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Gold Grover Imperial
Tuners
Grover’s
Imperial tuners are a member of the company’s vintage line,
making their first appearance in the early 1970s. Today’s
Imperials are exact reproductions of the original, including
their unique three-step buttons, a design trademarked by
Grover. Using today’s technology, the Imperials deliver the
performance exactly suited for the J-200 Custom. With a gear
ratio of 16:1, the Imperials deliver tuning in a durable
housing that provides maximum protection for the gear and
string post. All moving parts are cut for exact meshing,
eliminating the possibility of slippage. A special lubricant
inside the gear box provides smooth and accurate tuning
stability.
Abalone Rosette
A rosette is
the beautiful, hand-crafted circle around the soundhole, and
can be one of the most ornamental elements of any acoustic
guitar. It is also one of the most subtle and complicated
woodworking decorations on any acoustic guitar. The rosette
on the J-200 Custom is one of Gibson’s finest. It is a
double-ring rosette with an abalone-filled middle. The main
ring consists of seven-ply binding, and the second ring is
three-ply binding, adding a stylish, understated elegance to
the J-200 Custom.
Ebony Fingerboard with Rolled Edges and Graduated Crown
InlaysThe
fingerboard of Gibson’s J-200 Custom is constructed from the
highest grade ebony on earth, which is personally inspected
and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled experts before it
enters the Gibson factories. The resilience of this durable
wood makes the fingerboard extremely balanced and stable,
and gives each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite.
The J-200 Custom's graduated crown inlays are made of
genuine mother of pearl, and are inserted into the
fingerboard using a process that eliminates gaps and doesn’t
require the use of fillers. The fingerboard also sports a
rolled edge—instead of the usual right angle where the
fingerboard surface meets the neck, Gibson Acoustic’s rolled
edge is slightly beveled for an extremely smooth and
comfortable feel, enhancing the playability of the J-200
Custom.
Fishman Ellipse Aura
Electronics Package
Gibson’s J-200
Custom comes equipped with a built-in Fishman Ellipse Aura
electronics package, which combines Fishman’s most
sophisticated onboard preamp design with the power of the
popular Aura Acoustic Imaging Technology. The result is
acoustic sound that is exceptionally accurate and true to
life. Already loaded onto the system are four images that
best match the instrument’s natural tonal characteristics.
You can make adjustments to any of them using the system’s
Pickup/Image Blend or Volume controls, or use the switchable
Natural I and Natural II low frequencies for tone shaping.
You can also control feedback with the Phase switch and
automatic Anti-Feedback device control. The pickup's
ergonomic soundhole-mounted design puts slider controls at
your fingertips so you can maintain a natural playing
position at all times. The Fishman Ellipse Aura is used by
such noted musicians as Brad Paisley, Pete Townshend and
Travis Tritt.
Bracing
Every acoustic
guitar made by Gibson features hand-scalloped, radiused top
bracing inside the body, a feature normally found only in
limited run, hand-made guitars. By scalloping each brace by
hand, the natural sound of the acoustic is focused more
toward the center of the body, enhancing the instrument’s
sound projection. The lightweight bracing pattern inside the
J-200 Custom—the same pattern used in Gibson’s first Super
Jumbo in 1937—is constructed to support and strengthen a
very large surface, thus allowing the top more freedom of
movement to vibrate and project sound. The placement of the
braces inside the J-200 Custom also creates powerful, deep
lows with full frequency range, producing the incredibly
balanced, huge sound Gibson’s Super Jumbos are so noted for.
Gibson Logo
The
Gibson name has graced the most innovative and
revolutionary acoustic guitars of our time—the Super
Jumbos, the J-45, the Hummingbird, the Dove. There
is no mistaking the classic, mother-of-pearl logo,
pressed onto the face of the headstock. It
represents more than a century of originality and
excellence. There is simply no equal.
Dovetail Neck
Joint
The dovetail
neck joint is one of the oldest—and best—ways of securely
joining the neck to the body of a guitar. It is also a
complex and expensive neck joint to build, but the result is
a tight, locking connection that supports the neck at the
proper neck-pitch angle, allowing the body and neck to
become one solid piece of resonating wood, with no metal to
impede vibration. This process is done entirely by hand,
requiring patience and skill.
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Nitrocellulose Finish
Applying a
nitrocellulose finish to any Gibson acoustic guitar — including the
J-200 Custom — is one of the most labor-intensive elements of the
guitar-making process. Unlike the polyurethane finishes used by many
guitar manufacturers, a nitrocellulose lacquer finish is porous when
cured, allowing the wood to naturally “breathe” and mature.
Microscopically thin, the finish on a Gibson acoustic guitar first
requires seven main coats of nitrocellulose lacquer. After drying
overnight, the initial seven coats are then level sanded and given
two additional coats. Left to dry for five additional days, the
finish is then wet sanded and buffed to its final glass-like sheen.
The time-consuming nature of applying a nitro finish has been
employed ever since the first Gibson guitar was swathed with lacquer
back in 1894. Why? For starters, a nitro finish means there is less
interference with the natural vibration of the instrument, allowing
for a purer tone. It’s also a softer finish, making it easily
repairable. You can touch up a scratch or ding on a nitro finish,
but you can’t do the same on a poly finish.
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Radius Top
The
top of many “flat-top” guitars are under a lot of
stress from the pull of the strings, which can
eventually compromise the top. So, while most
acoustic guitars are true “flat-top” guitars, all of
the acoustics produced by Gibson in Bozeman, Montana
have a radiused, or “tuned” top. Instead of being
perfectly flat, a radiused or “tuned” top is raised
slightly, and a special instrument is used to shape
the top braces to the radius of the top. This
process adds tension and strengthens the top,
creating a less stressful joint where the top meets
the sides and reducing the stresses of string pull.
It also results in a “speaker cone” effect that
maximizes sound projection, adding a significant
boost to mid-range levels for a more balanced
acoustic tone.
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Body
Binding
In
general, a guitar’s binding serves as a cosmetic
feature, adding a subtle elegance to any Gibson
acoustic while hiding the joints between the
top, back, and sides, and helping to protect the
guitar’s body from any nicks or dings. But to
see the process of putting the binding on a
Gibson acoustic is to really appreciate the
effort and attention put into each instrument.
After the body has been glued together, the
excess from the top and back are trimmed off and
a groove is cut for the binding. The binding is
then glued on and held on to the body using tape,
and hung to dry. When the tape comes off, any
excess glue is removed and the body is moved
into the next phase of production. It has been
done the same way for over 100 years, and is a
fundamental part of Gibson Acoustic’s rich
guitar-making history.
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