Gibson Everly Brothers J180

CountryDave

https://guitar.com/news/gear-news/gibson-everly-brothers-j-180-acoustic/?fbclid=IwAR1aIRLhAynmnVtIY_cV6UlNm_6boVp3xkh7rWPn4hlnX_CGi6rZQwwEeRQ_aem_AWrfia8cmhgU187j4WCpjIDYtLePqoB8cz8MEwNiudy1OmvQ51OYOGYViGYOX_hOirg#lu9z42pw28msxhcvnch

One to add to the ‘When I win the lottery’ list. Or more realistically, I hope they do an Epiphone Inspired version.

oh_pollo

I don't think it's that guitar but there's a bit in the Everly Brothers documentary where Chet Atkins is showing them some old timey licks on a guitar that he's borrowed off them and at the end he hands the guitar back to them and say's, "That's a piece of crap."

ICBM

Love those. Shame they're so expensive.

I had a nice Hondo copy of one years ago... probably should have kept it.

Kittyfrisk

Cat Stevens (pre conversion days) managed to make one sound pretty good too.

guitarjack66

Kittyfrisk said:

Cat Stevens (pre conversion days) managed to make one sound pretty good too.

Good on him for converting from Gibson! Even he saw how expensive they are.

Tannin

Is it not rather sad that all the effort has gone into cosmetics and marketing instead of actually making a better instrument?  

ElectricXII

Who's going to buy these, though? People in their 70s and 80s? The Everly Brothers fan base must be diminishing very fast.

CountryDave

ElectricXII said:

Who's going to buy these, though? People in their 70s and 80s? The Everly Brothers fan base must be diminishing very fast.

Take away the Everly Bros link and (for me) it’s still one of the coolest looking acoustics.

Tannin

^ I can see why you would feel that way, @CountryDave. Fair enough.

For me, I just can't bring myself to like any acoustic with an opaque finish. My first thought is always "Why did they paint it? What horrible things is that paint there to hide?" and I could own one for years and still think that. 

Different matter in an electric (where, after all, the timber doesn't matter the way it does on an acoustic).   

(One exception: I don't mind opaque finishes on a carbon fibre guitar where, after all, there is no timber. Every so often I think about buying an Emerald as a travel guitar.)

I've always sort-of-hankered after a J-200, never had the chance to play one though.

ICBM

I love the sound of them too - they’re not conventionally great-sounding, but they have a thumpy, percussive attack and short sustain, great for rhythmic strumming, which of course is exactly what the Everlys needed.

CountryDave

Tannin said:

^ I can see why you would feel that way, @CountryDave. Fair enough.

For me, I just can't bring myself to like any acoustic with an opaque finish. My first thought is always "Why did they paint it? What horrible things is that paint there to hide?" and I could own one for years and still think that. 

Different matter in an electric (where, after all, the timber doesn't matter the way it does on an acoustic).   

(One exception: I don't mind opaque finishes on a carbon fibre guitar where, after all, there is no timber. Every so often I think about buying an Emerald as a travel guitar.)

I've always sort-of-hankered after a J-200, never had the chance to play one though.

At 5 foot 5 the J200 would make me look like Little Jimmy Dickens.  The 180 and 185 are about the limit.

The J200 is very nice though.

SRich

ElectricXII said:

Who's going to buy these, though? People in their 70s and 80s?

Let's not forget Billy Joe Armstrong has had an artist model at one time.....and Taylor Swift must surely have influenced some buyers. Similarly Roger Daltrey.

I recall reading that the huge dual pickguards have a deadening affect on the soundboard....so maybe it is just a very pretty but expensive Gibson.

Still a 'wuff' acoustic for me though

Tannin

SRich said:

I recall reading that the huge dual pickguards have a deadening affect on the soundboard....so maybe it is just a very pretty but expensive Gibson.

Pickguards do have an effect on the sound. Large or small, dual or single, there is an effect. Mostly it's small enough not to worry too much about, but those huge dual ones on this one, and also on the Tom Petty J-200 ... well, you have to wonder.

Tannin

BTW, will some kind soul remind me of the difference between a J-200, J-180, and J-185?

GoFish

CountryDave said:

ElectricXII said:

Who's going to buy these, though? People in their 70s and 80s? The Everly Brothers fan base must be diminishing very fast.

Take away the Everly Bros link and (for me) it’s still one of the coolest looking acoustics.

I'm actually more into the Everley Brothers the older I get, but I take your point. They were a favourite of my Pa. Still are, probably. When I really got into 50's RnB and RnR, they started to make total sense to me.

CountryDave

Tannin said:

BTW, will some kind soul remind me of the difference between a J-200, J-180, and J-185?

Different body sizes, plus I believe different build materials, all depending on model.