The Famous 50's Jumbo Reborn
There are quite a few self-proclaimed "kings" in the marketing world. There's Elvis, the King of Rock n Roll, and Budweiser, the King of Beers (and certain aging rock star sponsors). And then there's the Gibson J-200, the King of the Flattops, which Elvis certainly played in his career. Folks who drink Bud', perhaps. Indeed, there's a long line of iconic music makers who either played or were pictured with a J-200., There's always been something distinctive and powerful about this guitar. Surprisingly, despite it's large size, it's not actually the biggest or loudest-sounding flat-top. Luthier's discovered long ago that the correlation between size and output is quite finite. And yet the sound of the J-200 is forever linked to some of the greatest acoustic rock recordings of all time.
Never one to let a marketing opportunity go untapped, Gibson released this 1957 Historic J-200 to commemorate...,well, we're not quite sure. We know that Gibson was making some of the greatest electric guitars at that time. But some might say their flattop production was beginning to show subtle signs of a decline in quality that culminated a little over a decade later in some of their worst acoustics ever built (anyone loving their 1970's Gibson flattop?). But 1957 is a wonderful year and this historic Custom Shop model is indeed far better than many of the J-200's we've seen roll off the production line. The thin nitro-cellulose antique blonde finish and the lightness of build are impressive and help it live up to its kingly stature.
The condition is excellent with no wear to speak of, great action, healthy neck set and next to no fret wear.
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