Suzuki J-200

Bought in 1990, secondhand for $150 Australian
This guitar hails from the 70s, it is made in Japan. It has a laminate spruce top and laminate figured maple back and sides with a maple neck. it is a direct copy of a Gibson Jumbo acoustic and carries no pickups. Its' gloss finish has withstood the years very good and the guitar has no issues regarding finish, the guitar has no issues whatsoever and is a pleasure to play. The tuners are the early light metal covered type. The bridge is quite fancy but not as elaborate as its' Gibson counterpart or other highend copies I have seen. The neck is beatifull and quite thin and about the width of a strat but not as deep with a Gibson scale length, it came with no accesories. I paid not a great deal for this guitar, its ratings will be for value of money as well as what's practical

From the moment I picked this guitar up I became automatically creative and turned on with it and wrote song after song on it, (it was scary. Whatever the conbination was between this guitar and myself was, I can't explain as I had been playing for 3 months a high end Vantage acoustic and was quite stagnated on it).
This guitar at the time suited my music style to a tee. It has a soft to bright (not big in the deep end) very easy to play sound, It didn't have a great deal of volume, but that was only ever noticeable when it was played in a jam situation. It has a sound that made you want to keep playing it, but reality says it would not compare to an all solid constuction for sustain and depth

The action was great and fitted me easy. I never touched it and never needed to and I would dare say it would of been the original Suzuki set up, a very easy and a pleasure to play. The laminates are booked mathched on the top veneer and the guitar had no flaws or issues whatsoever.

Will this guitar withstand live playing ? I feel that this is a trick question as how else can you play a guitar unless it is played live and what difference does it make whether you are playing it in front of an audience on a stage or you are sitting on your bed at home as it is still getting played exactly the same way and very much live.
This guitar appears to be made quite durable and the hardware has certainly withstood the test of time and the finish has certainly stayed intact and Iv'e never lost a strap or a strap pin on it yet.
It is a reliable, dependable well made instrument. I don't think it would be wise to play any guitar on a gig without a backup and this one is no exception. It has no issues.

Never needed any support.

Been playing for 33 years and own and have owned a lot of dirrerent guitars (mainly), acoustic and electric ( never satisfied, wish I was)
and have amps and mixers and pedals and lots of goodies.
This guitar actually got swapped for a bango ( no other choice if I wanted the bango), but if it came back I most certainly would welcome it. (along side with half a dozen Japanese guitars I have let slide through my fingers over the years).
There is nothing I hated about the Jumbo Suzuki as I really loved it and have very much missed it. Its' ease of playing because of its' action and even sound it produced was an inspiration to me and brought out the creativity in me.
I can't really compare it to other guitars as they are all different to each other, but I wouldn't call it a rock and roll guitar as a DR28
Martin Sigma would lend itself more for that with its'loud and good bass-ie sound.
The only thing I wish this guitar had, was me still as its' owner. The only other thing that I can think of, is, When I first got it I named it Missy and i ended up missing it for the last 12 years. In comparison to a Gibson it would probably only get a 6 out of 10. maybe.
but for the amount I paid for it and for the inspiration it gave me.

This is a made in Japan Kiso Suzuki J200S
Its basically a j200 copy and the "s" indicates that its cot a solid top.Thead stock has the legend "CF Suzuki and Co" in the Martin style script but I doubt if there ever was a CF Suzuki.
Its a big jumbo in a sunburst finish with the flowered pickguard just like the old Gibson j200

This guitar chimes!! Its got that sound only a big jumbo can have with deep bass and clear trebles.The sound is full and rich

Its well made with abalone crown inlays up the neck and and an adjustable bridge.The bridge has abalone inlays too.The guitar is solid with scalloped bracing and no cracks.Nice inlay down the back.

Been using it since the 70s without a prob....very dependable...

Been playing all my life (30+years) and this has been a friend to me all that time....almost better than a woman...this one has kept her shape,loves to be played with and lets me change her g string once in a while!! I like this guitar and would replace it in a heartbeat if it were stolen after first hunting down the thief.

1977 Japanese. Gibson J200 look-a-like. Not sure of wood. Blonde finish, maple fretboard. Big trapezoid inlays, normal J200 scratchplate and moustache bridge. Lovely design down back centre of body. Standard white binding to neck and body.

Big full sound - just like the REAL thing. Very rich and full.

All excellent - quite a wide neck - very esay to play.

Never gigged, but stood up to 25 years of regular playing with only the action being lowered and a new set of strings (Dean Markley Earthwound)every now and again.

Never heard anything about the company. Older asssistants in local shops remeber the name but not a lot else.

Have played a number of Gibson and Epiphone J200's to compare. To be fair the Gibsons do sound better but at #2000 and up they should. One music shop reckoned that it would cost around #500 to replace.