Gibson J 160-E

[dr.fingers]

Hi.....Is there a set of strings anyone out there can recommend that sound great unplugged and just as sweet plugged in....I'm having a difficult time finding a happy medium....I get bronze for this and nickel for that.....any thoughts are appreciated....thanks!!!!!!!

[Taylor Player]

My go to strings for both my Taylor 612C and my Gibson Advance Jumbo are Elixir nano Phospher Bronze light gauge (12-54's). The Gibson also sounds very good with Elixir nano 80/20's but I still prefer the PB's. I play mostly fingerstyle but some with a pick and find the phospher bronze give my guitars a great tone for both acoustical and amplified. I am playing typically through my Genz Benz Shenendoah amp which is the most natural sounding amp I have tried, but ever since I got my Peavey Delta Blues tube amp for my Strat, I find I am really liking the sound of that at low volume with my guitars for fingerstyle as well. It must be the 15" speaker.

 

Strings will have an impact on the sound, but in reality the type of pickup and the amp your playing through are also going to have a major effect on the sound. I like Elixirs because they typically will last me 2 months or so. I have dry hands and also like the nano coating as it does not shred like the poly coating on Elixir's other strings.

[rmngretsch14]

Well, seeing as you have a J-160E I'm gonna take a leap--you are a Beatlemaniac, It's alright you're with friends. Now I have never had the privledge myself, but the late great Johnny used Pyramid Flatwound electric strings on his (at least in the early days). Now these are rare, German strings, so the next question is where do I find these "pyramids"-- http://www.voxshowroom.com/northcoast/shopping/index.htm --and I am aware they are expensive, but this is just my take on the situation. Also my experience with the J-160e is that the action is...shall I say "stiff" so having the electric strings on her may be nice too. It's a beautiful guitar, enjoy it whatever strings you decide to use

[Red 333]

I use Gibson Masterbuilt Phosphor Bronze on mine. The pickup (mine is a P90) has no trouble with them, and they sound great unplugged, too.

 

Red 333

[nolongermike@gibson]

I use regular Phosphor Brone strings, too. I also did a cool mod to my J-160e that lets me use both the P-100 in it as well as a piezo system. I installed a B-Band dual pickup system in mine. The B-Band has an under the saddle pickup, and a contact mike which is on the sound board inside. I can use the blend knob of the B-Band to get the right combination of those two pickups for a traditional acoustic sound. I replaced the tone knob with a notched in the center blend knob. Now the P-100, if you turn the blend knob all the way in one direction, is 100% engaged. If you put it in the notched center, it combines the P-100 with the two B-Band pickups. And the whole thing looks stock from the outside. It took my J-160e from being a bit limited in tone to giving me all kinds of options for using it in live settings. If I want start old chunky Beatles sounds, I got all with the stock pickup. If I want a more traditional acoustic sound, I go all with the B-Band. For something amazing in-between I blend the three. Pure. Heaven.

 

I went to several luthiers trying to figure out how to do this, and couldn't. It took me and a redneck buddy who works on guitars a couple of beers, a pen and a bar napkin to sit down and sketch it out, now I have dream tones from this guitar. Its awesome.

[Slipz14]

I had an old round shoulder 160 and this brings back fond memories

 

First in my experience the guitar never really sounded terrific unplugged - I always felt it was meant to be plugged in to be at it's best - Following that train of thought you might be best off using electric guitar strings

 

I favored flat wound strings - They are quiet as all get go with zero string noise and dampen some of the brighness - They also help to warm up the string seperation and give the guitar a warmer bottom

 

Good Luck

[onewilyfool]

I know this is a little off topic.....but.....what would a good price be for a 1990's Gibson J-160E??? Does anyone know what the specs are on this guitar. I hear all sorts of conflicting info, solid mahogany, laminate mahogany.....please, does anyone know for sure????? Thanks

[rar]

... a 1990's Gibson J-160E??? Does anyone know what the specs are on this guitar. I hear all sorts of conflicting info' date=' solid mahogany, laminate mahogany.....please, does anyone know for sure?????[/quote']

 

Wily,

 

Bozeman's built both laminate (top and sides), ladder-braced J-160Es and solid (top and sides), X-braced J-160Es. They got away with the all-solid version by replacing the P-90 with a P-100, which is less feedback-prone. Think of the all-solid J-160E as a J-45 with a P-100: the good news is it sounds like a J-45 rather than a J-160E; the bad news is that it sounds like a J-45 rather than a J-160E. Anyway, you'll have to look at the particular guitar to be sure, but I believe a '90s J-160E is much more likely to be solid than laminate.

