How many are built a year?

[PickitPaul]

I have wondered about how many does Gibson build of the SJ200 each year? Just the plain SJ200, no special models.

[Murph]

A bunch.

 

Do I win?

 

[zombywoof]

It appears that Gibson keeps production figures close to the vest.

 

Well into the 1960s Gibson built only a hundred or so SJ/J-200s a year. From around 1960 on every one was built in the newly formed Custom Department. I would guess Bozeman turns out a substantially higher number of SJ/J-200s.

[jt]

Unfortunately, I've only got the production numbers up through 1946.

[EuroAussie]

Unfortunately, I've only got the production numbers up through 1946.

 

JT, out of couriosity, have you ever touched a Gibson younger than 1946 .. ? ;-)

[jt]

JT, out of couriosity, have you ever touched a Gibson younger than 1946 .. ? ;-)

 

Yes! My first Gibson acoustic was a 1970s hummingbird that I'm still trying to forget. My second was an excellent 1991 koa J-200 that I sold about a decade ago to fund the purchase of my first vintage Gibson, a 1928 L-1.

[Hogeye]

I have wondered about how many does Gibson build of the SJ200 each year? Just the plain SJ200, no special models.

 

Gibson builds as many guitars as they have orders for. This keeps the inventory in check. They have changed this policy in the last few years. In 1990 they made 500. The total 1,014 for all variations for 1990. In 2003 they made 561 J-200ANGH1. These are the traditional Antique Natural J-200 with Gold hardware. Maple sides and back.

Gibson has 47 different combinations of J-200. They vary in color. Wood type. Hardware and other details but they are all made on the same J-200 forms. For example they made 2 Brazilian Rosewood J-200's in 2001.

[rar]

... In 2003 they made 561 J-200ANGH1. These are the traditional Antique Natural J-200 with Gold hardware. Maple sides and back. Gibson has 47 different combinations of J-200. ...

A quick ballpark estimate suggests that the number of "plain" SJ-200s can't be a whole lot larger now than it was then. Gibson would have to build over 4 a day to build 1000 in a year. If we say that any custom features rule out counting a guitar as "plain", Bozeman produces produces maybe 50 "plain" guitars a day. So, something close to one in 12 guitars coming down the line would have to be "plain" SJ-200s if they were building 1000 per year. Having spent some time staring at what's in the drying racks on a number of occasions makes me think that number is too high. There are plenty of SJ-sized guitars, but relatively few are "plain" SJ-200s (as you might expect, with 47 variations, not counting customs, only 4 of which I would call "plain SJ-200s"). I'd actually be surprised if they built significantly more than 561 SJ-200 AN Standards last year.

 

-- Bob R

[JuanCarlosVejar]

47 ? :o . so if someone was a J 200 collector they could order 47 different syles of J 200's ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JC

[Hogeye]

47 ? :o . so if someone was a J 200 collector they could order 47 different syles of J 200's ?

 

yes. Not counting customs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JC

[zombywoof]

47 ? :o . so if someone was a J 200 collector they could order 47 different syles of J 200's ?

 

 

The mind wobbles. Sorry but it just makes me long for the good old days when if you wanted say a J-45 the only choice you had to make was between the burst and natural J-50.

[rar]

... It just makes me long for the good old days when if you wanted say a J-45 the only choice you had to make was between the burst and natural J-50.

Funny how the Good Ol' Days that never actually existed are the ones most frequently longed for. :)

 

-- Bob R

[j45nick]

Funny how the Good Ol' Days that never actually existed are the ones most frequently longed for. :)

 

-- Bob R

 

 

In this case, I might guess that those good old days did exist. I wonder at what point Gibson started offering mulitple variations on the J-45 (ignoring the J-50, which we might consider another model, just as the J-35 differs from the J-45)? We know that sometime in the mid/late 1950's, the adj bridge became an option some years before it became the only show in town.

 

We also know that sometime in the mid/late 1960's, you could apparently get either the cherryburst or the traditional sunburst J-45 at the same time. Maybe that was the tip of the iceberg. What was available in the 70's, 80's, etc, before the floodgates of J-45 "modelmania" opened?

 

As far as the SJ-200 goes, the fact that there are potentially 47 variants blows my mind.

[drathbun]

Yes! My first Gibson acoustic was a 1970s hummingbird that I'm still trying to forget. My second was an excellent 1991 koa J-200 that I sold about a decade ago to fund the purchase of my first vintage Gibson, a 1928 L-1.

 

I feel your pain JT. My first "real" guitar was a '77 Hummingbird. It made me swear off Gibsons for decades.

[rar]

... I wonder at what point Gibson started offering mulitple variations on the J-45 (ignoring the J-50, which we might consider another model, just as the J-35 differs from the J-45)? ...

1943. They always offered options -- all you had to do was ask. The only real difference is that Gibson and dealers now promote the availability of options. (Well, that and the fact more people want to buy something just a little different and "special" to distinguish themselves from the crowd.)

 

The promotion makes it harder to ignore the fact that if you want a rosewood J-45 or a J-45 with vine inlays on the fretboard or whatever, you can have one. You could have had on in the '50s or '60s too, but it was easy to be ignorant of or ignore the possibility.

 

-- Bob R

[Hogeye]

If you think that 47 varieties of J-200 is a lot then you will love the 55 + variations of J-45 they make. This number doesn't include the customs they build.