Who would have thought Gibson would knock it out of the park when celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the iconic J-200 acoustic guitar by issuing a 15" wide body version? Clearly the folks at Bozeman had taken a cue from an iconic musician: singer/songwriter and well-known Gibson J-200 player Emmylou Harris.
It feels a touch silly to be so excited about it, but every time one of these 50's brown flat bottom cases enters the room, it's exhilarating. I always worry that the case is simply empty, or maybe it'll be the routed refinished mutt you never hope it is. This time however, opening the lid was a massive payoff, unveiling one of the coolest vintage 1953 Fender Blackguards we've seen.
The first time we saw this guitar was in photos. It looked exceptionally well-preserved, certainly had the original case, and for a Martin of this ilk, was reasonably priced. We had recently spent some time with another 12-fret 000 example from the era that wasn't available, but the guitar stars aligned and dropped this particular 1925 build in our lap.
Around the turn of this century, the Gibson Custom Shop was finally hitting its stride, distanced from crafting a polished Gibson USA product and instead building guitars wholly their own. When Y2K hit, the clear champions of the Custom Art & Historic line were the 1950's Reissue Burst, Goldtop, and Black Beauty Les Pauls. The originals from which the reissues were inspired had earned their reverence and nicknames over 40 plus years of gracing the stage with iconic rock legends. The Custom Shop had done their homework by now, actively reproducing the original models in exacting detail. Adjacent to these vaunted 50's replicas however, Gibson also offered something curious: a '68 Les Paul Custom Reissue which looked nothing like any vintage 1968 model anyone had seen.
In 1942 Gibson built the first Southern Jumbo (SJ) round shoulder dreadnought acoustic guitars. This upscale take on the J-45 was purportedly designed for sale in the southern United States where the acoustic guitar players of the time were seeking instruments with fancier appointments.
