Gibson J-160E Model Flat Top Acoustic-Electric Guitar (1955), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany back,sides and neck, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, original brown hard shell case.
One of the more specialized Gibsons of the 1950's was this electrified flat top, the J-160E, introduced in late 1954. Designed specifically for country/Western performers getting drowned out by their increasingly well-amplified bands, this fairly fancy 16" Jumbo sported the same electronics and cosmetic features as the earlier small-body CF-100E.
The J-160E is far better remembered, however, not because of any success in the C&W field but as one of the iconic Beatles guitars of the 1960's. John Lennon and George Harrison used early 1960's J-160E's as recording and touring instruments extensively during the first half of the band's most successful period, and the Gibson remains indelibly linked to the Beatles' legacy.
This a very fine first-year J-160E that is easily the best-sounding example we have heard. While nearly all original J-160's feature a laminated top, this very early guitar has a solid spruce top, giving it a much finer acoustic tone. The solid top was a short lived feature, as Gibson's engineers found that the decreased resonance of a laminated soundboard was less prone to feedback when amplified. This J-160E is a particularly distinctive sounding guitar, with the crisp and recording-friendly "Beatle-y" tone the model is famous for enhanced and deepened.
Overall length is 41 1/2 in. (105.4 cm.), 16 1/8 in. (41 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 5 in. (12.7 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
Very nicely original 1950's guitar; some minor wear overall and one notiecable repaired crack on outer pickguard edge. Easily one of the nicest-playing and sounding J-160E's we have ever had. Excellent Condition.
