Gibson Johnny A Custom?

[Danny W.]

I love my Johnny A's, but I don't use them for jazz. Since almost all my gigs are jazz gigs, that means I don't get to play them out very much, though I often play them at home. If I didn't have some really nice bigger guitars, I'd probably do more jazz on them.

I've just two photos of me gigging with one:

(It's off to my left somewhere)



(It's off to my left somewhere)



Danny W.

[Marty Grass]

Danny, what is the front center guitar?

[Marty Grass]

Well, here's my twin Johnnys. They're actually 8 and 10 years old, so I guess they aren't twins. The naughty one is doing a "time out" in the corner.

[fumblefingers]

Here's mine, now sold. AAAAA quilt top. ebony BTW. Check Wildwood for models in stock.

[travisty]

Here's mine, now sold. AAAAA quilt top. ebony BTW. Check Wildwood for models in stock.

THAT is why I lust after a Johnny A.
That is just the purdiest semi-hollow I ever did see (or at least the one with the most blingitude).

[travisty]

Danny, what is the front center guitar?

I was wondering exactly the same thing. On a stab in the dark I am going to say ES-355 with an L5 neck done by the Custom Shop?

[travisty]

And on a whim I check the archives (we should all do so more - quite handy for stupid questions)...

https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guita...utaway-l5.html

Post #24 Danny W. tells us it is a Custom Shop ES-355 with L5 features.

I promise I took the stab in the dark before I searched! I'd heard about the concept before but had never seen one. I don't know the difference between a 335 and a 355.

[Gitfiddler]

Hey, can I join this JA 'show n tell'?




This is the money shot from The Music Zoo (white plastic still on the pickguard) that convinced me to buy this amazing guitar...

[tlathrop]

Hey, RonJ, good for ya. You know what you like and do not like.

A precaution about the Gibson Johnny A: from 2012 onwards, some of them are made with Richlite fretboards instead of ebony. If that matters to you, be aware of it.

Staying within the Gibson semi-hollow family, have you considered something smaller like the ES-339 or the CS-336 or others of its ilk? Lugging around a 16" or larger guitar on campus gets old after a while.

If you're looking for a Gibson, I'd like to put in a good word for Dave's Guitars of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Old-fashioned honest folks. Very fair prices.

Don't pay MAP or worse yet, MSRP at any dealer!

(I would also look at the Made in Japan Sadowsky Semi-hollow or SS15.)

PSA:

'59 Reissue ES-335 '06 - Dave's Guitar Shop
'59 Reissue ES-335 '09 - Dave's Guitar Shop
CS-356 '03 - Dave's Guitar Shop



Strut your street cred; nothing says that you're a serious jazz cat more than this baby:

ES-150 '50 - Dave's Guitar Shop

How do you like your CS-356? I have one that looks exactly like yours. I purchased it in 2004. It's become my go-to all-purpose guitar, primarily for the neck. I initially found its sound to be lacking in resonance. So I switched out the Classic 57 pups with WRC Godwoods. That helped. But still, the sound is somewhat two-dimensional.

[nopedals]

I'll be the wet blanket here. I personally prefer the look and sound of noncuts, but definitely understand the argument for a cutaway (heck, I am in a decided minority here). But two sharp cutaways, like the old BKs? I'll pass on those F holes and pick guards, too ... at least they don't make them in blue.

[DustinG]

What model are the two in the top row? Are those 339s?

[DRS]

What model are the two in the top row? Are those 339s?

Thanks for resurrecting this thread from 2015. I should have grabbed a Johnny A when the came out but I couldn't afford one. Now they're discontinued and the prices are way up there. I was lucky enough to grab the Epiphone version which is a great guitar.

[Hammertone]

I'm looking around for one of these - a mid-'60s Hofner Ambassador with stock Dearmond 2000 pickups. Hollow, all-laminated, thinline, 16" wide. Or one the limited run of spruce-top Johnny A's. Yum.

[58flame]

I had one and sold it. Then I bought another one years later because I evidently forgot why I sold it. Sold that one too. Guitar is too small and cramped for me. Neck shape is nice though.

[Danny W.]

What model are the two in the top row? Are those 339s?

CS-356.

Danny W.