David T Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I bought a J-185 this week (one year old) to go with my small collection of GIbson Acoustics. I don't quite understand it yet. It feels kind of tight compared with the J-45 and the L1. Are these round Jumbos meant for harder playing such as flatpicking ? I've got Newtone 12 -52 strings on which are about all I can hold down. It's very different from the other Guitars but maybe that's a good thing, I'm just moving from bare-finger fingerstyle playing to flatpicking so I can be heard at a session I've started going to. It does make your mistakes sound louder though ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanfender Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I own a J-185 as well. I think it works well for a lot of things but it excels as a strummer. If you really want a flatpicking machine you should go with an Advanced Jumbo. But if you like the J-185 for flatpicking, go for it. They are great guitars but as you have noticed, the big body and short scale create different tone compared to other Gibsons. Play what speaks to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I have a new J-185 MC too and it is kind of stiff compared to my other guitars. The tone is rather beautiful and grand nonetheless. I think this is just the usual 'opening up' process of getting the top of a new instrument to flex more freely. You have to dig in a bit, play it hard and a lot and gradually (sometimes suddenly and dramatically) it will improve and become louder and more sensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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