar next to a heating vent for a while, and in a dry environment over the winter.

The guitar comes with a two-year warranty, and the company the makes it (Music Link) supplies their address and phone number on an attatched card when you first open the box, but I haven't tried to contact them.

When I bought this guitar I frankly didn't know the first thing about guitars, and just saw that it was cheap, and I also fell in love with the blue color.
And really, the action is the only problem I have with it - and my music shop tells me that can be fixed for $10-30 (will attempt to do so in a few weeks).
Would I buy it again if it got lost or stolen? Problably, unless I suddenly have a windfall of cash so I can afford an expensive guitar. But that action would be lowered pretty much imediately next time. If you can find a guitar that sounds good with lower action, in the same price range, I'd say go for it though.

This is a standard dreadnaught, made w/ the same stuff and made at the same place as the others. Alright, here's the deal w/ this blue one. Yes, it's finish is a bit vulnerable to fingerprints. Yes, the wood texture is a bit crappy. But it's blue... how often do you see a blue acoustic? Not very, and everyone in my school definitely told me how much I rule w/ it.

Wow, sometimes I kinda pity all the other guys who play in my class. Spending 300+ dollars on their guitar, only to sound just barely comparable to my 50 dollar guitar. The sound is great, and I really recommend it as a first guitar or even second.

Alright, everyone complains about the action that it comes shipped w/. What are you? A bunch of electric guitar pampered wailers? The action is a bit high, but not to the point where I would complain. I'd just say, "Hmm... the action's kinda high." End of story. Nothing else wrong there.

Wow, talk about a bang for your buck. You buy, you bang, and you still play. This guitar is tough, and I'm a well traveled guitarist. Consistent performance with or without wear and tear.

Err... I hate customer service. Never deal w/ them.

Hey. What can I say. If someone stole my guitar, I'd track them down, kick their butt, take their wallet, and go buy myself one of the higher-end Johnson models. But until this guitar breaks, (break, you damn axe!) I'll be jammin' acoustic w/ this baby.

Johnson JG610 BL. This is one helluva assy guitar. Standard dreadnaught that's patterned after Martin's. The top is made of white wood (what the hell is whitewood?), standard everything else, and a nauseating blue paint job. It looked fine on the Ebay postings, but the one I got had smearing all over it.

When I opened the tattered cardboard box it came with, the first thing I smelled was glue.

A total turn-off.

Ok... Here's where I THOUGHT I had my money's worth. The sound was pretty good. I like to play grunge and heavy stuff, and this thing blasted the sound. I especially liked the way it handled slides.

But the cheapness eventually prevailed and, as time went on, the neck warped and the sound went straight to hell. Not even Han and Chewie can save this POS... Raaaaarrrr

Holy cow. Talk about height! The string height seemed higher than the Empire State Building! Jeezus! Playing this for the first few days was a pain! I actually dreaded playing the high notes until my fingers got used to it. Being a classical guitar player, I eventually got pissed off and decided to lower the action.

Boy, modifying this guitar was a chore. The neck felt like it was about to crack off. The nuts that held the strings were so damn sharp. I accidently let go and the thing scraped the paint!

Nothing annoyed me more than the construction. Glue was smeared everywhere. You can see it on the bridge saddle and in the sound hole. And you can smell it.

This is what you get when you allow shiny-penny-per-day workers to build guitars.

It's sad.

Reliability my ass. The factory settings were so awful that it hardly looks anything like the original. I really made a Frankenstein out of this thing. And just like Frankenstein, I would not allow anyone to see this thing in public.

Hahaha... when I walked into practice the first time with this thing, the teacher laughed at me. The TEACHER!!

Don't want it and don't need it.

There was this guy in my class who went through the first 4 classes with a really shitty guitar. Man, his axe looked like a network hub with all those tangled strings. So I felt sorry for him and let him borrow my Johnson. He did not bother coming in on the last day in class, and I'm sure he got an F for it.

Under normal circumstances, I would hound his ass to return the guitar to me. But this is not a normal circumstance, and I'm thrilled to get that Johnson out of my hands.

I replaced that guitar with a Valencia classical (which also sucked ass.) and I've subsequently replaced the Valencia with a Washburn OS OC11CE. Now THAT is a quality instrument.

Made in Japan, I think, I don't even want to find out because that would mean I would have to look at it. 20 Frets. Laminated white wood top. It's made out of white wood. It's a transparent blue, which really drew my attention to it, man I wish I didn't buy this one. It's a standard dreadnought. There's really no features to this guitar. The neck is warping like hell, it's so bad there's no way to play in tune above the 5th fret or so. The action is terrible. The strings must be half an inch off the fretboard!

The sound on this guitar was actually really good at first, but for some reason it started rattling, and started sounding really crappy. This was my 3rd guitar, and my first acoustic, I really got duped on this one!.

THE ACTION SUCKS!!!! THE FACTORY SETTINGS SUCKED!!!! THE FRETS ON MINE WERE SHARP AS HELL AROUND THE SIDES. The only flaws this guitar has is it's self.

It's reliable, for a week or so. I took it out like 2 times for a practice, and the necks warped, the pickgaurd is falling off, and the wood dings very easily. I would never use this at a gig, even with a back up because I really don't like getting laughed off the stage, and with this guitar you would be sure to get laughed at.

