Gibson J-160E

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Gibson J-160E
John Lennon's 1962 Gibson J-160E
Manufacturer	Gibson
Period	1954–present
Construction
Body type	Round-shoulder dreadnought
Neck joint	Dovetail
Woods
Body	Sitka Spruce top Mahogany back and sides
Neck	Mahogany
Fretboard	Rosewood
Hardware
Bridge	Rosewood
Pickup(s)	uncovered P-90[1]
Colors available
Natural, Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Vintage Sunburst

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

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[]

• 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]
• 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[]