1954 Gibson J-185

[macgill]

Hello all. I just bought a 1954 J-185, and I have a couple of questions for the more knowledgable among you. First of all, is the top made of spruce? I mean, obviously I assume so, but I'm having a hard time verifying it. Also, if anyone knows what specific kind of spruce, that would be great to know. Second, this guitar has a slight 'bump' beneath the bridge. Looking around online, I have read that many old Gibsons have this sort of swell in that area due to the radius of the wood they used in the fifties ... any thoughts on the veracity of that information? Finally, does anyone know if J185's were ever produced with a double pickguard? If not, someone added one to this particular guitar.

 

Bear in mind that I am not a collector, just a player, so I'm not really worried about the collectability or anything. I bought it because it sounded amazing, and the price - about $1500 Canadian - seemed reasonable for the tone and the sense of history. So basically, anything you know about these guitars would be great information, and don't worry about sugar-coating it!

[Dotneck]

Here is a link to another 1954 J-185 for sale. It also has the double pickguard. This one is listed for $15,000 so if you bought yours for $1500 I'd say you got a heck of a deal.

 

185 on gbase

 

BTW...the top should be sitka spruce. Please post photos....we'd love to see yours.

[Steven Tari]

I kinda hope this helps.

 

 

1955 J-185

• J-185 Flattop
  Available: 1951 to present
  Collectibility Rating: B+.
  This is an amazing jumbo guitar by Gibson. Though they didn't make a ton of these in the 1950s, it's a great guitar. The feel, size and sound is very punchy, but not as dry sounding as a J-200. Also the look of the bridge and maple back and sides is very impressive. The mahogany neck seems to smooth out the maple, making the J-185 a better sounding guitar than the J-200. A great model!
   
  1951 J-185 introduction specs: 16" wide jumbo body shape, maple back and sides, 2 pearl Maltese cross inlays on the top belly (belly towards soundhole) bridge, triple bound top and back, mahagony neck, tortoise shell pickguard with a point, 24.75" scale length, tall scaloped braces, single bound rosewood fingerboard with 19 frets, double parallelagram fingerboard inlays, pearl logo, crown peghead inlay, gold plated parts, individual "tulip" button Kluson tuners, natural or sunburst finish.
   
  1955 J-185 specs: shorter non-scaloped braces used, an additional 20th fret added to the fingerboard.
   
  J-185 discontinued 1958. Re-introduced with different specs in 1990.