Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar  (Used)

Comments about Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

Great quality and great mojo if you can afford it.
I've owned this guitar from new for about three years. I 've been an accoustic player for 40 years. I think for me the action was just right. I have above medium size hands and and can fret firmly in all
positions. The guitar itself sounds really good. Construction is excellent from the Bozeman folks. I also own a Martin HD-28. The Gibson is a different animal than the Martin and BOTH have their positive aspects as far as sound, and definite differences. The quality of construction is equal. I use finger picks, and the Gibson steel strings sound great unplugged or plugged in. I'd pack this guitar anywhere. As far as tuning, I've found mostly all guitars are slightly quirky, but nut sauce is recommended in all cases and this usually keeps em from binding up a half tone off. Some nuts are not cut all alike. Mine is a good one.
Great job Gibson.

Comments about Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I have the same problem as others--- that the action is to high,but I love the guitar because it is a beatle's guitar.It sounds great.Both e strings slipped off the neck when you played.I had the nut replaced and it is better but the upper fretting is to high.I need to get the saddle lowered.I got to be in a real playing mood not to get frustrated.

Comments about Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I am getting around to giving a reveiw after owning this guitar for about 4 years.I bought this guitar from MF as a scratch and dent and that may be where some of the problems lie.The first thing that bothered me was the style of the finish.Gibson gave this one the same burst finish as the J-45 so that's the guitar it looks like. There should have been more attention to copying the original which had a reddish tint to it....look at the pics of the original.The guitar buzzed from the biginning especially on the treble E string first fret.It looks to me as if the Bone Nut was cut too low.This is a major faux pas for a company that values it's reputation and charges premium for it.I ditto the previous comments about the pickup wire being too long,too loose...it's floping arounf the soundhole.Gibson took the guitar and attempted to fix the buzzing frets but the guitar played the same when it got back after a month.I sent it back a second time and it's still has the same problem.The positive are that it does come very close to the original sound both acoustically and electrically.The tone with new martin strings is incredible.The woods are great and in general I have very Mixed feelings about this Baby.Possibly this was just one bad apple in the basket.

Comments about Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I've owned my J160E for two years. Like many of the others who commented here, the action was extremely high - I adjusted the neck, sanded down the saddle and now use light gauge strings and it plays and sounds great. I still feel the action is too high and will probably need to replace the bridge or have it sanded down as well. Like other folks, I have to wonder what Gibson is thinking when they ship this model out. Despite the preceding, I love this guitar! It definitely has that Beatles vibe, but also has a very unique sound (very different from other acoustics I own), and it is one cool looking guitar. I also installed a Fishman under the saddle pickup and it sounds great plugged in.

Comments about Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I bought my J160E about 3 years ago. I have bought a few other higher end Gibsons all with problems as well. This J160E had Scratches and imperfections in the finish. The bridge and nut height was way too high. The nut was cut with the high E too far out to edge so the string would slide off when used. The pick-up wiring was too long and picked up interference and was not grounded properly either. After I buffed out the finish, lowered the bridge by shaving the bottom of it off .002 inch, built a new nice BONE nut and leveled and crowned the frets and fixed the grounding problem, this is one fine guitar. This means that the wood material was good and that it was assembled well. But the quality of the employees workmanship on the finishing line was sad to say the least and bad overall, this was not a scratch and dent either. Gibson should pay me back for the work I had to put into it to bring it's finished quality in line. Gibson Just isn't what they use to be.

Comments about Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I've had my J-160E since 2002. It is totally different than my Martin D-35. I like the different Tones of each Guitar. The J-160E is especially great for Beatle Songs but everything else too. It has a unique Bright Sound. Very cool Sound! Very few Guitars look as great on Stage & in Pictures. Very cool image Guitar!I have all my Guitars Professionally Set up so that was no big deal. Have had to send it back to Gibson for Warranty work. Nothing major. Gibson was absolutely a Pleasure to work with. They did a great job & returned quickly.Love this Guitar 2nd to my Martin.

Comments about Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

The took possession of my j-160e a couple months ago. I have to tell you, the action was WAY too high. But I took it to the best guitar mechanic in Los Angeles, and he massaged it a bit. Once I got it back from the shop it was perfect Great Beatle look, great beatle sound... I am a bit dissapointed that the guitar comes with a check list that show that the guitar was inspected and passed? No good guitar player (and I am not) would agree that this guitar was ready to play out of the box.......

Comments about Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I am a Beatles fan from way back. I don't believe I would've have purchased this guitar if there was not a Beatles connection. It DOES have that early Beatles acoustic/rythem sound, however I am disappointed for a couple of reasons. Like many others who have written on the J-160, the action is extremely high. I had a luthier file down the saddle and that has helped, but it is still quite high making it difficult to play up and around the neck. Also, I own other acoustics that sound superior to this model. A good Gibson J45 is more full sounding and has better sustain than the J160. I had an under the saddle Fishman installed to allow a more true acoustic sound when plugged in, but kept the P90 pickup intact...I can switch between the two.Otherwise, the look, feel and workmanship is excellent.

Comments about Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I ordered this guitar and was disappointed in the quality of craftsmanship from Gibson. The lacquer finish had lots of scratches and abrasions that were very noticeable, and the cable from the pickup had come undone and was hanging in front of the sound hole. The action was rather high as well and it took a lot of effort to bar a chord above the 3rd fret. On the plus side, the sound I got from the guitar was great and lived up to what I had heard about it from other reviews. I suppose if I had paid the "blem" price, I would have considered keeping it and fixing as necessary, but at the full price it wasn't worth it.

Comments about Gibson J-160E Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I am very pleased with my J-160E guitar. It has a very good sound and plays very easily. I would say it is a good buy for a serious guitar player.