This is one of the best sounding acoustic guitars I have ever played. The best sounding acoustic, to my ears, is still my beat-to-shit Gibson LGO acoustic, but this one is a very close second. I purchased this guitar new at the height of the power ballad’s popularity. Songs like Skid Rows – I Remember You; LA Guns – Ballad of Jayne; Scorpions – Wings of Change and the Tesla Acoustic album were all big sellers and radio favorites back then and of course all featured cool acoustic guitar playing. The acoustic craze was in high gear and I had to be part of it. Ironically, back then I almost always played electric, but as I have gotten older I find myself strumming an acoustic more and more.

Unlike electric guitars where one can simply change the electronics (pickups) or use different amp settings to manipulate the sound; the acoustic guitar is a different beast and what you get (sound wise) is what you will always have For this reason it is VERY important that you play an acoustic guitar before buying it, to make sure the feel and more importantly, the sound of the guitar is what you are looking for. I played some fifteen acoustics before narrowing my selection down to three, this Gibson J100, a Gibson Hummingbird (which I later bought and sold) and a Martin D28. I bugged two friends to come down and listen while I gave all three contestants a final run through, the decision was unanimous and I walked out with a brand new J100 Extra Jumbo guitar.

The guitar itself shares the same dimensions (jumbo shape, 17” wide) as her higher priced and cosmetically superior sister, the Gibson J200. This beauty features a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, a rosewood fingerboard and a mustache-style bridge. The body has wide triple binding on top, while the back is single bound. Unlike the J200, the neck and headstock are unbound and simple dot fingerboard inlays are used. The original plain black pickguard underwent several custom paint jobs (by me) before being replaced with a Gibson J200 pickguard. I have to admit that I like the look of the J200 pickguard on this guitar and it really dresses her up.

The super nice feature on this instrument is the logo and while I assume that other J100 Extras have this style logo, I have yet to see another example. This style logo was found on various Gibson flattop models back in the day but just after WWII, Gibson stopped using the "banner" script logo ("only a Gibson is good enough"). In fact, I did not even pay attention to the logo until after I took the guitar to a vintage guitar shop to have the J200 pickguard added. Within minutes of arriving, about five different people asked me about the logo. The logo is a nice touch but obviously it has no effect on how good she sounds, which was the real selling point for me when I purchased her. The jumbo size body projects pretty good volume and to my ears, the mahogany (back and sides) coupled with a spruce top, produces a nice mid range sound (slightly on the bass side). It is the perfect guitar to accompany my out of tune singing.

While not as fancy as the Gibson J200, this Gibson J100 Extra has not failed me yet. It is the perfect acoustic for, as Jimmy Buffet sang, “strummin’ my six string, on my front porch swing, smell those shrimp, they’re beginnin’ to boil” Every guitarist should grab a great sounding acoustic for their collection. I find strumming on an acoustic very calming and nothing livens up a party more than sing along’s well except a house full of drunken friends!