1976 Greco J-115 Vintage Johnny Smith Archtop Guitar Sunburst 100% Original, Japan Fujigen

Up for sale, a 1976 Greco J-115 archtop in exceptional, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. This Greco was produced at the Fujigen factory in Japan as a faithful recreation of Gibson’s Johnny Smith signature model, rarely seen even inside its country of origin, featuring an X-braced spruce top, figured maple back and sides, a three-piece maple neck, and a bound ebony fingerboard.

The original Gibson Johnny Smith was designed in the vein of Smith’s D’Angelico New Yorker, with a 17” lower bout width and a body depth of 3 1/8”, yielding a bold, articulate natural acoustic quality with bouncy trebles, detailed midrange cut, and a rich bass register. Via the floating electronics assembly, the pair of Maxon-made mini humbuckers offer glassy cut a certain sensitivity to pick attack, refined and well-suited to complex Jazz chord voicings. This J-115 weighs 8lbs 4oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 12-54 roundwound strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

The five-ply maple/walnut neck has a slender C-shaped profile carve with well-rounded shoulders, measuring .820” deep at the 1st fret and .935” at the 9th. The ebony fingerboard features Gibson-style split-block inlay, with fret-edge binding on the practically perfect medium fretwire which has well-rounded crowns. This guitar plays cleanly up the 25 1/2“ scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod, and the original hand-carved bone nut measures 1 11/16” in width. The elongated headstock has an “open book” shape, framed by multi-ply binding and complete with split diamond inlay. The Greco-branded Sealfast-style gold-plated tuning machines turn smoothly, and the G76-prefix serial number dates production to July of 1976.

The floating pickguard assembly includes the pair of original Maxon-made mini humbuckers mounted to the multi-ply bound tortoise pickguard, with a three-way rotary pickup selector knob and independent pairs of Volume and Tone controls for each pickup. Just like the original Johnny Smith, this guitar features an 1/8" pickguard-mounted jack (a 1/4" to 1/8" cable is included). The gold-plated hardware includes the pickup covers and Art Deco-style tailpiece which, once again, is virtually indistinguishable from Gibson’s design, featuring a rosewood insert. On the carved ebony bridge with inlaid feet, both thumbwheels have ample room for future adjustment. The Greco label is visible through the F hole, signed by noted Japanese craftsman Mac Sujihara, whose name appears in numerous high-end Greco and Ibanez instruments made at Fujigen.

The gloss Sunburst finish is framed by multi-ply binding, highlighting the deep and dynamic flame figuring across the bookmatched two-piece maple back. The binding is deeply checked and ambered, all stable with no notable deterioration. The gloss finish exhibits a bit of isolated finish checking, and cosmetic wear is limited to light buckle rash central to the back and just a few minor nicks and light finish scratches on the body as a whole. There is one very short, professionally-addressed split on the treble-side lower bout rim.

The original faux leather padded gigbag is included, along with a 1/4" to 1/8" 10ft cable.