Gibson CJ 165

[fretplay]

I see on the details for the Gibson CJ 165 it says NECK V Profile. I played one about a year ago, it was a maple back I remember and I'd swear it was a low profile neck. Any members got info on this?

[eds111]

For some reason they have listed many of the guitars with V necks. I've played many new Gibson's in shops over the past five years (including CJ's) and they all have the same awesome low profile neck that are on my BK and H-bird. The neck profile/width is one of the reasons I like Gibson's so much.

 

The only exception I have found has been the L-00 Legend which had an obvious V and the J45 Legend which had very full C profile.

[geelinus]

What Ed S said.

 

 

I'm looking at my CJ-165 --- No V neck

[ksdaddy]

My CJ165RW has a small neck, no vee.

[Gilliangirl]

Aha! Maybe that's what I need then (a CJ165RW). I'm still wanting a rosewood guitar but the neck is definitely an issue for me. When I bought my Southern jumbo it was listed as a V neck, but it clearly is NOT a V neck.

[rar]

... it says NECK V Profile. ...

 

My theory (which I've propounded before in this forum' date=' complete with diagrams) is that Gibson doesn't mean what some other manufacturers mean by "V neck". The basic idea is that the width of the neck determines the major axis of an ellipse, and the depth (more precisely, the distance from the major axis to the deepest part of the neck, viz., the middle) determines the semiminor axis. If the neck doesn't fill the ellipse, Gibson considers it a V-profile neck. This does not require that there be a pronounced ridge in the middle -- it can actually be quite flat-feeling -- or that the neck is deep. What most people mean by a V-profile neck is a very extreme V by this definition.

 

What this amounts to is that "V-profile" just means "at least slightly less meaty through the shoulders than a full elliptical-profile". Both the CJ-165 and standard J-45/SJ necks [i']are[/i] V-profile by this definition, although they neither feels nor appears to be V-shaped.

 

There are plenty of necks out there that do not qualify as "V-profile" by this definition (e.g., Martin's low oval), so it's a perfectly useful, informative thing to say, even if the terminology is less than ideal. However, it doesn't tell you whether you'll be comfortable with a CJ-165 neck if you don't like a pronounced V. And it would be certainly nice if the necks of the OJ, Legend L-00, etc. -- the ones with the obvious, pronounced V's -- were described some other way that distinguished them from the extremely subtle V's pf the others.

 

-- Bob R

[6 string mystix]

my cj-165 does not appear to have a v-shaped neck...

 

i previously played on a martin d-35 with the low profile neck and this cj feels even MORE low pro to me...very slim, rolled edges and low low action make it a dream to play..

[fretplay]

Thanks guys for your info. It is as I thought. I just can't get on with V profile necks, yes have tried. I can play an old D neck you know the ones without the trusss rod ( baseball bat neck someone called them ) but Vs no thank you.