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Gibson J180 Billie Joe incoming


grOOved

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Can't wait - just bought the one Gibson J180 Billie Joe they had at Wildwood. I asked the sales rep to try a Dove 50th and the J180 out for me. He hadn't played either so he said he would check it out and call me back. Talked to him a few hours later and he was really impressed with the Billie Joe. My main concern buying sight unseen is getting a stiff guitar that you had to dig a lot to get the tone out of. Sometimes those guitars open up after a few years and other times, like my J100 from the mid-90s... never!

 

To my relief he knew exactly what I was talking about and said he got that from the Dove (needed to be played to open up), but the J180 was rich, full, open, with a lot of harmonics that would ring out. It surprised him that the pickguards didn't seem have much affect because the guitar was so lively and mentioned that it was on par with their new vintage series guitars.

 

Needless to say I'm totally excited to get my hands on the guitar. I'll report back when the guitar gets here next week. Here's a little teaser... I love Wildwood's website!

 

 

12582057_lg1.jpg

 

 

...And Happy 4th!

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I have one, and the first thing I did was to take off the truss rod cover and replace with a blank one. This guitar comes with Gibson Masterbuilt Premium Phosphor Bronze 12's unless Wildwood changed them. When playing it I found it was indeed very rich and warm, and I would have preferred a bit more top end presence. But when I got my brother to play it and I listened from in front of the guitar it sounded much better. Needless to say different strings will produce different results, but overall I can say it is a good guitar.

 

Many have criticised the big double pickguards and yes they do deaded the sound a little and reduce sustain. I compared the 180 to my SJTV and there is a world of difference. Dwight Yoakam had one made back in '99 that was natural and not ebony, but I have never seen or played one of those.

 

Depending on what tone you like and what you play you might want to play around with different strings.

 

Enjoy.

 

Bob

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I have one, and the first thing I did was to take off the truss rod cover and replace with a blank one. This guitar comes with Gibson Masterbuilt Premium Phosphor Bronze 12's unless Wildwood changed them. When playing it I found it was indeed very rich and warm, and I would have preferred a bit more top end presence. But when I got my brother to play it and I listened from in front of the guitar it sounded much better. Needless to say different strings will produce different results, but overall I can say it is a good guitar.

 

Many have criticised the big double pickguards and yes they do deaded the sound a little and reduce sustain. I compared the 180 to my SJTV and there is a world of difference. Dwight Yoakam had one made back in '99 that was natural and not ebony, but I have never seen or played one of those.

 

Depending on what tone you like and what you play you might want to play around with different strings.

 

Enjoy.

 

Bob

 

They are going to put DRs or DAddarios. DRs are my favorite strings, but it does depend on the guitar. I do hear you on the TRC - to me the guitar is and always will be an Everly Bros. I'm not a much of fan of Greenday.

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I'm not a much of fan of Greenday.

 

I've never been a GreenDay fan either, however I'm now a huge fan of the singer since he had that very public meltdown. That was fantastic. There's nowt as amusing as a very public meltdown, checked himself into rehab after it and all sorts. Brilliant. What a loon......

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They are going to put DRs or DAddarios. DRs are my favorite strings, but it does depend on the guitar. I do hear you on the TRC - to me the guitar is and always will be an Everly Bros. I'm not a much of fan of Greenday.

Yes it will always be called the Everly even though it is different to their original '60's J-180. The original Everly had a very different bridge and saddle, the saddle was adjustable and the strings went through the bridge and not held in by pins. No doubt the construction is changed as well now.

 

Most of the late '80's and 90's J-180 are still incorrectly called the Everly and because of that are over priced on the second hand market. A good original '60's Everly can set you back up to $15,000 and are hard to find undamaged or no damage repairs. My brother has an original '63 Everly and I hope to be able to compare the sound between my BJA and his.

 

I am sure you will be please with this. Does yours have the Fishman pickup system? Not sure if they made any without it, as they did with artist models of the Southern Jumbo.

 

Bob

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Yes it will always be called the Everly even though it is different to their original '60's J-180. The original Everly had a very different bridge and saddle, the saddle was adjustable and the strings went through the bridge and not held in by pins. No doubt the construction is changed as well now.

 

Most of the late '80's and 90's J-180 are still incorrectly called the Everly and because of that are over priced on the second hand market. A good original '60's Everly can set you back up to $15,000 and are hard to find undamaged or no damage repairs. My brother has an original '63 Everly and I hope to be able to compare the sound between my BJA and his.

 

I am sure you will be please with this. Does yours have the Fishman pickup system? Not sure if they made any without it, as they did with artist models of the Southern Jumbo.

 

Bob

 

I've been a "closet" Everly guitar fan since the mid-90s when I started playing. I know the originals had that bridge and also the thinner body than the current. The pickguards were also a different tortoise type. A few years ago I had an '87 that was in bad shape, but I picked it up cheap. I had a well-known repair shop in the area actually create a pinless adjustable bridge on that guitar using several pictures I found on the web. The result was awesome, but probably not the best "acoustically". I've searched high and low to see if anyone can recreate the 60s tortoise pickguards that Gibson used on the Everly, but didn't find anyone.

 

I played a BJA twice in the past year and they were in a different league than my '87... made me angry! I ended up selling that one, knowing that I would be on the hunt later for a BJA J180.

 

Anyway - yes it does have the Fishman pickup.

 

Let us know how the original and new one compare!

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Wowee. What a great looking guitar. Congrats on the sweet score.

 

I've always had a soft spot for these. The Everly Brothers are one of my all time favorite singing duo.

 

Last October when The Who came through town I was fortunate enough to get backstage before the show. Here's a snapshot of Roger's J-180!

 

Enjoy your new guitar. I hope it's a special one! The crew over at Wildwood are really good at what they do.

 

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e316/mom2coop/2013-02-12_19-00-28_260.jpg

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One more demo of the guitar (with better sound), though it's late night so I had to play quieter since the family is asleep. Been playing this guitar all day and can't put it down!

 

The neck is a slim profile but wider at the nut, 1.725. It's slightly noticeable when playing the first time, but didn't affect my playing at all. The guitar plays like butter.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAV-CPFUANU&feature=em-upload_owner

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