Gibson J-160E

The Gibson J-160E is one of the first acoustic-electric guitars produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

Gibson J-160E
John Lennon's 1962 Gibson J-160E
ManufacturerGibson
Period1954–present
Construction
Body typeRound-shoulder dreadnought
Neck jointDovetail
Woods
BodySitka Spruce top
Mahogany back and sides
NeckMahogany
FretboardRosewood
Hardware
BridgeRosewood
Pickup(s)uncovered P-90[1]
Colors available
Natural, Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Vintage Sunburst

The J-160E was Gibson's second attempt at creating an acoustic-electric guitar (the first being the small-body CF-100E[2]). The basic concept behind the guitar was to fit a single-pickup into a normal-size dreadnought acoustic guitar. The J-160E used plywood for most of the guitar's body, and was ladder-braced, whereas other acoustic Gibsons were X-braced. The rosewood fingerboard had trapezoid inlays, and the guitar had an adjustable bridge. For amplification, a single-coil pickup (an uncovered P-90 pickup)[1] was installed under the top of the body with the pole screws protruding through the top at the end of the fingerboard, with a volume and a tone knob.

John Lennon and George Harrison frequently used one with The Beatles, both on-stage and in the studio. Gibson produces a standard J-160E and a John Lennon J-160E Peace model, based on the J-160E he used during the Bed-In days of 1969. Epiphone makes an EJ-160E John Lennon replica signature model.

Notable J-160E users
Main article: List of Gibson players
  • Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees plays a J-160E, and can be seen in several live performances of the band from 1967 to 1968.
  • Sam Lightnin' Hopkins played a J-160E which is on display at the Rock Hall of Fame.
  • Richard Barone plays a J-160E as his primary acoustic guitar on solo and band performances and with The Bongos.
  • Pete Doherty of the Libertines/babyshambles plays a J-160E during most of his solo appearances.
  • Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde of Chad and Jeremy played J-160E guitars from 1964 to 1968.
  • Peter Asher and Gordon Waller of Peter and Gordon played J-160E guitars, and can be seen in live acts in US during the 2000s.
  • Steve Marriott of Small Faces used a J-160E as the main acoustic guitar for the 1967 album Small Faces.
  • Mike Viola of Mike Viola and The Candy Butchers uses a J-160E with a Fishman blend Pickup.
  • Elvis Costello uses a J-160E.
  • Aimee Mann used a vintage J-160E as her primary stage guitar from the early 1990s through 2008, when the guitar was damaged in an auto accident[3]
  • John McClung of Weekend State uses a J-160E.
  • Dan Healy uses a 2005 Gibson Historic Collection J-160E with a P-100 pickup, solid spruce top with X bracing and solid mahogany back and sides. The guitar can be heard in tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10 on the Ronan Keating 2016 album Time of My Life.
  • George Harrison's Official Facebook Page posted this note on June 4, 2015: "George used his J-160E live, on television, and it's the only instrument used on every Beatles album from Please Please Me to Abbey Road."
  • Michael McKean played a J-160E as “Lenny” in the February 1978 episode “The Second (Almost) Shotz Talent Show”.

References
  1. "70th Anniversary John Lennon J-160E: Features". Gibson Guitar Corp. Archived from the original on 2015-06-19. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
    "The 70th Anniversary John Lennon J-160E is built in the exacting image of the groundbreaking original J-160E of the 1950s and '60s. ... Gibson applied a great deal of forward-looking, out-of-the-box thinking to the design of the J-160E in 1954. ... To build one of the world's first truly successful electro-acoustic guitars, Gibson re-drew the blueprint: it crafted a three-layer laminated Sitka spruce top with ladder bracing specifically to resist feedback, used a mahogany back and sides for added warmth and richness, added an adjustable bridge, and installed a P-90 pickup (without traditional cover) beneath the top at the end of the fingerboard, along with a single volume and tone control and a 1/4" output jack. In addition, the guitar's solid mahogany neck was attached at the 15th fret to give performers plenty of access to the highest of the instrument's jumbo frets."
  2. Duchossoir, A. R. (1998). "CF-100E". Gibson Electrics – The Classic Years. Musical Instruments Series. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-7935-9210-4.
    "As implied by its designation, the CF-100E is the electric version of the CF-100 Florentine cutaway acoustic introduced by Gibson in 1950. First marketed in 1951, the model was discontinued in 1959 owing to its flagging sales. ... / NECK • 24 3/4" scale length ... • 19-fret bound rosewood fingerboard ... / Structurally, the CF-100E was a fancier off-shoot of the traditional LG series built with a sharp Florentine cutaway. The main evolution during the 50s was the inception of a 20-fret fingerboard in 1955. / SHIPPING TOTALS – A total of 1,257 CF-100Es were shipped between 1951 and 1959 with a peak of 250 instruments in 1952."
  3. "Aimee Mann Equipboard". Equipboard. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
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