Gibson Custom SJ-200 Elite Maple Acoustic

[BigBev]

i am interested in buying a Gibson Custom SJ-200 Elite Maple Acoustic on e-bay. the seller has listed it as new but i cannot find any information on the Gibson website about this guitar!! any one out there know, if they are in fact making these guitars as a current model? or am i being fooled here? thanks!

[jannusguy2]

i am interested in buying a Gibson Custom SJ-200 Elite Maple Acoustic on e-bay. the seller has listed it as new but i cannot find any information on the Gibson website about this guitar!! any one out there know, if they are in fact making these guitars as a current model? or am i being fooled here? thanks!

 

looks legit to me. prolly a short run from the custom shop. very nice!

[BigKahune]

looks legit to me. prolly a short run from the custom shop. very nice!

 

+1

 

 

Beautiful B)

[rar]

i am interested in buying a Gibson Custom SJ-200 Elite Maple Acoustic on e-bay. the seller has listed it as new but i cannot find any information on the Gibson website about this guitar!!

 

Well, that's because it's a custom (either one of a limited run or a one-off). That's not unusual -- about 1/3 of Bozeman production is customized.

 

You need to find out exactly what's custom about it from the seller.

 

-- Bob R

[bigshot]

From the photos, I see ebony fingerboard and bridge and some bling around the sound hole. Those would qualify it as custom.

[MrGibs]

From the photos, I see ebony fingerboard and bridge and some bling around the sound hole. Those would qualify it as custom.

 

+1

 

My "MISTER GIBS" is a SJ 200 Custom Elite. Looking at him and those pictures - details are the same.

(The sound is astonishing!)

[J-200 Koa]

The J-200 Custom Elite was a standard model for Gibson for many years.

Gibson decided to drop it from their catalog about the time of the introduction

of the SJ-300 a few years ago. Probably because they competed against each other

in the same price range. Larger dealers began ordering the Elites as a special

order item and you will see them on eBay reguarly. Interestingly, the new

SJ-200 Custom, which is a replacement for the SJ-300, is significantly more

expensive than the Elite making the Elite a very attactive option in the upper end

Gibson market. Also,the Elite had always been a maple-bodied guitar. A few rosewood

Elites have been surfacing recently on eBay.

[BigBev]

thanks for the responses guys- much appreciated!! so is it possible to be a 2010 model then?

[J-200 Koa]

Very possible.

[ryanfender]

To determine its year, just ask for the serial number and get on Gibson's website to decode it. It will tell you the year, day in that year made (i.e 134th day of 2010, and its number manufactured on that particular day (i.e 52nd guitar that went out that day). Also, email Gibson the serial number and they can confirm the number and the model it traces back to.

[J-1854Me]

The J-200 Elite was a "standard" model for a number of years (5? 6?, 7? -- something like that), and as has been noted, was built with features that were unique and distinguished the model from the "regular" J-200 (whatever THAT was because that was a constantly moving target too).

 

At any rate, the "Standard" configuration for the J-200 Elite was:

 

- Ebony replaces rosewood for bridge and fingerboard

- abalone replaces Mother of Pearl for all inlays EXCEPT the "Gibson" inlay on the headstock, which remained MoP

- Abalone rosette

- Gold Grover Imperial tuners

- sometimes the woods were upgraded (sometimes you can't tell any difference)

 

I believe the model was designated as a Custom Shop model, but I don't know that I'd bet any money that CS actually touched the guitars. They might have, but they are likely built on the plant line most if not all the way.

 

Fred