Gibson Custom Johnny A. Signature Electric Guitar with Bigsby  

I own 6 guitars which I consider to be representative of what masters of the art are capable of designing, building and playing in a manner which exceeds almost all others.  These guitars range from a Gibson 1964 SG in Cherry with the stock vibrola to a Black 1992 Les Paul Standard for electrics and from a 1994 Yairi CY 118 classical to a 1982 Martin D-28.  But, of all the guitars I own or have owned, my 2010 Johnny A Signature #953 with a Bigsby is my favorite by far.  The JA, in my opinion, is the most beautiful semi-hollow body ever made.  From the finish and complementing gold hardware; to the inlaid ebony fretboard and multi-layered bindings on the front, back, neck and peghead; it is an instrument that provides one who holds it a special feeling that one has been entrusted with making sure this instrument is played with reverence because it was meant to play great and to sound great.  If it does not sound great while you are playing it, you know that it is solely because of you and not the guitar.  At the same time, if you play it well and continue to improve, you will know that it is because of your talent and work, not because the guitar has made any further contribution.  The music that emanates from your guitar is now all yours and not the guitar's.

More specifically, the JA is a very comfortable and playable guitar with wonderul action and tone that makes string bending easy and double string bending to become a part of your musical skills.  It does so with standard .10-.46 strings.  The Bigsby has an impact on tuning, but the effect is less than I would expect.  Harmonics are perfectly in place along the strings and take on a crystal sound that I had always wished I could achieve.  The intonation of the guitar as I received it was as perfect as older ears could detect.  Of course, there are many sounds that are made from distortion type pedals and amp settings, but I will not address those because they go beyond the guitars natural capability.  While I am sure many players will be seeking their favorite sounds via alternate electronic means, my review speaks as much to the natural sound of the instrument using as few effects as possible.  Besides,if you want to disguise the sound of your guitar so much as in the metal music one might be interested in, I do not think spending the money for a JA will give you the return you seek on your investment if your playing is principally linked to noise based frequency control.

The JA is a guitar much more suited to jazz, rock or other types of music where the crystal clean or smooth sounds of the instrument are what are allowed to flow through the speakers.  Yes, the JA may be used to create many sounds in conjunction with its amplifier or other sound fx equipment but one would certainly not need to spend the money on a JA to achieve that purpose.

In summary, I believe the Johnny A Signature is one of the best electric guitars made.  It is made in limited quantities because the number of excellent musicians who can play this instrument have been made in limited quantities.  While the market for guitars has changed over the last 10-15 years.  I hope there will remain a production source for guitars like the JA for years to come.

10

The pickups are the common '57 classics. I have 3 guitars with these same pickups and they all sound different, so the difference has to be in the body design. I have a LP classic, a CS356, and the Johnny A. The sustain on this guitar is amazing, especially considering it is a real hollow body (no center block). The design of the body makes it possible to play loud without unwanted feedback. By unwanted I mean there's no roaring, droning hum or ear piercing screeches and squeals; in other words, no unmelodic 'sounds'. However, it will feedback and hold a note forever if that's what want, and that's what I want in feedback. The positioning of the toggle switch allows for easy trasition between neck and bridge pickups. It took a little getting used to for me because of my Les Paul experience over the years, but now I find it effortless. Even with the Bigsby being used (properly, that is), it stays in tune pretty much throughout the entire gig with only minor adjustment needed between sets. The finish is very durable and the neck profile is now my favorite. This is truly a unique Gibson product, pretty avante-garde for a company that seems to stick with tradition.

It is surprisingly light weight and estremely well balanced. The thick solid maple cap is very tough and the body, being basically one piece (carved out like a canoe on the back and sides - all one piece!) is very well thought out and tough. As with all REAL Gibson guitars, the nitro-cellulose lacquer finish requires a great deal of care, but I wouldn't have it any other way on a Gibson. I have other guitars with polyurethane finish coats, but when polished out this finish out shines them all. There was a great deal of finesse used in binding the double florentine body, and the inlays are immaculate with no glue showing around the edges. The finish was perfect to my sight and the shape of the body is a thing of beauty. Overall, the appointments are a work of art, beautifully and tastefully laid out. And the wood quality is top notch, absolutely the best.

I give it a 10 on value because of what I know went into building this thing. Hollow body guitars take far longer to build than solid body guitars, especially when the tops are actually carved instead of pressed. Granted, they use C&C machines for the bulk of it, but there's a lot of hand sanding involved in finishing these things out prior to applying the finish coatings. Compared to the ES335, with a pressed laminated top and laminated sides and back, it seems that this guitar would actually be priced a little higher. No matter to me - I bought it used and paid way less than a new one anyway. Honestly, I couldn't justify buying one new. Of course, the same goes for an L5 (Heck, I couldn't even justify buying an L5 used, but I would love to have one!).

I've owned my Johnny A. for about 4 years now and I don't go to gigs without it. At first, I was hesitant to bring such a nice instrument to just any gig, but now I feel naked without it. I find I'm getting my own unique tone with mine and it sounds as good on slow melodic intrumentals as it does on raunchy rock tunes, or vice-versa. I take my Les Paul and maybe my Tele, but the JA definitely gets more stage time. The ebony fret board makes bends a lot easier and the Bigsby is always nice to have for a little expression now and then. Aside from that, this thing is absolutely gorgeous. It always seems to draw out any other guitar players that may be listening in the audience - they've usually never seen one or even heard of it for that matter.