Gibson J185 Quilted Maple Custom Shop

Let's make a deal! This is simply a beautiful guitar. It sounds great and it plays like a champ.

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(edited from Chat GPT)

This is a 2015 Gibson J-185 Custom Quilt

Style: J-185 CUSTOM QUILT
Number: 11675073
CUSTOM SHOP
Gibson Acoustic — Bozeman, Montana

What makes this J-185 special?

The J-185 is one of Gibson's smaller jumbo designs. It was introduced in 1951 as a more compact alternative to the enormous J-200. Gibson originally built the J-185 through the late 1950s and revived it in modern form in 1990. 

The 2015 Custom Quilt takes that basic J-185 recipe and dresses it up considerably.

The woods

Top: solid Sitka spruce
Back and sides: AAA quilted maple
Neck: mahogany
Fingerboard: rosewood
Bridge: rosewood

The AAA quilted maple on this guitar is particularly attractive. The photograph of the back shows that this isn't merely a little bit of figured maple—the entire back has very pronounced, three-dimensional quilt figure.

The same quilted maple construction is confirmed by the specifications for the virtually identical 11675077. 

And this is an important tonal combination:

Sitka spruce + maple tends to produce a guitar with considerable clarity, punch and note separation. Maple generally doesn't contribute the same strong low-mid coloration associated with mahogany or the complex overtone bloom associated with rosewood. The result is a guitar that can sound particularly articulate when strummed or played with a pick.

Sweetwater's description of the model specifically characterizes the quilt-maple J-185 as having a strong fundamental, projection and note separation. 

The scale is one of its attractions

This J-185 has a:

24.75-inch scale

That's a genuine short-scale Gibson.

The documented sibling, 11675077, measures 24.75 inches, and the model specifications confirm it. 

The nut is approximately:

1.72–1.73 inches

This isn't one of the unusually wide 1.875-inch Gibson necks, but it is a very comfortable traditional Gibson acoustic width.

This guitar has some particularly nice Custom Shop details.

Mother-of-pearl parallelogram inlays

The rosewood fingerboard has Gibson's familiar MOP parallelogram inlays.

Gold Grover Rotomatics

The tuners are gold Grover Rotomatic machines.

Maltese-cross details

The bridge has the distinctive Maltese-cross inlays, which are one of the visual signatures of this Custom Quilt edition.

There's also a corresponding decorative treatment on the headstock.

Tortoise J-185 pickguard

It has the traditional J-185-style tortoise pickguard.

Nitrocellulose finish

The guitar was finished in nitrocellulose lacquer, rather than a modern polyurethane finish. 

Compound dovetail neck joint

The neck uses Gibson's compound dovetail joint. 

It is an acoustic-electric

The 2015 Custom Quilt specification called for an:

LR Baggs Anthem

The Anthem is an under-saddle/microphone system designed to retain more of the guitar's natural acoustic character when amplified. 

How rare is it?

Quite rare.

This is where things get a little messy in the historical documentation.

The Twelfth Fret describes its nearly identical 11675077 as being one of a run of 65 instruments. 

On the other hand, Gibson-related dealer material and current listings sometimes describe the 2015 J-185 Custom Quilt as limited to 60 instruments worldwide. One current Reverb listing makes exactly that claim. 

So I would describe this one conservatively as:

A limited-production 2015 Gibson Custom Shop J-185 Custom Quilt.

There's another interesting wrinkle

Don't confuse this guitar with the 2016 J-185 Quilt Vine.

That was another limited J-185 with quilted maple, but it had elaborate vine/flower inlays and was a 50-guitar limited edition. 

This is the earlier, more restrained 2015 J-185 Custom Quilt.

And there were also earlier J-185 Custom Quilt versions, including a 2005 J-185EC Custom Quilt, so simply seeing “J-185 Custom Quilt” isn't enough to establish the year or specifications. 

Your 11675073 label and serial number settle that question.

One thing I particularly like about this guitar

The J-185's proportions are wonderful.

It's technically classified as a jumbo, but it isn't remotely as physically imposing as a J-200. It's a relatively compact guitar with a substantial lower bout and a short scale.

That combination gives you:

big-guitar presence + small-guitar comfort + Gibson short-scale feel.

And the maple back and sides give it a different personality from a J-45.

Expect this guitar to have:

• strong projection
• a crisp attack
• excellent note separation
• a fairly tight, controlled bass
• clear mids
• a pronounced fundamental
• plenty of headroom when strummed

It's an especially interesting guitar for flatpicking, rhythm accompaniment and fingerstyle, where the separation between individual notes can really pay off.

There are still relatively few completed transactions to establish a rock-solid market price, but current and historical evidence shows a fairly broad range.

A documented 2015 example has recently been listed on Reverb in essentially mint condition, with original case, at a substantial dealer asking price. 

The original dealer specifications also establish that this was a premium Custom Shop instrument with the LR Baggs Anthem and original Gibson case. 

An exceptionally clean example like this one, complete with case and paperwork, potentially bringing $4,500–$5,000 from the right buyer.