Johnson JH-440C Las Vegas

The new Johnson Las Vegas 2004 JS 440C is a big improvement over models made in previous years. The new model costs more than three times the previous years model but is 100 times better guitar. 22 frets with the new shorter scale neck make it a dream for fingerstyle playablility. The solid spruce top with 2 gold high end semour duncan pickups are a key to its warm sound. The tuners on mine are gold 17/1 grovers. The improved gold ES 350 small scale tailpiece and rosewood and gold Archtop Roller Bridge decks out this guitar nicely. A gold assembly with contoured rosewood base, with height/intonation adjustment. The roller saddles are laterally adjustable for custom string spacings. Height is adjustable from 1-1/16" to 1-5/16". This is a top guitar for under $1000

This sounds fantastic for rock and jazz. It is quiet with that buttery sound for jazz settings. The newly improved hunbucking pickups are a big key to the improved sound on this 2004 Las Vegas model

This instrument is not set up as it comes from the factory and requires professional set up for the best plability and intonation. Like any archtop guitar if the bridge is not located properly then the sound suffers. That may be why some others have not rated their guitar as the fine instrument it is. I guess kids buy a guitar with ageing strings and is critical when he doesnt sound like a metal monster right out of the box. This guitar is not for metal players, but acoustic or fingerstyle guitarists should enjoy it.

This guitar holds up to constant playing. The solid bookmatched maple and inlay on the back and top of this guitar make this 2004 model a real winner. In fact it won the MAGNI top guitar under $1000 award. The the finish is beautiful and gold harware seems well done. The strap buttons are reliable. I do not hesitate to use it on a job and could gig without a backup.

Never had a problem with, but calls with questions brought prompt replys and mailing of the literature that was missing when I bought it.

I have been playing for 30 years and own 30 guitars. While it is not as good a guitar as my $5500 Taylor 915CE this guitar is road worthy and a very playable instrument. It is a beautiful guitar that I would not hesitate to use. Get it set up properly and it rivals the best Guilds or Samick guitars out there for less than $1000.

nothing special/extra, but it does it's job well

This guitar can rock, jazz, country..It can play about anything.
The electronics are pretty quiet, but it feedbacks fairly easily with a strong distortion. It handles overdrive with ease.
It can have a deep sound, but if your going for country switch it to the bridge pickup, and it can really twang. The electronic controls are very good, because you can really change the sound with the tone knobs.

The guitar was in good shape, but came with a high action.. This can easy be fixed with the ajustable bridge. When i finished setting it up, it played nicely except on the really high bar chords. The finish is decent, but on the sides it just isnt that nice looking. I like the look of the cherry burst. The gold colored pickups got tarnished over time, but that is normal.

Everything seems sturdy. It didnt have a neck strap button but i had one added for about a buck.

haven't had too, hopefully won't..

I just love it.
It is excellent for the price.
GREAT value

Supposedly, this was a new 2002 model. Made in Korea. Your basic single cutaway (non-pointy) jazz box. The "C" designation just means it's a Cherry Sunburst. Laminated maple top and back. Mahogany back and sides. I don't remember what the neck was made of. Two tone, two volume pots. Two humbucking pups. Cherry sunburst finish. Floating Tune-O-Matic type bridge. The neck felt pretty nice actually.

The tone was simply awesome. Perfect jazz box sound and nice twang on bridge pup. But continue reading . . .

Wutta' piece of crap. The QC on this box was so bad I had to send it back. Too bad, 'cause it had great features and tone. Here's a list of the problems it had:

Major problems:
Fret curved under first fret on low E-string (F-note). Strangest thing I'd ever seen. The fret had a 1/8" curve towards the body under one string only. I can't even figure out how they got the fretwire in like that;

The nut was misshapen and damaged -- looked like it was ripped or hit with a chisel.

Minor problems:
Gouges/chewed up on the fretboard at the end of the neck towards the body on one corner;
Binding in same area appeared to be badly fitted and separating;
Nicks and discoloration on binding on headstock near the nut (topside);
Wood part of bridge was rough and splintering.
Chipping on binding at 11th fret.
Finish splotching and sloppy gluework where neck joins body;
Chipped binding in one of the F-holes;
Incomplete paint and wearing decaling that was sprayed over on underside of body near neck joint;

Overspray or bad masking near decorative work in several places;

Buzzes on fourth string around 8th fret, even though the action was high. I expect to have to get a pro setup and intonation on a new axe, but I can't fix a warped neck and I don't expect to pay for a fret job on a new guitar.

Also, the case I ordered with it was too large for the guitar and not a perfect fit, though it was a nice case.

This axe was such a dog that I couldn't even keep it as a junker. I was insulted by it.

If the quality control had been there, it probably would have been pretty durable. As it was though, it was a hunk of firewood.

Never dealt with customer support. I just sent the piece o' crap back to the guy that sold it to me.

I actually paid more like $230 for the guitar, since Axeman has a $40 shipping charge. The case, while a hair large for the axe, was another $48. We'll see if he refunds the shipping charge. He seemed like a decent fellow and said he never inspected the guitar (though it did have a handwritten sticker on the back of the headstock that said $249 Johnson Las Vegas). If he refunds my shipping charge, I'd be willing to give him another try and buy from him again.

I've been playing over 30 years, have music degree, and have played professionally on and off for the last 23 years; I suck at making money at it so I have a day job.

These days, it's not unreasonable to expect a sub-$300 guitar to be properly manufactured. I have two other axes that costed me $89 and $149 which were flawless. This Johnson Las Vegas I got was an outrage! What a piece of crap. I was insulted that they'd even ship a guitar like that. Too bad, 'cause it had great features and a great tone. I'd always wanted a cherry sunburst jazz box, but I wouldn't have paid $20 for this garbage. I expected much better after reading the reviews here, so maybe I just got unlucky.