NGD!

[Timko]

The nights in Kansas City are starting to get cooler; when I let me dog out before I go to bed there's a little nip in the air.  For me, that means the days are getting shorter, and my attention turns from outside to inside (and back to pedal building in the colder months).  I have a couple of cool projects in flight, but none of them are as cool as this.

Since I started playing guitar after a 10 year break, the only new guitar that has floored me has been the Gibson Johnny A Custom.  It's a thinline hollow body guitar milled out of a solid block of mahogany with a solid maple top. The finish is just otherworldy: gold hardware, tons of binding, a Bigsby, custom inlays.  The one thing stopping me from purchasing one?  The price.  $6,200 from Gibson (about 5k street). 

I had already purchased a new guitar this year (a Johnny Marr Jaguar which is fantastic), and didn't have any intention of buying anything new.  That is, until Epiphone announced they were releasing a Johnny A.  The Epi is nearly identical in specs (mahogany milled body, gold hardware, binding, inlays, Bigsby, Gibson classic '57 pickups, 25.5 scale length, ebony fretboard, chunky '59 neck), with the only difference being a laminate top.  Oh, and the price tag came in under a grand.  So while I wasn't guitar hunting, I knew the moment I found out about them I was going to hunt one down.

The CITES laws had these things held up in customs forever.  I placed my pre-order in May.  Manufacturing finished in the middle of June.  I got it last week.  But man, what a fun guitar.  It's both loud in terms of sound and looks, but it's an awesome player.  One of these days I would love to be in a position to get a real Johnny A, but this was still a fantastic guitar to add to my collection.

Images courtesy of Sweetwater.  This was my first online guitar purchase and I was very impressed with their service. 

[BrianS]

Really pretty.  I've bought a few guitars from Sweetwater and they're great.

[culturejam]

Wow, that's a classy guitar.

[pickdropper]

A friend of mine just got one too and he loves it.  I haven't played one yet, but they look like really nice guitars.

[stringsthings]

Wow, that's a classy guitar.

+1

[zombie_rock123]

I dont think I've ever seen none-traditional F holes that I like but they fit so well. The more I look at the shape the more attractive it looks, kinda like a mash up of Gibson's greatest hits in one guitar.

[jimilee]

Beautiful. I got a wildkat with a bigsby and the 335 pro. Love 'em. I figured that's what epiphone did best in the beginning.


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[Govmnt_Lacky]

Beautiful guitar! 

Hard to believe that a laminate top makes a $4K+ difference! It's almost criminal 

[bcalla]

Stunning!

[Timko]

Beautiful. I got a wildkat with a bigsby and the 335 pro. Love 'em. I figured that's what epiphone did best in the beginning.


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The Wildcat is also milled from a solid block of wood.  I think once Epiphone got the hang of it they agreed to do a Johnny A.

[Timko]

Beautiful guitar! 

Hard to believe that a laminate top makes a $4K+ difference! It's almost criminal 

I will say that as having both a brother and father who both claim woodworking as a serious hobby (as in have 20k+ shops and probably 10k+ wood), caving a solid, figured maple top is not cheap.  The wood is expensive, and the labor to do it is really expensive.  I I think it would add another $1000 to the overall cost of the instrument.  Maybe more if attaching the top to the body is difficult in some way.

That other 3k?  It's a headstock with a name that begins with the letter "G." 

[davent]

Is there a Johnny A person?
dave

[dan.schumaker]

That is a beautiful looking guitar!  I don't want to keep looking at it, I'm going to have to have it 

[pickdropper]

Beautiful guitar! 

Hard to believe that a laminate top makes a $4K+ difference! It's almost criminal 

Totally agree.  Certainly the US labor factors in more than just the cost of the material difference.

I will say that as having both a brother and father who both claim woodworking as a serious hobby (as in have 20k+ shops and probably 10k+ wood), caving a solid, figured maple top is not cheap.  The wood is expensive, and the labor to do it is really expensive.  I I think it would add another $1000 to the overall cost of the instrument.  Maybe more if attaching the top to the body is difficult in some way.

That other 3k?  It's a headstock with a name that begins with the letter "G." 

Also, since we're talking MSRP, that doesn't equate to a $4k raw cost difference, it's $4k once you've baked in the US labor, overall US operators cost, dealer/distributor margins, etc.)

I'm not really defending Gibson pricing it at $6k as that's an awful lot, just agreeing that there's more to it than just the cost difference in the top.

[Timko]

Is there a Johnny A person?
dave

I didn't know who he was either; I just loved his guitar.  But he's got some chops, and can play a variety of genres.