1964 Gibson J200

Good Gibson J-200s, even vintage ones, are not easy to find. Often, the maple gives them an excessive aggressiveness, and few of them deliver true projection. The sound generally stays contained, with a very short sustain that doesn’t encourage venturing beyond the first three frets for strumming.

And then sometimes you come across a magical example that puts all the others to shame, helping to better understand why so many great musicians have chosen the Kalamazoo giant as their preferred partner (beyond, of course, its undeniably cool look). A good J-200 breathes with a real presence—the big volume you expect from its size but without muddiness in the lows, thanks to the crispness provided by the maple. When you’re lucky enough to find such a J-200, you shouldn’t hesitate long. Especially when it’s in magnificent condition for a guitar that just celebrated its sixtieth anniversary.

This one was at the Retrofret showroom in Brooklyn, and it probably wouldn’t have stayed there long if it hadn’t come to live in France. Apart from the tuners, it’s entirely original, in perfect condition—not mint, but not relic either: once again, it’s all about balance. As shown by the beautiful groove worn into the top between the rosette and the pickguard, right on the pick’s path, this J-200 was heavily played, which probably also explains why it sounds so good. It was the workhorse of a Nashville country session musician who used it for countless rhythm parts heard repeatedly on the radio, and it’s well on its way to continuing to impose its magical tone for a long time to come.

This guitar is regularly loaned to visiting artists recording in Paris studios and never fails to amaze those who play it at the showroom.