- 1964 ?the Gibson? Logo J200N Brazilian rosewood in Reading, Pennsylvania For Sale

xxxx ?the Gibson? Logo J200N Brazilian rosewood. xxxx46 back headstock with custom inlay. Scrimshaw truss cover ivory, pins and saddle and matching end pin. Imperial Grover U.S.A. Vintage tuners in gold. Custom bridge. Torch inlay along with pre war appointments on the headstock and logo. Ebony fretboard, pick guard and rosette inlay. Old growth, very straight grained, quarter sawn Brazilian rosewood back and sides.
1- 7/8" nut width but retains a lower profile neck for ease of play- Im a 1 11/16? nut guy religiously but this guitar has an incredible feel at the neck that plays much smaller, yet it exhibits obscure room for dexterity in elaborate picking or just strumming.
Crack free. Original Gibson case.
During the mid-xxxxs, Ray Whitley?one of the original singing cowboys?approached Gibson to build a custom acoustic. The result was the first J-200 in xxxx, which Whitley used exclusively for many years, and is now displayed at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.
This guitar resembles the first J200 and includes some L-5 appointments that have been copied or exaggerated; the similar pick guard shape, flowerpot peg head inlay, ebony finger board, multiple bound body and neck, the original head style from the L-5 (from which the Whitley j200 head stock got it's design), bridge arrangement style, neck volute transition and rosewood body. This could be the first attempt at similar build to the first j200 that Whitley commissioned Gibson to build for him in xxxx and this example has been taken to a level of dynamics surpassing the original including quarter sawn, old growth Brazilian rosewood.
The art deco style inlays found on this guitar date back to Paris in the xxxxs and flourished internationally throughout the xxxxs and into the World War II era, but then declined in popularity. Then in the xxxxs there was a resurgence of this style that is translated through this custom build.
When the first super jumbo 200 debuted in xxxx, it had rosewood back and sides as standard. Gibson was using Indian rosewood on their guitars at that time and only had a few scarce instances of Brazilian. The rosewood examples I have seen have been all flat swan. In xxxx maple became the standard on the J200 and the rest is history.
This guitar has non standard xxxx features but features of the first J200 in xxxx: ebony fretboard, multi bound neck, ebony guard also bound.
Here is the serial number info from Gibson customer service I received on 3-15-xxxx:
"Hi,
Thanks for sending the pictures. This does appear to be a custom ordered J-200 model. Unfortunately, we do not have spec records for custom ordered guitars from this time, so we are unable to tell if all the customizations were made by Gibson. However, in the Gibson shipping ledger archives, the serial number xxxx46 shows a "J-200N w/special neck" shipped from the factory on 11-18-xxxx. Thanks again, and I hope this helps!!"
Jon Sutherland
Gibson Customer Service
www.gibson.com