Anyone have any experiences with recent J-200's??? They seem pretty good but I would like some real world experiences.

Thanks
Mike

I own the modern classic rosewood J-45 adn I love it, i really love the gold grovers and the hidden fishman transducer, the sound is amazing,when you put some 13's on it and realyy get that top moving!!!

I just played thru a dealers stock

J-200-OK
J-185-Better
Hummingbird-Average
J-160E-Best I've ever played,featherweight
J-45 rswd.-outstanding
Southern Jumbo-better than average(usually my favorite Gibson)
Songwriter Deluxe-great and BTW,consistently great whenever I get to play one.


All of these were set up great and a few,J-185,160E,and rswd J-45 were very light weight. Salesman told me Gibson has done a 180 and is paying attention to set-up,strings,store and customer relationships,etc.. Have they turned the corner and wised up...finally?

it would be great if Gibson came back to the standards they set 40 years ago and more.

I have played a number of new Gibsons recently that were good to excellent. The excellent: J45 Legend(2), L00 Legend, J35 Fullers Vintage special model(3)

I've got a 1998 J-200 that I bought new. Love it, love it, love it. It is as light as a potato chip. Everytime I pick up the case the first thing that goes through my mind is that the case is empty. Has a huge voice.

Jimmy Da Cat

Hey, I would love to own a Gibson if they can get it right consistently. Their slopes are out of this world amazing.

Papi wrote:

quote:

Hey, I would love to own a Gibson if they can get it right consistently. Their slopes are out of this world amazing.

Consistency may be overrated -- and not an important factor unless you're buying an instrument sight unseen (unplayed). And even a company like Collings, known for its excellent consistency, produces a relative "dud" now and then. If you'd really like to own a Gibson slope, go play some and you'll probably find an exceptional one. Remember that inconsistency doesn't only produce exceptionally bad examples -- it also produces exceptionally great ones . . .

i think inconsistency is what hurts Gibson and Martin both as they rely heavily on internet sales. i've played a lot of Gibsons recently (a friend of mine has become an acoustic guitar dealer) and they are spotty. none have been terrible, but some have been heads above the rest.

i always tell folks, if you find a good one, buy it.

that said, i have a very fine j-45 True Vintage. is it as nice as my Bourgeois short scale slope d? not on your life. but it was over $1k cheaper.

quote:

Consistency may be overrated -- and not an important factor unless you're buying an instrument sight unseen (unplayed). And even a company like Collings, known for its excellent consistency, produces a relative "dud" now and then. If you'd really like to own a Gibson slope, go play some and you'll probably find an exceptional one. Remember that inconsistency doesn't only produce exceptionally bad examples -- it also produces exceptionally great ones . . .

The last time I played a great Gibson guitar was in 2002, It was a new J-50, and I would have bought it, had I not had my heart set on a 2002 Collings. I haven't played a great Gibson since. That is why I say they really need to improve their consistency.

marymary wrote:

quote:

i think inconsistency is what hurts Gibson and Martin both

For sure, inconsistency is not a good thing at all from the perspective of a guitar maker, but from the buyer's perspective it's not really so important, as long as you play it first . . . It's always a bit of a gamble anyway when you buy any guitar without trying it first, regardless of the maker.

unfortunately it is sometimes impossible to play before you buy these guitars as there are not many dealers with huge inventories.

this is the price we pay as retail outlets for guitars move towards a more internet-based platform. Martin and Gibson both cater to the big box stores. the "buy in" guidelines from these manufacturers is quite steep and many of the smaller dealers have since dropped these brands.