passthej45 Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 J165 missing in action . I never see these guitars talked about. Are they unpopular? Are they a newer model and don't have any place in tradition? What gives? Fill me in. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Speaking personally I've always loved the look and feel of these guitars but was always disappointed by the tone. They just sounded flat and lacking any real richness to my ears. I know there are members here that really like their cj-165's but I'm not one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Sold mine, added $140 and got a used J200. Life is sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Now that does make a lot of sense .. Sold mine, added $140 and got a used J200. Life is sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinipm Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I love mine. RW back and sides. Love the short scale. It is by no means a cannon, but it does have a sweet tone with Elixer nano custom light strings. Very easy and fun to play.I love how it feels in my hands. No complaints, just depends on what you're looking for. That's why Gibson makes a variety of guitars. Nevermind that Kevin Costner and Mylie Cyrus play them! <_< Slash has been known to play them as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I have to admit the CJ sounds great in this clip with Slash & Co, but to be fair it is also very well backed up by a SWD and another CJ. I love mine. RW back and sides. Love the short scale. It is by no means a cannon, but it does have a sweet tone with Elixer nano custom light strings. Very easy and fun to play.I love how it feels in my hands. No complaints, just depends on what you're looking for. That's why Gibson makes a variety of guitars. Nevermind that Kevin Costner and Mylie Cyrus play them! <_< Slash has been known to play them as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NevadaPic Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Wish I still had my CJ-165 w/ rosewood b/s. It was a fine guitar and I'm searching for another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Node, now that you have a new baby.....is your 165 for sale???.....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesMtn Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 I have the CJ-165 without cutaway, rosewood back and sides, burst finish. I bought my original CJ-165 at a local shop at first touch the sound was so sweet! That was around August of 2006. Finger-picked or strummed it was a an amazing instrument...then I took it home. We never got to the bottom of this but my opinion is that the store packed it into the wrong case when they sold it to me (the case the replacement came in was different). I got it home to find the fretboard delaminating from the neck on the sound hole end...grrrrr. It still sounded amazing even with the delaminating fretboard but it was obviously broken and needed to be returned/repaired. As most purchasers of high-end factory guitars who have had to rely on warranty know it is a crap shoot. The shop sent the guitar back to Gibson for work and they determined I needed a whole new guitar (they didn't ask permission either) after about 5 weeks (maybe another 5 or so to actually get it). The guitar I got back is a lot less than what I sent them. I've tried every string combo I could imagine to get it to sound decent and finally ended up just sticking the originals (Gibson medium) back on it and putting it away...where it has sat for almost 5 years now. I pull it out occasionally to see if it has opened up any...so far no joy. The high strings are tinney and the low strings are boomy...the mids are pretty sweet however useless without the others. Sustain is incredible too. Don't get me wrong it is playable but it isn't the guitar I bought (or even would buy as my $300 dollar 28 y.o. Takamine student model sounds infinitely better). All that said, I have never played a guitar that is as comfortable to hold and fret (fairly wide string spacing) as the CJ-165. The smell is still amazing after 5+ years too. It sounds the same plugged in (Marshall AS100D) or acoustic to my ears now though I never did plug in the original guitar I had. The whole experience has soured me on buying factory guitars. If you are going to spend this kind of money go with a local custom builder (at twice the cost probably) who can repair what they have made for you if the need arises. Seriously, would you throw away a child if it broke an arm? No! You get the arm repaired...come on Gibson!!!! Anyway, if anyone from Gibson wants to give me a shout to remedy this situation I'm all ears...I still have all paperwork on this guitar...and making me a happy camper would change my opinion of the warranty process. I know the Montana facility was pretty new at the time this guitar was made so maybe there were bugs to be worked out of the system? Regardless, I shouldn't be paying the price for it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 I own a blonde maple and a sunburst rosewood J-165. The two guitars are very different sounding. Love both of them. Comfortable size, very responsive for finger style, premium woods and features. Take Euroaussie's assessment with several grains of salt. He has spent far, far more time writing negative reviews of this model than playing one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 I have the CJ-165 without cutaway, rosewood back and sides, burst finish. I bought my original CJ-165 at a local shop at first touch the sound was so sweet! That was around August of 2006. Finger-picked or strummed it was a an amazing instrument...then I took it home. We never got to the bottom of this but my opinion is that the store packed it into the wrong case when they sold it to me (the case the replacement came in was different). I got it home to find the fretboard delaminating from the neck on the sound hole end...grrrrr. It still sounded amazing even with the delaminating fretboard but it was obviously broken and needed to be returned/repaired. As most purchasers of high-end factory guitars who have had to rely on warranty know it is a crap shoot. The shop sent the guitar back to Gibson for work and they determined I needed a whole new guitar (they didn't ask permission either) after about 5 weeks (maybe another 5 or so to actually get it). The guitar I got back is a lot less than what I sent them. I've tried every string combo I could imagine to get it to sound decent and finally ended up just sticking the originals (Gibson medium) back on it and putting it away...where it has sat for almost 5 years now. I pull it out occasionally to see if it has opened up any...so far no joy. The high strings are tinney and the low strings are boomy...the mids are pretty sweet however useless without the others. Sustain is incredible too. Don't get me wrong it is playable but it isn't the guitar I bought (or even would buy as my $300 dollar 28 y.o. Takamine student model sounds infinitely better). All that said, I have never played a guitar that is as comfortable to hold and fret (fairly wide string spacing) as the CJ-165. The smell is still amazing after 5+ years too. It sounds the same plugged in (Marshall AS100D) or acoustic to my ears now though I never did plug in the original guitar I had. The whole experience has soured me on buying factory