 

-- Bob R

[Red 333]

 

Wily' date='

 

Bozeman's built both laminate (top and sides), ladder-braced J-160Es and solid (top and sides), X-braced J-160Es. They got away with the all-solid version by replacing the P-90 with a P-100, which is less feedback-prone. Think of the all-solid J-160E as a J-45 with a P-100: the good news is it sounds like a J-45 rather than a J-160E; the bad news is that it sounds like a J-45 rather than a J-160E. Anyway, you'll have to look at the particular guitar to be sure, but I believe a '90s J-160E is much more likely to be solid than laminate.

 

-- Bob R[/quote']

 

Recently, Gibson has begun using P90's on the solid-topped models.

 

Wily, look inside the soundhole, toward the direction of the bridge. If the brace you can see is in a V shape, it's becasue your guitar is X braced, so you have a solid-topped J160E.

 

If the brace you can see see is straight, that's a ladder brace, which means you have a laminated top, like the '60s era J160s. Your soundhole label would probably indicate it a Special, Limted Edition, Lennon, Fuller's Reissue, or something like that if it were, as most modern J160s are solid topped. I presume that most laminated topped J160E's would also have an adjustable bridge, too. Don't take that as gospel, but I would imagine that is the case, as the laminated top, ladder bracing, and adjustable bridge are large ingerdients of the Beatle sound many people buy J160s for.

 

As far as sound goes, I think the solid topped J160s are drier and more percussive than a J45. Even though both are mahogany bodied, slope shouldered dreads, the J160 has different bracing due to the pickup location, and because the bridge is in a different location relative to the top (due to the neck set at the 15th fret), which motivates it differently.

 

Enjoy your J160E.

 

Red 333

[rar]

... the J160 has a longer scale ...

 

Are you sure about this? According to the only reliable reference I can access at the moment' date=' Vintage Guitars Info's Gibson Flat top Model Descriptions, the J-160E started out short-scale and remained that way through the discontinuation of the model in the '70s. And, according to the Gibson Web site specs, both the J-160E VS Std Modern Classic and the John Lennon J-160E Peace model are short-scale. While Bozeman could have churned out some long-scale J-160Es in the '90s, I really can't see why they would have.

 

It is true that the bridge location is different, because of having the neck join at the 15th fret rather than the 14th (to make room for the pickup), but that change moves it further from the center of the lower bout.

 

... I think the solid topped J160'sare drier and more percussive than a J45 ...

 

Maybe, but I'm inclining more and more toward the opinion that the average tonal difference between guitars of such similar models is much smaller than the standard deviation within a model. (I'll probably wind up being one of those crazy "specs are meaningless -- they tell you nothing about how a guitar will sound" guys.)

 

-- Bob R

[onewilyfool]

so what's a good price for an all solid wood J-160E, from the 90's, good condition....?????

[Red 333]

 

Are you sure about this? According to the only reliable reference I can access at the moment' date=' Vintage Guitars Info's Gibson Flat top Model Descriptions, the J-160E started out short-scale and remained that way through the discontinuation of the model in the '70s.

 

-- Bob R[/quote']

 

Bob R,

 

Ack! I was wrong about the scale. I was thinking about the difference between my other Beatley acoustic, the Epiphone Texan, and the J45. So you are right, J160E is short scale. I will edit the post above so there's less confusion.

 

And yes, it is the pickup and neck set at the 15th fret which moves the bridge further away from the center of the lower bout, which most certainly must result in some of the difference in sound I hear between J160 and J45.

 

That said, both are lovely instruments. I'm certain we agree on that!

 

Red 333

[Aaresz]

This thread has forced me to think. I have a J160e Peace and I haven't replaced the strings since I purchased it. I'm leaning towards trying the Pyramid flatwound electric strings from Doc Vox, but what gauge does Gibson install on the guitar from Bozeman? I'd like to keep that the same.

[TWilson]

Aaresz-Gibson ships almost all their acoustics with Gibson Masterbuilt Phos/Brnz lights. (12's)

[dr.fingers]

Hi...On a previous post, someone suggested I try the Pyramid Gold flatwounds...I did...love them (ebay .10 gauge for 3 for~75.00 Mav Music..good seller fast shipping)..........plugged in...outstanding.....unplugged...so so ...