J185cat

I owned a 2005 with Koa back and sides so not your standard version. I eventually sold it because I didn’t think it suited my style but here are some of my impressions. One, has to the most comfortable to play guitar I have ever owned. It just seems to sit right and combined with the short scale, it was a joy to play. Two, it is very evenly balanced across the entire fretboard, this was especially true after the Koa had a few years to open up (Koa is stubborn). Three, mine had more sustain on individual notes than I expected, maybe a result of the Koa again? So why did I sell it? I describe myself as an old chord brasher (another way of saying I’m not that good) so I find that the guitars I gravitate to more are like the AJ, J45 and D28. More bass, more volume. The J185 to me is a more “refined” guitar, extremely well suited to finger picking and when my friends who are accomplished than me at that art I loved it. Hope this helps some.

“More Panzer Paint”

My HB (99) has a lovely, soft tone. Plenty of bass etc. But what it does not have in my opinion is that”punch” to cut through in a mix of guitars. I think may well be due to the fact that the mid range is scooped somewhat. Solo, sitting on the sofa or on the deck I love it but would not be the one I would take to a jam. Now I’m sure others will come on here and give countless examples of just the opposite but that is my experience.

Yeah that’s right. I was getting the two models mixed somehow. What happens when you rely on memory.

Okay Dave. How does she sound? To early to get an accurate opinion?

I would pick the AJ to fill that spot.

That was not the point. I was just saying they have done it before and it should not be a problem.

I may be wrong about this but I think Gibson did an Emily Lou Harris version of the J200 back in the 2000’s that was a shorter scale. Hey, it’s Gibson. Probably would be easier to ask what they haven’t made.

drool! I was sitting here playing one of mine and you had to go do this. Seriously, that is awesome, congrats👍

Yeah I would love to try that one.

If this is one you can see in person I would. I can say this, my AJ is easily my favorite guitar.

Sarg you may remember a few years back my posting about buying a custom shop D28 with Audi top and braces from Wildwood. That guitar had a weird issue at the beginning where you could move the guitar back and forth and hear this strange clinking sound like a piece of metal loose inside the truss rod cavity. Took it to a very well know and trusted Martin FA repairman, he heard and said it might be a piece of glue or something. Said he didn’t think Martin would replace it. I kept the guitar because it sounded so good. Fortunately after some time the noise went away and now I’m glad I didn’t try to send it back. So, the myth that all Martins are constructed on Mount Olympus by the hands of the Gods and are therefore perfect is just that, a myth.

Very nice! Those J185’s are fun to play aren’t they?

Purple Haze

My Dad’s HBird had pretty heavy haze so I went at it with Virtuoso Cleaner and improved the look greatly. It was not 100% but much, much better. That tells me that at least on this guitar the haze is in the nitro and not under or I would not have seen any difference. I also would think that if there was water vapor beneath the nitro it would release from the wood.

FWIW, George Gruhn of Gruhn’s Guitars has stated that he believes Adi is more important than back and side woods and the real secret of the pre-war guitars that are so highly esteemed. May be, I certainly don’t have his experience with them to say. I just know I love the two I have with Adi. Every guitar is its own unique creation.

The general thought is that Adi has much more dynamic range with very clear individual notes with separation. It was the wood used on most of the pre-war “golden era guitars.” Like others have said, each guitar is unique unto itself so listening would be best. I can say that my favorite guitar that I own is ab AJ with Adi top. Is that because of the Adi? Hard to say. I’ve got some Sitka topped that are special also.

Sounds great to me.

He seems to concentrate on hardness of the woods as being the primary determining factor in tone. I’m sue that has a lot to do with it but I suspect there are a lot more elements involved also. I’m sure some on the board who know more about this can comment. There are factors such as dampening perhaps or wood grain growth. Heck, two pieces of the same species sound different. I certainly do respect the efforts to not exploit the resources involved with the traditional woods, human and trees both.

Welcome back from a fellow guitar nut over here in Raleigh. Hope you got the firewood stacked for next week’s cold weather. Stay inside and play!

The J185 is one of the most fun to play guitars out there. Enjoy.

Beauty. Now we need to hear a little Crossroads on that boy.

I certainly appreciate the feedback. I actually have an ES137 and it is my favorite electric, even more than my LP. The reason I was asking is I am 71 now and have had back surgery and the 137 is somewhat heavy. But I think you have convinced me to just keep the guitar I love and deal with it. Play on!

Guess it’s too late but, I inherited my Dad’s HB that he absolutely treasured and this bird has flown. I have thought about trying to replace the pick guard but finally decided nah, this is his imprint on this guitar and that is how it will stay. Great, sweat sounding guitar by the way.

Thanks for the replies. Any comments on tone?