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I have a new customer pending i can copy his dream guitar. which is a Gibson J-200. My best guess a mid 55-65 it has the "Johnny Cash" signature down the fretboard and a big ugly pick guard. anyway i assumed right off the start that the back and sides were flamed maple. now from pictures i have seen of him and this guitar i can not tell. and i have read that lots of the high end ones were actually made with rosewood around these years. i can not even find a site that lists this as a model so im assuming this is just his personal guitar that he had outfitted with this pick guard and inlay.
The only reason I'm posting this is to ask if anyone out there in guitar land knows if that guitar was in fact rosewood or flamed maple. i would hate to start off completely wrong i mean the difference between rosewood and maple i hate that i cant find the answer on the internet!

forgot the pictures he sent me. basically the only ones i can find.

http://members.multimania.nl/jurgenspage/hpbimg/JohnnyCash%20with%20guitar.jpg

http://dkpresents.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/the-fabulous-johnny-cash.jpg

http://reccenterwreck.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/008.jpg

oh and i also found this picture says its a 1940's j-200
http://nashvilleguitarcompany.susiecoleman.com/files/2009/09/SJ-200inside-4.jpg will come in handy.
notice the flatsawn rosewood?

Looks like maple through the soundhole to me

Through the soundhole in the reccenterwreck.com link you've got, it kinda looks like mahogany. No noticable color, grain, or curl.
This photo looks like curly maple, though, on the spots on the sides that aren't colored:
http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheselvedgeyard.files.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F42-16891141.jpg&sref=http%3A%2F%2Ftheselvedgeyard.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F05%2Fyou-look-so-money-johnny-cash-slicked-back-style-of-the-50s-60s%2F

You might want to just ask the client what his goal(s) are and what his impression of what the Johnny Cash guitar is. Sometimes expectations are more important than historical accuracy.

-j.

_________________
“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

Here's a link to someone that restored a 1940 J-200 - says it's rosewood.
http://nashvilleguitarcompany.com/restoration-gallery/1940-gibson-j-200-brazilian-rosewood/

Here's a link to a page that says Gibson he owned was a 1958. No details on materials though.
http://www.acousticguitar.com/issues/ag ... r102.shtml

I'd be willing to bet it was maple.
You may want to post this question on the UMGF in the Vintage Corner. There are some folks there who are very knowledgeable about old Gibsons.
Good luck, Kevin

thanks that is helpful now that i have a year and model to look for.

and the sound hole i never thought of that.seems inconclusive still. sounds like rosewood was only used for a few years in production models then only by request on the j-200's.

i will try and contact this guy again and see what kind of sound he would describe the guitar as. should be able to tell if hes talking about maple or rosewood.

thanks and keep the observations coming. does anyone know if there are detailed plans out there for the j-200 it is a pretty popular model someone must have drawn it up.

Just looked it up in 'Acoustic Guitars and Other fretted Instruments' - Brazilian rosewood was standard on pre-war SJ-200's. They've got a picture of a maple one marked as 'late '30's', so presumably maple was an option at the time. If it looks dark, I'd say it's rosewood.
Cheers,
Bri



Just looked at the pictures posted - looks like maple to me. The rosewood ones aren't sunbursted, just plain wood.

the one he is playing on the couch is definitely maple .... rosewood would not get done in a burst to look that light on the bouts.

not that I am much of an expert, but almost all the J-200s I have seen were maple, either natural, or burst finish. I know they did make rosewood ones, but I think they were more rare.

_________________
Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Take a look here;
http://home.provide.net/~cfh/j200.html
He says Indian rosewood was standard pre-war, not Brazilian- my bad. I read an article years ago about a prototype which definitely was Brazilian, so they do exist.. Maple didn't become the standard til 1947.
Cheers,
Bri

There is a guy is our local Oldtime music and Bluegrass club that has a mid 50's J 200 and it is maple with a burst, and the maple is not very figured. It is a cool guitar which he has owned all of its life and it has the nice old Gibson sound.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

How about this as a point of reference?

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mv ... t3R0TgN6cg

It looks like the Cleveland Rock'n'Roll museum.

( Johnny Cash Acoustic guitar /1959 Gibson J-200/)


cheers.

Unless his guitar was a special order, it is Maple. I am pretty sure rosewood was only used on production J-200s pre-WW2, not post war.

Glenn

http://rockhall.com/media/assets/in_the ... eature.pdf

"custom-made 1959 J-200" picture in Rolling Stone mag. article.

I'd contact the museum staff.

cheers

of course its custom made .. I want Johnny Cash inlaid on the FB, and a big-@ss ugly pickguard ... can you do that ..

_________________
Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Well, I was thinking that was after market - I was thinking it was too ugly to be factory

Glenn

yeah it would be great to talk the guy into maybe half that. i would prefer a clear one haha so maple sounds right.thanks everybody now i can at least price this out accurately for him.

Right .. too ugly to be factory .. cause they never make anything that ugly .. ever seen a Les Paul with what the salesguy at one of my local shops and I refer to as the puke-burst ???? Kinda yucky green and yellow ... its all factory, and its UGLY.

I'm just sayin ....

_________________
Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Ugly, dont you guys dig teh 'bat wings?