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About This Listing
From its inaugural appearance in 1937, Gibson’s SJ-200 set a standard
others have been trying to match ever since. Today, the legacy of
Gibson’s “King of the Flat-tops” lives on in the new SJ-200 Standard.
Upon its introduction in the late 1930s, the SJ-200 immediately filled a
need for a deeper, more balanced and powerful sound. It gave purveyors
of the new American music scene of the 1930s a reliable, well-built
instrument, capable of projecting the sound of the guitar well beyond
that of any other acoustic on the market—a fact that still holds true
today. It is simply the world’s most famous acoustic guitar, and
certainly one of the most popular.
1 of 49 SJ-200's made in 1953. This tone monster is very rare and very cool. White Label SN A-14044 Very small, but repaired crack where the neck meets the soundhole, by the pickguard
I've recently gone back over this guitar with a fine tooth comb since it's original listing and found some other details.
There is clear coat checking, as indicated in the pictures. This is pretty par for the course for a Gibson of this age.
The low E string side of the nut has had a small break at some point and it appears someone tried to build it back up with a bit of glue and then re-slotted it. The string stays in place just fine, but I felt it should be noted.
The truss rod cover has Phillips head screws, while the tuners have flat head screws. Meaning the cover screws may not be original.
There appear to be some repaired cracks on the treble side of the upper bout on the top. You can see the dark line in the picture. None of these aforementioned repairs were done in our shop.
The binding on the back of the guitar on the bass side has a small separation at the hip in between the upper and lower bout. The separation runs for about 1-1.25 inches.
Other than that it plays pretty well. the frets show a little wear on the first few frets, but for a guitar it's age, they're in great playing shape.
Missing strap button at neck, but we'll gladly put one on for you if you want one.
The second generation of Gibson SJ-200 has a fundamentally different sound, with the maple back and sides giving this guitar a more treble-forward, bright signature while still remaining very balanced and beautiful. The body depth gradually increases year by year until landing at 4 7/8" in 1952.
