NEW ARRIVAL The J185 often goes under the radar, with the more famous J200 taking all the plaudits for being Gibson’s best known Spruce / Maple jumbo. Well the J185 is essentially a mini jumbo, with Spruce top and highly flamed Maple back and sides. It has its own recognisable features – the split parallelogram inlays on the bound fingerboard, 50’s style tortoise pickguard, and very distinctive Maltese Cross bridge inlays. The smaller body accentuates the mid range response, packing more of a punch, with the Maple adding brightness to the trebles, while the bass sits evenly in the mix. It’s a very versatile guitar, often used for country playing because of the treble response, but equally at home with Americana, folk and blues. It strums out well, but works well with fingerstyle and flat picking. The guitar is in good condition, with a reasonable amount of playwear for a 23 year old, and has a visible scratch on the top, bass side lower bout, which has been neatly over sprayed. The neck feels very comfortable with easy playing action, and it comes in an upgraded Hiscox flight case.
