2004 Ren Ferguson Gibson J-180 Everly Brothers Ebony Original Kalamazoo Parts

Wow, this is a cool one: a Ren Ferguson hand-built Gibson J-180 Everly Brothers replica with original 1960's Kalamazoo parts!

The guitar was built in 2004, during Ren's heyday at Gibson. He built guitar by hand and signed the underside of the guitar's spruce top as evidence. He also hand-signed the label inside the soundhole.

Original 1960's parts from the Kalamazoo plant were sourced for the build, including original Everly Brothers dual pickguards, original bridge, original tuners, original Kalamazoo orange soundhole label, and original truss rod cover. That means these parts were built for use on the original Everly brothers models from the 60's!

I once spoke to Ren on the phone and asked him what his secret is for building such great sounding guitars. His reponse was "I pick wood that already knows how to sing." Any time Ren builds a guitar, he specially selects the woods for the build. This guitar is a fantastic sounding guitar! I sat down to check its action and ended up playing it for a good 30 minutes. It's a magnificent guitar.

The guitar actually includes three soundhole labels. The one attached to the guitar is a Bozeman label hand-signed by Ren Ferguson. The serial number and details are also hand inscribed. There is also an original Kalamazoo label included, which has been inscribed with the serial number and details of this guitar. The third label is also a Bozeman label hand-signed by Ren Ferguson. The serial number and details are typed on this label. I presume they included this label just in case someone replaced the original label with the Kalamazoo label and then changed their mind. Who knows?

So, in all, you receive three Ren Ferguson signatures with this guitar: two hand-signed labels, and the signature on the underside of the guitar's top! That's pretty cool.

The guitar is in near-mint condition. It shows barely any playwear at all. There is a small line in one of the pickguards, as would be expected at its age (almost 60 years!). It's a non-issue, just being thorough. Aside from that, there are no issues to mention.

Included with the guitar is the original hardshell case, and all case candy.