2011 Gibson J-185 60th Anniversary, Quilt

By Gibson
£4,850.00

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Stunning Gibson J-185 from 2011, a Limited Edition run of 60 guitars handmade by the master Luthiers in Bozeman Montana featuring specially selected Solid Adirondack Spruce and exquisite Quilted Maple. Released to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the release of the J-185 in 1951 the guitar was offered in Antique Natural and Vintage Sunburst.

Introduced in 1951 and discontinued in 1959 with only 270 natural-finish and 648 sunburst examples produced the J-185 is one of the most-fabled flat-top guitars in Gibsons history. As if often the case the J-185 was under-appreciated at the time but original examples today are highly sought for their 16" wide jumbo body shape, combination of Maple, Spruce and Mahogany Tonewoods and traditional Gibson 24 3/4” scale length.

The Limited Edition 60th Anniversary J-185 is produced from the finest traditional tonewoods, including a solid top made from prized Adirondack red spruce, with staggering quilted-maple back and sides. The top is braced with a traditional J-185 X-pattern with scalloped spruce bracing and bound in multi-ply binding with a double-ring rosette, multi-ply back binding, and a tortoise J-185 pickguard. The neck is profiled from solid mahogany to a comfortable modified "V" profile, attached with a compound dovetail joint secured with hot hide glue. The rosewood fingerboard is inlaid with mother-of-pearl parallelograms, to mirror the mother-of-pearl Gibson headstock logo and crown inlay.

This guitar is a spectacular example, the Quilt Maple used has a particularly 3D quality when viewed from all angles accentuated by the Antique Natural nitrocellulose finish. The guitar has been played but kept impeccably with nothing more than the faintest of polish swirls and lightest wear to the frets to show for. In use the guitar feels very comfortable, the 16” Jumbo body shape in combination with the traditional Gibson scale help keep the J-185 feeling more manageable and compact than its larger cousin the J-200 without compromising on tone. This J-185 has a great punchy voice with plenty of projection and power with more of a warmer, woodier tone when compared to the J-200.

The guitar is in fantastic condition throughout and comes with the original pictured Gibson Case, Factory-Installed L.R Baggs Element pickup and Signed Limited Edition Certificates.