Why no love for the J160e?

cowboy_joe · Post by **cowboy_joe** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:09 am

This is a silly question, but it occurred to me, while playing my own electric jumbo, that for the Beatles (especially John) the J160e was a go-to guitar, and does a better job of serving double duty as both acoustic and electric guitar than anything else out there. I, personally, think it's pretty underrated plugged in--the obvious I Feel Fine effect is known, but listen to From Me to You and She Loves You--it's a full rhythm sound, without taking up too much precious space in the mix.

Still, most folks, myself included, will go on and on about their great Rics, Fender's, etc, and mention in passing they've got a J160, and it's great. It was never meant to be a flash guitar, like Rics have become and Strats have always been, but it does what it was made to do very well.

Scastles · Post by **Scastles** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:28 am

Agreed, Joe. The J160 was a Lennon mainstay. I don't think it is underrated by anyone, maybe unintentionally overlooked sometimes.

levykev · Post by **levykev** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 10:11 am

i remember seeing a live clip of the beatles and john playing "i feel fine" on the acoustic. cool.

wj350 · Post by **wj350** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 11:27 am

Great guitar...I picked one up in Nov, a new model, and while I understand there's a great deal of opinion on how close this guitar is to those of John and George's era, it's a fantastic instrument in my view.

I guess in some eyes it lacks "flash", but I find myself reaching for her anytime I'm in the mood for acoustic, whether it be Beatles or not.

FWIW, Epi's version isn't bad either--the EJ-160E; it's a slightly longer scale than the Gibby, and has a mini 'bucker as opposed to the P-90, but it's a great sounding and playing guitar as well--and much easier on the budget.

Bill

kog · Post by **kog** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:56 pm

Also agreed here. As a kid, I always preferred to see them with their Gretschs, Ricks and Hofners. It was only as I got older I started understanding and appreciating the part those guitars played. I also believe that John used the J-160E for the actual recording of "I Feel Fine"...another thing that blew me away. I just always figured it was George on the Gretsch.

I, myself, have an EPI EJ-160E. I wanted the "vibe" but was less concerned about having a "real" Gibson, especially since I could take the $1600 price difference and buy another Rick! But I'm very happy with it -- I know the Epi has some different specs, different electronics, but with regular electric flatwound stings on it, I can get a lot of the early Beatles sounds, even that distinctive chimey ring of the J-160. And, I can get a dead-on duplication of the distortion "A" note at the beginning of "I Feel Fine"!

cowboy_joe · Post by **cowboy_joe** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 5:58 am

I don't think there's anything wrong with the epi J160e--I use on stage and as a backup--it's a bit of feedback prone, as we know, but very workable. Of course, the Gibson is much nicer guitar, but not the sort of thing I'd want to gig with much.

It is funny, though, playing it electrically live--it makes some people mad when they can't figure out how you're getting that thick, growling sound out of an acoustic guitar

britye · Post by **britye** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:12 am

I too have a EJ-160E of course I have never played the J-160 so I have no way to compare however I am quite satisfied with the Epi and twas much easier on the wallet.

nal26 · Post by **nal26** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:34 pm

Hey guys, long time viewer, first time poster (ha-ha...) any road, I got my EJ-160E recently and I was hoping the experts here could tell me exactly what are the best "suitable" upgrades for the guitar. I did put vintage Gibson knobs on, but being a novice guitar player, I didn't know how far to go. Also, last year, I purchased one of my "holy grails", an 05' 350v63JG! (wasn't sure about learning with the smaller scale 325.) I've been in Rickenheaven ever since.

cowboy_joe · Post by **cowboy_joe** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:35 pm

Lanny, you can mod a lot of things on your Epiphone, depending on how far you want to go, and whether or not you want an instrument as close to vintage one as possible, or just a good playing guitar.

On my epi, the only critical work I had done was have the strings grounded so I could play electrically without excessive hum. Most will probably replace the tuning heads, as well, with whatever they like--I have Grovers on mine. If your a real purist, you can replace the P100 with a P90, but the price you pay is more single coil hum. For me, I kept the P100. You might want to upgrade the nut and saddle as well, there are tones of options out there. I also bought new bridge pins, just because the originals on mine didn't fit too well, such is the price of mass production. For strings, I like the DR Zebra, electric acoustic strings, though if you want true Beatle tone you'll want to use heavy gauge flat wounds.

karl_teten · Post by **karl_teten** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:45 pm

Lot's of love here! I own a '57 that is modded to '62 spec. My favorite songwriting acoustic.

lawton · Post by **lawton** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:04 pm

Hey guys,

I have a J-160E Standard (current production 2005 model), and I really love the guitar. The current version differs from John's & George's guitars in several ways. The P100 vs P90 difference has been mentioned (current model has the stacked humbucker P100). Most significantly the current J-160E is a built as a high end solid wood topped round-shoulder acoustic. The '63 J-160E models the Beatles owned & played were laminate top (multi-ply) with P90s. They supposedly weren't as good as acoustic guitars tonally as what Gibson produces now. Most of the recording that was done with the J-160E at Abbey Road, though, was done acoustically (mic'd up, not plugged in), and it sounds fine to me!

Anyway, I DO gig with mine plugged in. It sounds great through my AC50-into-Weber Alnico Blue Dog setup.

wj350 · Post by **wj350** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 4:57 am

I actually tend to play the 160 and EJ more unplugged than I do plugged in. Even with TI Flats on them, both guitars have great acoustic tone to my (admittedly unrefined) ear.

nal26 · Post by **nal26** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 6:01 am

Thanks Joe and David for the advice and welcome. Hey, back when Gibson released the limited-edition John Lennon J-160E back in the late nineties (?), did they actually produce a psychedelic (Sgt. P) paint job version? I've seen the sunburst and peace versions on ebay, but no purple/blue J-160E.

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 6:47 am

I've got a '96 J160E NOS that I bought last year. The guitar sounds 'dead' plugged-in, no doubt due to the fact that it has old acoustic strings on it. I recently bought several sets of electric .011's for my reissue Tennessean (because the factory strings wouldn't intonate properly). Do you think I should put electric .011's on the J160E? Will it sound okay when it's not plugged-in?

cowboy_joe · Post by **cowboy_joe** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 7:39 am

.11's are a bit light, I would say, though it depends on your touch. And if I was going to use electric strings, I think I would have to use flats, or at least a semi flat. As I said, my choice is the DR Zebra string--it's the best dual purpose string I've encountered--I wish I has some sound samples to put up, but I don't. Acoustically, it's nice and bright, and electrically its thick and mellow.