guitars. If you are going to spend this kind of money go with a local custom builder (at twice the cost probably) who can repair what they have made for you if the need arises. Seriously, would you throw away a child if it broke an arm? No! You get the arm repaired...come on Gibson!!!! Anyway, if anyone from Gibson wants to give me a shout to remedy this situation I'm all ears...I still have all paperwork on this guitar...and making me a happy camper would change my opinion of the warranty process. I know the Montana facility was pretty new at the time this guitar was made so maybe there were bugs to be worked out of the system? Regardless, I shouldn't be paying the price for it... I'm sorry that the replacement you got hasn't worked out for you. In hindsight I think it might have been better at the time you received the replacement to work out a return or trade or something with the dealer you bought it from. Hindsight is always 20/20! Now that you have kept it for 5 years that sorta indicates you accepted the replacement. I think your best bet at this point would be to take the guitar to the best luthier available to you and get a set up. I recommend John Pearse PB New Mediums for that guitar. The rosewood one in particular also sounds excellent with Gibson Masterbilt PB lights, which is what they shipped with. After the setup if you still hate it, sell or trade that puppy and get a guitar you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 I own a blonde maple and a sunburst rosewood J-165. The two guitars are very different sounding. Love both of them. Comfortable size, very responsive for finger style, premium woods and features. Take Euroaussie's assessment with several grains of salt. He has spent far, far more time writing negative reviews of this model than playing one. Nice pair Jerry....It would be great if you could post some sound samples to hear the difference between the maple and rosewood.....what a great opportunity to see the effects of tone wood and fretboard wood on sound.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Nice pair Jerry....It would be great if you could post some sound samples to hear the difference between the maple and rosewood.....what a great opportunity to see the effects of tone wood and fretboard wood on sound.... I would make a little clip of them but I am in the Bozeman area (it's snowing!) at the moment and the guitars are in California. Here is a little test clip I made of the maple 165 the day I bought it (minty used) a few years ago: http://gkarin.com/tunes/STE-003.mp3 (The only Gibson available to me at the moment is a friend's CL-50 Supreme, a fancy mahogany dread. I didn't think much of it at first but I am starting to get into it, maybe I'll try recording it with iphone.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Here's a clip of me playing the rosewood 165 from the 2011 Gibson Homecoming in June. This was kind of funny because I had already launched into the song and was singing away when the MC suddenly said oops technical malfunction so I stopped. Dusting myself off I decided to start with the melody this time (you can hear Val from custom shop yell out "No pressure!") : http://gkarin.com/tunes/025_Jerry_Karin_Easy_Street.mp3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Both those clips sound GREAT! I think the maple guitar sounds better to my ear (and I'm a rosewood kind of guy), but it's hard to tell with different recording conditions....very nice guitars. Nodehopper has the Rosewood version which I have played, I really think these guitars are the "sleepers" of the Gibson line. PLUS....you just have to love the shape and look of these guitars...Jerry, do you have a favorite?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesMtn Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 I'm sorry that the replacement you got hasn't worked out for you. In hindsight I think it might have been better at the time you received the replacement to work out a return or trade or something with the dealer you bought it from. Hindsight is always 20/20! Now that you have kept it for 5 years that sorta indicates you accepted the replacement. I think your best bet at this point would be to take the guitar to the best luthier available to you and get a set up. I recommend John Pearse PB New Mediums for that guitar. The rosewood one in particular also sounds excellent with Gibson Masterbilt PB lights, which is what they shipped with. After the setup if you still hate it, sell or trade that puppy and get a guitar you like. Sage advice...or so I would have thought. I couldn't work a return out on a "re-manufactured" guitar. Apparently they aren't legally re-sellable as new and Gibson wouldn't credit the dealer (at least that's what I was told). Just a bad taste from the whole thing. Luthier is the only sane option left I suppose. There are some cosmetic issues on the replacement guitar as well: unfinished top coat patch on headstock; looks like someone took a course rasp to the end of the fretboard and binding there. It is certainly better than simply storing the darn thing (it does get a few hours of play every 6 months or so...just to be sure). I have a few other guitars to play so this one hasn't prevented me from playing but it was my dream guitar at the original purchase. When it goes to the luthier it'll also get a bone nut/saddle combo. The nut on it is pretty good though poorly cut but the plastic saddle has to go. I have a luthier in Denver that I have worked with on other guitars I guess it'll have to go too...I guess I've just been resisting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 For a lot of what I'm doing I think the maple works a little better but for some things the rosewood 165 is really the cat's meow. It works better for fingerpicking and some types of chord melody, especially where you let a string or two sustain while moving somewhere else. I like the maple better for 4-to-the-bar things, most jazz standards type of stuff. Unfortunately the clip above from the homecoming was recorded before a very good setup I had done by Markus through Music Villa, so the rosewood wasn't at its best there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 I had a Maple 165 for a few weeks but ended up returning it due to a strange indentation in the top above the soundhole-a 'dent' in the top about the size of the average thumb and maybe 2mm deep. I couldn't live with it and returned it...sadly in the UK the Gibson distribution had crossed over from Rosetti to Gibson direct during the period that I owned the guitar, and the shop couldn't service me with a replacement, just a refund. I was GUTTED as I loved that little 165 to pieces-what a lovely guitar. Great tone, played like butter, and oh-so-friendly size. I was extremely sad to see it go, but took my money and bought a KILLER Hummingbird with it (which I played until my shoulder trouble then traded for my equally killer L-00 Blues King) so no harm done. I'd love to own another one day, though. As much as I love my Blues King, I think the Maple CJ165 (non-cutaway) has a slight edge on it. Maple in such a small package just sounds glorious, almost opalescent or milky, mysterious and seductive. I'd love to A/B one with a Maple Nick Lucas and see how they differ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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