J185-4Me Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I've been on the hunt for one of these for some time now, and I recently came across this 1956 J-185, which .....um .... "followed me home". I've owned about 9 or 10 Bozeman-made J-185s over the last about 15 years -- still have one -- but have always hoped to find an original 1950s model. This is a 1956 J-185: Back side: It is definitely a guitar that has been played. It used to sport a DeArmond type pick up, I believe, as attested by remnant holes that held the thing in place, and the obligatory patched side jack hole in the lower treble-side bout. Also is subject to some pickguard shrinkage. Neck reset, partial refret. But -- sounds GREAT!! Plays nice! Here's a shot of it hanging out with one of its great-nephews, my 2001 "Dave's Guitar 51 re-issue": Good news for Bozeman: although the '56 sounds really good, the '01 holds its own quite well. They both have a good strong voice, well-defined tone and good balance, but the '56 just sounds more 'mature', more played-in. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Nice! J-185 for you indeed. All the best, Guth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 That's a beauty. Congratulations. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack6849 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Go Fred! A cool piece indeed. Jack6849 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 What a find! The finish still looks great. Love the top graining. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sitric Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 Congrats, Well done. Having a Bozeman J-185, I often wonder what an original sounds like...... and you know! http://www.brendandevereux.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dove Histronic Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 Lucky for me I'm too spiritual to covet, cause that is one covetable gee-tar... If you ever become a crack addict and need to sell her quick let me know, I'll drive to you and pay cash... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 If you ever become a crack addict and need to sell her quick let me know' date=' I'll drive to you and pay cash...[/quote'] You might not have to wait too long. Our dear friend Mr. Fred is clearly afflicted with an addiction that comes at a higher price than any of your urban street rocks-- 'Gibsonitis Vintigeous'... Once you start your downward spiral into the land of Vintage Gibsons, it isn't long before you're hocking your appliances and your kids no longer seem to be college material. Clearly, any man who will fly half way across the country just to visit a shabby vintage guitar show in Texas is in trouble. (I'd organize an intervention posse, but am hoping to scoop up one or two of his collection before assisting with any effort to rehab the poor sob....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dove Histronic Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 Hoss: I was trying to get you that guitar as a surprise for your birthday... My personal descent into madness involves assorted hats and boots to wear while singing with my Dove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KL Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 That really is a beautiful looking guitar. I can only imagine how it sounds. I'm envious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-200 Koa Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 Clearly, any man who will fly half way across the country just to visit a shabby vintage guitar show in Texas is in trouble. I resent that comment! Or maybe I resemble that comment. I was at that "shabby vintage guitar show" and came away with a couple of guitars of my own. Not to say my wife was overly pleased by my acquisitions but that is getting off track. Congratulations on the "new" old J-185!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkharmony Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 I've been on the hunt for one of these for some time now' date=' and I recently came across this 1956 J-185, which .....um .... "followed me home". [/quote'] I meant to ask, did it follow you home from the guitar show in Dallas, or some place else? Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 That is jaw droppingly gorgeous. I think any '50s 185 (not that there are many) qualifies as "The Grail", for me at least. Huge congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 Fred, I'm happy to see you found one you liked! Looks great. Now you own two of Gibson's finest guitars. I have a 1997 J-185, from the Jackson Brown batch, and the 1951. The 97 is a good guitar, the 51is best Gibson guitar flat top I have owned or played. What is next? terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 Nice pair...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J185-4Me Posted April 24, 2010 Author Share Posted April 24, 2010 Congrats' date=' Well done.Having a Bozeman J-185, I often wonder what an original sounds like...... and you know! http://www.brendandevereux.com[/quote'] Hi Brendan. (Nice to see you here again!) I came into this knowing full well that some of the 'vintage' stuff doesn't necessarily sound like they should; I have played plenty of the Bozeman J-185s, but -- due to their scarcity -- not many from the original 1951-58 run! I had played 4 or 5 of the originals prior to attending the Dallas show, and they were frankly not all they were reputed to be. Having taken my 2001 along as my bellweather guide, as it were, I tried to compare old ones with the new. I encountered three of the 50s run during a particularly fruitful trip back about 7-8 years ago, and of that group, one was downright timid-sounding, one was 'nyeh', and the third was very very nice. A fourth, a '55 if I recall correctly, was stellar -- simply superb! Would have bought it and moved what it takes to get that one, but it was not for sale. Now I've sampled a total of 8 of the originals -- not a large amount, less than 0.1% of the total. This one sounds good! Tried two others at the show, and one was okay-to-good and the other was 'nyeh'. As I said above, though, the good news is the Bozeman stuff is sounding pretty good. I can only imagine that the ones that sound good now, will sound AWESOME in about 20 more years of playing! Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J185-4Me Posted April 24, 2010 Author Share Posted April 24, 2010 Fred' date=' I'm happy to see you found one you liked! Looks great. Now you own two of Gibson's finest guitars. I have a 1997 J-185, from the Jackson Brown batch, and the 1951. The 97 is a good guitar, the 51is best Gibson guitar flat top I have owned or played. What is next? terry[/quote'] Don't know what is next. I have the old old beat up Nick -- that one you know about -- but I would think a '40s SJ could be a possibility. Funny thing is, I played a '46 SJ a couple of weeks ago, and my '53 sounded better than the '46. No need to "trade up" there! Maybe an early SJ-N, ca. '54/55? Maybe a '30's L-00? Who knows -- one day and one guitar at a time. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J185-4Me Posted April 24, 2010 Author Share Posted April 24, 2010 You might not have to wait too long. Our dear friend Mr. Fred is clearly afflicted with an addiction that comes at a higher price than any of your urban street rocks-- 'Gibsonitis Vintigeous'... Once you start your downward spiral into the land of Vintage Gibsons' date=' it isn't long before you're hocking your appliances and your kids no longer seem to be college material. Clearly, any man who will fly half way across the country just to visit a shabby vintage guitar show in Texas is in trouble. (I'd organize an intervention posse, but am hoping to scoop up one or two of his collection before assisting with any effort to rehab the poor sob....)[/size'] Yeah yeah yeah -- so much talk! Why don't you and Mrs. Hoss come on up sometime; we'll play a bunch of stuff! Actually, I am now dangerously close to Folkways; I think there is a Gibson-vintage vortex over that place, and I may end up getting sucked into that! Fortunately, their J-185 is gone gone gone....... Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 Very, very nice indeed. You are one lucky guy. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xylophile Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 Congrats, Fred! After having owned about ten and promoting the model like you did, you deserve that original. And a beauty she is. Also notice the smoother curve of the shoulders towards the neck, on the old one. X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 Congratulations on snagging that gorgeous J-185, Fred! Thanks for sharing it with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NevadaPic Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 What a beauty! I'll bet it sounds outstanding. Pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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