I've been playing guitar for over 5 years and I'm very dissatisfied with this guitar. If you're looking for a reasonably priced acoustic, find an Olympia, you'll spend a little more but they play and sound so much better. Overall with this guitar, the Johnson, I'm kind of curios.... If I burned it would it give off toxic fumes??

your basic dreadnought. what's there to list.

Sound on this guitar is great. It was my first and still is my favorite. I can't tell you that every JG-610 sounds this good you'll have to play 'em to find out. This one has a rich full sound. I've played other accoustics for 3 times as much money, and they're just too bright. Having paid $125 used as I didn't know anything about guitars at the time, and didn't know you could get a brand knew one for under $100.00 This might have been the reason they sold it to me for more than a new one cost, or they just ripped me off. however they didn't. I'm telling you this one is great for my stlye classic rock, country and even lots of new rock. It's no martin but close.

I don't know how the factory set-up was. However the action is set up a little now but I sort of like it that way and will keep it that way. which is a down side too most. If i could change anything on this guitar it wood be the neck. this is the only down side to this guitar for me. it's simply fat. but not enough that you can't play it. It just takes abit more effort on bar chords.

This guitar has with stood many drops, even drops on concrete and still looks and plays great. It's had beer spilt all over it more than once and may even sound better. I've taken it to many parties with out a case "you can imagine" It will take much more abuse I'm sure. But, I have no doubts in its ability to withstand much, much more.

I've been playing non stop for 3 years and can't get enough. My fingers crave for the guitar. I also own a johnson thin body acc/elec that one is no good. A jay turser 12-string acc/elec thats not bad and a greg bennnett series les paul by samick which is unbelevably as good as a gibson just check out the reviews on that one.
would i buy the JG-610 agian YES! this one was definetly the best $125 could of bought probally the best under or just over $400 range.

Made in China 2000(?). Standard acoustic dreadnought with Martin strings. Blue laminated finish. Bronze frets, plastic bridge and nut, chrome tuners. Came as a kit: gig bag, strap, tuning accessories, picks, and pitch pipe. Not bad for a $100.

The sound from this guitar is suprisingly decent for what I paid for. I disagree with previous reviewers that this guitar has a rich, full sound. I'd say semi-rich/full. It has sort of a muffled sound but overall OK. There was some fret buzz which was fixable. It also has a bit of an echo, and it doesn't hold notes all the time, which makes tuning an adventure. It doesn't compare to a high end guitar like Taylor, but considering what I paid for it, I'm satisfied with how it sounds.

Well, I'm not going to rate it a "1", but this is where the guitar falls short compared to others. The action was very high, so I had to do some heavy sanding of the bridge and adjust the neck. It's still a little high for my preference, but the action cannot go any lower without fret buzz. The body looks fine on the outside, but the inside has a lot of excess glue and wood shavings. It kind of smells, which is probably why most guitars aren't made of whitewood. Upon closer inspection, you can find quite a bit of cosmetic flaws, which is understandable. Anyhow, the neck and fretboard is kind of sloppy. The fretboard looks as if glue was wiped off and dried. The nut looks like a whittled piece of plastic with makeshift notches. The tuners are okay; they can be loose at times. So it's built pretty sloppily, but I didn't buy it to be put in a glass case.

I could play this guitar live without worrying too much about sound, but I wouldn't mic it up and play it at a gig. Although it's built pretty cheaply, it's pretty sturdy. I beat it up a few times and it's still fine. It seems to hold up to all kinds of abuse. I think it will last a while. It's deserving of the nickname I gave it: "Blue Clunker".

Won't need 'em.

I've been playing guitar for almost a year now. This was my first guitar and bought it intending to learn with it. Little did I know that I could do some modifications to make it sound better and easier to play. It wasn't until a friend looked at my guitar and suggested how to modify it that I got to it's full potential. If you're a beginner, I suggest that shortly after you buy this very guitar, you should have someone who knows a lot about guitars look at it and tell you how to improve it. This was a good guitar to start with, especially for the price. This guitar is probably the best sounding in its price range. I wish I knew that I could make it better with some adjustments when I first started playing, but it still fufilled its purpose. And now the "Blue Clunker" is pretty much my guitar that I can take anywhere without worrying about beating it up. I still play it to this day, even though my friends still joke with the "Johnson" name.
"So you gonna play with your Johnson today?"
"Is that how you hold your Johnson?"
"I think you need to tune your Johnson."
and so on...
If you can't put up with the ribbing, you can scratch off the "Johnson" name from your guitar.

At first, I picked it up and strummed it, and I cringed! I swore I would buy new strings soon, but until then...but then, after a week or two, the strings evened out, stopped losng tune, and started to sound really warm and sweet. Don't be confused, she packs a little punch, but I love to play her on the ballads.

Seems fine. Action was perfect, no flaws in the fitting or put together. The finish had no flaws, and I loved the color.

This guitar has lasted me a while, and a couple of little gigs. The enclosed tuners are excellent.

N/A

I been playing for years and own five guitars. I would replace her in a heartbeat if she were stolen, and am completely thrilled with my purchase.