AJ vs J-185

[RnB]

Been thinking about a Gibson acoustic lately. Seeing as I've been w/ Martins for years, I'm trying to get some feedback on a couple of Gibsons that are prodding me. I did play a friends CL-40 from the 90's and the thing sounded superb, but they are a rare. I have heard lots of good things about the AJ RI's as well as the J-185's (the maple ones), and was wondering what the differences might be, soundwise. I know the BRW AJ's are supposedly killer sounding, but I don't think I want to spend that much, so the IRW model is the more feasable one, even though it's available in other asst woods, I believe. Also, the AJ comes in 2 scale lengths, and how would that differ in sound & playability between the two.

Thanks....Rich

[sliding-tom]

I was in the market for an all solid woods acoustic guitar in the 90s and after a lot of research and reading I decided to go for a Gibson since I'm not much into dreadnoughts and I already had a small body Martin (not all solid, though). So it was either a J 185 (smaller than a J 200) or a roundshoulder Jumbo. Maple body was not a choice nor was mahogany - it had to be rosewood for me. Had a chance to try out a J 185RW body in a store and didn't like it. Still searching but not in a hurry I happened upon a AJ RI second-hand - more preowned than used and fell deeply in love. I didn't even know what model that was only later I found out that the AJ is supposed to be Gibson's best flat top ever. After 7 yeras I'm still amazed at the tone and though the scale is longer than on a J 45 for example, it's not harder to play. I have read somewhere around here on the Cafe Wah that the difference in tone between BRW and IRW is not as big as you might expect it to be, it's mostly in the appearance. my humble 2 cents - hope this helps you a little.

[Nelson F]

[QUOTE=sliding-tom. I have read somewhere around here on the Cafe Wah that the difference in tone between BRW and IRW is not as big as you might expect it to be, it's mostly in the appearance. my humble 2 cents - hope this helps you a little.[/QUOTE]


That is so true. also i would go with the Gibson. BUT make sure you play a lot of them, i bought a reissue AJ, & it was not that good. but then i heard some REAL KILLA REISSUE AJ's
:wail :wail :wail :wail :wail ;)

[sliding-tom]

Mine is a '97 as is Jorma Kaukonen's. He recorded the entire "My Blue Country Soul" CCD with it. Since they might not have made that many per year I wonder if mine and Jorma's are from the same batch.:hmm

[Plankspanker]

I think right off the bat, the AJ is easier to bond with, but....
I've tried a number of J-200s and the odd J-185 in the 3 local Guitar Center acoustic rooms. They don't lend themselves well to this environment, all of the small waisted Jumbos seemed constricted due to poor humidity, high factory actions,bad set-ups and just overall neglect.

I think if you find a J-185 that's setup correctly you might have a hard time walking away from it/

[Rockabilly69]

RnB

I've had both the AJ and J-185 in my studio. I loved both, but I wound up using the J-185, as I loved the clarity of the low notes and the way it blended with my Martin guitars. Too be honest though both guitars are different enough from Martins to enjoy the Gibson sound, and both are excellent examples of Gibsons best.

Good luck,
Dan

On my myspace.com/danielweldonsongs there's a song called All Out Of Whiskey. That's the J-185 blended with my Martin SP0016TR.